Now let’s see the puppy.

That was an amazing speech. I’ve been waiting a long time for it. I don’t mean the speech given by the first black president, but the speech that opens the nation’s arms and asks for the best in people. I know the coming weeks, months and years won’t be easy, but for just a few moments, I believed it was possible we’ll get through them more or less intact.

I still do. In a country where a black Democrat could carry Indiana — although not Allen County, har — anything really is possible.

So let’s see how the invitation is being taken in the losers’ locker room:

Just watched Wonder Boy’s speech. Hmph. “Callused hands”? When did he ever have callused hands?John Derbyshire, The Corner.

Ah, well. Let us be magnanimous in victory. I always hated all that “get over it, loser” bullshit the more obnoxious wings of the GOP served on its mornings after, so let’s not serve it.

Let’s just chuckle wryly for a few days. And check the less-talked-about races:

Here in Michigan, medical marijuana won by an embarrassingly wide margin — 63 percent approved it. Embryonic stem-cell research, approved. The first Democrat in history will represent the Grosse Pointes in the statehouse. (He defeated a nice blonde lady who seemingly had a sign in every yard in the district, in line to be the first woman commodore of the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, which will have to be her consolation prize. We may be talking a reverse-Bradley effect today.) Over in Oakland County, Toilet Joe Knollenberg is outta here, along with the first sitting chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court to be voted out of office.

In the words of a Detroit city councilwoman: Calling out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat?

I didn’t sleep well last night — iChat was buzzing well after midnight. Today let’s discuss not the presidential race, but local ones in your various municipalities and districts, oddities that didn’t make the national-news roundups, but are worth mentioning.

And let’s speculate on the Obama family puppy. Given how stunningly photogenic the rest of the crew is, I expect nothing less than a yappy little rag bundle with an eye patch. Name of…Scamp, maybe. In other words…a Jack Russell! John Scalzi already has his reality-check post up, and wisely notes, Your president will not give you everything you want, when you want it. But I want that puppy, dammit.

I’m going back to bed for a couple hours. You kids play nice, now.

Posted at 8:33 am in Current events, Detroit life |
 

82 responses to “Now let’s see the puppy.”

  1. Connie said on November 5, 2008 at 8:37 am

    Elkhart County: all Republican, all the time. I was hoping to see some change at the County Council level but no such luck. And my township is keeping its assessor.

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  2. Peter said on November 5, 2008 at 9:21 am

    I didn’t know if I should have commented on yesterday’s thread or just bring the party over here, but here goes:

    1. I did think McCain gave a very graceful speech last night. As for his crowd, I got to tell you – he must have polled at least 95% of the angry wingnut vote.

    2. I think the Republicans are going to spend many years in the wilderness. You’d think normal Republicans will look at last night and come to their senses, but having witnessed the state Republican party here in Illinois collapse, the wingnuts are going to fight until the last bunker is torched. Folks, that ain’t a pretty sight.

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  3. coozledad said on November 5, 2008 at 9:31 am

    I’m alive. That’s an achievement, considering the only person who was as blotto as me last night was probably W.
    Cheer up, bro. That fluent Spanish is gonna come in handy down at the snack shack in Paraguay.

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  4. Dave K. said on November 5, 2008 at 9:43 am

    Hope you enjoy the nap Nancy, I did the same thing and it felt great. Indiana and Allen Co. went mostly Republican, but I think County R-Chairman Steve Shine could use a nap (or maybe a time-out…). He sounded just as angry and bitter this morning as he did last night on the 6:00 news when he said, “If Obama wins Indiana, it is ONLY because he has CRAMMED his presence down the throats of Indiana voters…”. All of the VOLUNTEERS I worked with in Allen and Dekalb Counties seemed to be eagerly enjoying their work. THE PEOPLE won Indiana and the election for Barack Obama!

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  5. alex said on November 5, 2008 at 9:52 am

    The only surprising thing in Allen County is that the two dumbest and shrillest people on the Fort Wayne school board got sent packing, another rebuke to the extreme ideologues in the faltering local GOP.

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  6. Lex said on November 5, 2008 at 9:58 am

    For reasons that aren’t yet entirely clear (given that the races are nonpartisan), although I suspect the coattails of the Obama ground game had something to do with it, three white male District Court judges here were ousted by black women.

    Me: living in a blue state. I never would have predicted ….

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  7. moe99 said on November 5, 2008 at 10:02 am

    Christine Gregoire is beating Dino Rossi which hopefully will take that guy out of Republican politics in my state for a long time. He offered up nothing in terms of policies, just revenge on Gregoire for beating him by 133 votes 4 years ago.

    The ex looks to be winning the State Treasurer’s job in Wa. state. That should keep his ego nicely inflated for the next 4 years.

    Darcy Burner (D) is behind Dave Reichert (R) just barely in her second try for the US Representative slot for Washington’s 8th District. What folks did not appreciate about the race is that she was clearly viewed as a carpet bagger. All of us in Washington are to some extent, but she hasn’t been here long enough to shake that label.

    Death with Dignity was approved along with increased funding for a 3 county mass transit plan. In fact, the money issues were all approved which was surprising in these lean times, but I think the voters in WA were charged up civically by the presidential race. And that’s not a bad thing.

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  8. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 5, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Paraguay? They’re gonna clone dozens of young, new W.’s? Say it ain’t so.

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  9. derwood said on November 5, 2008 at 10:10 am

    I have hopes that he gets a puppy from a shelter somewhere and not a puppy mill.

    d

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  10. Thomas said on November 5, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Always amuses me how we bloggers can have our cake and eat it too: i.e. let’s be magnanimous by quoting Derbyshire.

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  11. Gasman said on November 5, 2008 at 10:54 am

    In Northern NM we had a hotly contested race for a spot on the Public Regulation Commission, actually a very powerful political gig. Jerome Block snuck through a six way Democratic primary with 23% of the vote. Had there been one fewer candidate, he never would have made it. The Rs did not field a candidate. After the primaries, a local progressive managed to get on the ballot as a Green Party candidate.

    Days after the primary it came out that he lied about his criminal record (multiple DWIs, domestic violence, failure to appear) and he lied about his education. Just about 4 weeks ago he admitted to lying about campaign spending. He was even fined $10K and told he had to repay another $11K.

    Despite all this, Block was elected to this $90K/year position. The speculation is that straight party voting for the Dems helped this liar into office. However, he still may face criminal charges for misuse of campaign funds.

    Sometimes it’s hard to tell the Rs and the Ds apart here in NM.

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  12. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 10:56 am

    Another vote for a shelter dog in the White House. Shelter dogs rule.

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  13. MichaelG said on November 5, 2008 at 11:04 am

    Mary, I think that this might have been the last election in which the bigots (spelled M-O-R-M-O-N-S) could have passed Prop 8. Unfortunately their timing was excellent. I just hope it’s revisited or overturned soon.

    My old district, always the most right wing in the state, looks to have replaced John Doolittle with creepy Tom McClintock.

    Other than these two results, I’m a happy boy.

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  14. brian stouder said on November 5, 2008 at 11:06 am

    In a country where a black Democrat could carry Indiana — although not Allen County, har — anything really is possible.

    Well, I looked up the 2004 Allen County returns, and found that we went for W over Kerry by 27 points (63-36) – or 35,000 votes….

    and McCain carried the county by just 4 points (52-48) – or 6300 votes…and considering how closely the whole state election went (50-49 for Barack, just 20,000 votes) – I think good ol’ Allen County did its part in putting the Hoosier state in step with the times (as opposed to being in step with electoral giraffes, to paraphrase Mark GiaQuinta)…

    by way of saying

    Har Dee Har Har, Har Har Har!!

    ps – speaking of GQ, gotta say Amen to Alex again; our FWCS school board elections went correctly, and all the “get off my lawn” old cranks were turned away, with alacrity

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  15. Gasman said on November 5, 2008 at 11:26 am

    To all:
    What should be the fate of our soon-to-be-former President George W. Bush? Do we really want him hanging around the U.S.A. for the next 30 years as he tries to rehabilitate his image?

    For your consideration, I am proposing that we exile W. to Witless Bay, Newfoundland – for you geographically challenged folks, that’s in Canada.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witless_Bay%2C_Newfoundland_and_Labrador

    While it may seem like a hard sell to the Canadians, he will have been neutered by January 2009, so he will be unable to do any harm. It seems perfect. For starters, it would get him the hell out of our country. It would also give him something to do. It could be a shot in the arm for their local tourism industry. He could be the official mascot of Witless Bay. Their new slogan? “When we say Witless, we really mean it!”

    It could be nice posting for those on his Secret Service detail, as well. Newfoundland is beautiful, the locals are friendly, there’s more lobster than you can imagine, and they probably wouldn’t have to work too hard protecting him. The winters suck, but the foul weather duties could be reserved for rookies and screw-ups. It would build character.

    Maybe he could do penance on the seat of a dunk tank. I’m sure that there are about three billion people on the planet that would gladly plunk down $10 for a chance to send him into the drink. If the those in Witless Bay would split the proceeds with us, we could probably pay off the Wall Street bailout, W’s deficit, and still have money left over to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Let’s begin to petition those suckers, er, fine folks in Witless Bay today. Maybe we can scratch each other’s backs.

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  16. derwood said on November 5, 2008 at 11:27 am

    Brian…I so agree about the school board races. Olinger needed to go and Evert was just a cranky old man that scared me.

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  17. Jim said on November 5, 2008 at 11:39 am

    1. About Prop 8: Its passage may be an unintended consequence of Obama. Somewhere this morning I saw/heard that African Americans went for it 70-30, more than any other ethnic group. If that’s true and if African American turnout was really up, that may be a factor. Has anyone else seen this polling?

    2. Shelter dogs rule!

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  18. MichaelG said on November 5, 2008 at 11:46 am

    How about this for fun? I’ve heard speculation about Hillary Clinton for the Supreme Court. Can you imagine the screams?

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  19. Gasman said on November 5, 2008 at 11:50 am

    MichaelG,
    If you want screams, how about Hillary Clinton and Anita Hill for the Supreme Court? Clarence would have to keep his robe zipped up real tight.

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  20. JGW said on November 5, 2008 at 11:52 am

    Yeah, shelter dog.

    Remember Reagan’s dog Lucky that was brain dead, unable to sit still, drooled everywhere, and was quietly escorted to greener pastures away from DC.

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  21. nancy said on November 5, 2008 at 11:57 am

    I thought Clinton was the one with Lucky. No, I’m wrong — that was Buddy. Reagan’s dog was the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, right?

    I’m very non-partisan when it comes to White House pets. I like ’em all, regardless of party.

    I wonder how many aides are fielding the offers of free puppies from breeders around the world today. I wonder how many heads of state plan to show up at the Inaugural Balls with dog carriers holding prize specimens of their nation’s national breed. Maybe Sasha and Malia should start a kennel.

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  22. Danny said on November 5, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Mary, I think that this might have been the last election in which the bigots (spelled M-O-R-M-O-N-S) could have passed Prop 8. Unfortunately their timing was excellent. I just hope it’s revisited or overturned soon.

    Not really, Michael. Actually, the data shows that the larger minority turnout for Obama helped to defeat same-sex marriage props in every state. And as you know, Barack Obama is against gay “marriage” too. So, don’t forget to include him in your little “Who’s a bigot?” dance mix.

    Every state where this was a ballot issue, it was a loser, as it has been perpetually. Marriage means one thing, not another. And it is positively Orwellian to to try to imbue it with another meaning. Add to that the way that gay-rights activists were tearing down signage in support of Prop 8, yelling and cursing at people just a few feet outside of polling places and it appears that the rainbow flag is just missing the Swastika

    And what I said a few weeks ago about the planned indoctrination of the elementary school kids seems to have been quite true.

    First, in early October, we had the lesbian school teacher who had a field trip for her first-graders to come to her wedding. First-graders. Field trip. Nice.

    Then, we had the school teacher who passed out pledge cards in support of the gay lifestyle for the kindgarten class to sign to show their support. Kindergarteners. Perfect.

    Finally, we have the fact that the California Teachers Association donated a total of 1.25 million dollars to defeat Prop 8. Money that should have been spent in the classrooms that they constantly claim are underfunded.

    So basically, in the few short weeks leading up to the election, we see the over-arching tendency to bring the very young kids into this debate on sexual preferences. Just what I predicted.

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  23. nancy said on November 5, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    Danny makes a good point. The GOP learned what the Dems learned decades ago, forgot and are about to learn again: Big tents hold a lot of people who don’t really like one another. Anyone who’s spent time in the black community knows that many of its members really dislike gay people trying to claim sexual preference as the moral equivalent of race.

    The solution, as always, will be time. Young people are, in large part, simply not as bothered by homosexuality as their parents and grandparents. Attitudes will change, but it’ll take a while.

    Meanwhile, that teacher shouldn’t have taken her students to her wedding. My kid’s third-grade teacher had her class write letters of congratulation to her own daughter when she got married, yet another ass-chapper I didn’t learn about until months after the fact. I’m starting to wonder if this fabulously expensive, supposedly top-drawer public district is all it’s cracked up to be.

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  24. Catherine said on November 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

    My anecdote: African American neighbors with an Obama yard sign and a Yes on 8 yard sign. Jim, you may be right. I guess we’re still leaving one or two injustices in place for my kids to fix.

    Re the SF wedding field trip: IIRC, the teacher didn’t know anything about it, it was a surprise cooked up by her partner and OKed by the assistant principal. Permission slips went out, two families opted out. The trip was to City Hall — certainly a teachable moment. And the alternative would have been a substitute — and I think we all know how much instructional value they usually add. Pretty much the same drill as the Defiance schools that went to the McCain rally.

    And re Kate’s 3rd grade teacher: Nancy, you may have had other issues with her, which I totally understand. Letter-writing, however, and different forms of letters, is a pretty typical 3rd grade standard (I don’t know MI’s standards). Maybe she was just making something she has to do more personal and possibly more interesting?

    In more good news, our local school bond passed overwhelmingly. It’s good to see people out in support of public schools; you have no idea what a divisive issue they can be in Pasadena.

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  25. Danny said on November 5, 2008 at 12:49 pm

    And just for the record, as I’ve said before, I DO support the need for kids to be taught tolerance in general and for all lifestyles in particular. Just the whole sexual preference issue does not belong at elementary school level. It needs to come later, like middle school.

    And that is positively all I have to say about this issue regardless of what anyone else says today. It is not my raison d’etre and I will not argue.

    Today is a day of celebration for most and healing for all, hopefully.

    …Oh, and for Michigan residents to roll up a big fatty of fellowship. Toke-on, Nance!

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  26. JGW said on November 5, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    Lucky was the Bouvier des Flandres, looked like a bathmat that runs. Wikipedia says, “Lucky, had proven to be too unruly and had been moved to Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo estate in California the preceding Thanksgiving(1984). The dog you’re thinking of Nance was Rex, Nancy’s Reagan’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was originally a puppy that was given to William F. Buckley.

    Then there was (is) Barney, W’s dog, which was a gift from former EPA secretary and NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman. She could have been the first female VP but the party shifted to the right.
    I always remember her saying, “I didn’t leave my party – my party left me.” As a former Republican from NJ I agree. Out were the moderates like her, and Tom Kean (the GOP is a “big tent” philosophy), in were the wingnuts.

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  27. Hooiser said on November 5, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    Gasman, Witless Bay is an apt place to exile our soon-to-be-foot-in-mouth-exprez. News flash: Michael Critchton just died. He will be missed.

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  28. alex said on November 5, 2008 at 12:56 pm

    Danny, the “pledge cards in support of the gay lifestyle” were, by my reading, pledge cards not to use anti-gay slurs.

    You should sign one.

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  29. deb said on November 5, 2008 at 1:00 pm

    the puppy webcam is back up! they’re sleeping through some serious home-improvement hammering. we’ve had some daytime burglaries in my neighborhood; maybe i should keep the puppycam running, at top volume, when we’re not home.

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  30. Danny said on November 5, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    Alex, our disagreements have been because you stalkme in comments (as evidenced here, yet again), slander me constantly and use your sacred-cow status around here to say whatever you want. Not because I “slur” you or use bigoted terms.

    Please, stop the cheap-shots and let’s put it behind us.

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  31. alex said on November 5, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    Danny, I don’t stalk you. I just call you on bullshit. Play clean and you won’t have any problems with me.

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  32. deb said on November 5, 2008 at 1:08 pm

    alex, danny, look at the puppies. find your happy place.

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  33. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 1:08 pm

    Danny, Obama was against prop 8, as was Arnie Schwarzeneggar. It’s a crappy amendment but we’re stuck with it now.
    Lucky was a Bouvier des Flandres given to the Reagans by some admirer. Being a huge herding type dog, hanging out with Nancy at the White House was not working out well. They exiled him to the ranch.
    Buddy was a chocolate Lab, who unfortunately got loose and got hit by a car.
    According to the White House staff, speaking off record, Barney is a pain in the ass dog. He bites and pees on the floor.

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  34. nancy said on November 5, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    By all means, look at the puppies — two of them appear to be chewing another one’s wee-wee off.

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  35. jcburns said on November 5, 2008 at 1:13 pm

    I think the sacred-cow status doohickie has been broken on the site for months.

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  36. Dorothy said on November 5, 2008 at 1:16 pm

    Mary are you sure the White House staff was talking about Barney, and not W?

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  37. Jean S said on November 5, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    oh puppies…and yes for rescue dogs–mine is a lab/german shorthaired pointer mix and he’s a great guy.

    here in OR, we still don’t know about the Smith/Merkley battle for the Senate…

    and just one more note on Obama–a friend of mine who holds dual US/Canadian citizenship is staying put. If the Mac had won, though, she was seriously considering moving.

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  38. deb said on November 5, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    the puppy with the green collar is a little provocateur. he’s bitten a wee-wee, a tail, blue collar’s collar, ear, face…and i’m not even watching that closely. ok, yes i am. this is addictive. thank you, nance, for keeping me from caulking another window.

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  39. Dorothy said on November 5, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    Maybe the Obama girls could have their pick among those pups? Deb I spotted the green one, too. He/she is the only one awake while I’m watching. Green is my favorite color, anyway!

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  40. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Shiba Inus are not particulary good pets for little girls. They are popular here with the same bunch who like Pitbulls and Rotties.
    I vote for some shelter puppy who gives little or no hint of what it will grow up to be. Surprise! You’ve got a Great Dane Dachshund mix, or something along those lines.

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  41. jcburns said on November 5, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    It never fails to amaze me how quickly popular attention can swing from the profound and historic to the, frankly, trivial. It’s a dog, not a symbol. Dear President-Elect, just get your daughters the one they want, and don’t worry if its breed or lack thereof sends some sort of message.

    Sometimes a puppy is just a puppy.

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  42. harrison said on November 5, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    nancy, you said:

    By all means, look at the puppies — two of them appear to be chewing another one’s wee-wee off.

    now i’ve heard of gaydogs, but only figuratively and not literally — until now, that is.

    also — do you have any comments on the re-election of mitch daniels as ind gov? were you living in fw when he was first elected in 2004?

    i thought he has some good ideas, but came across as arrogant and self-righteous. he got the mean in him, since he’s short; check doghouse riley’s blog about him.

    when lugar was first elected to the u.s. senate in the 1970s, daniels was his hatchet man so st. richard wouldn’t get his hands dirty.

    i watched daniels’ victory speech for a few minutes and he seemed to be yelling something. i turned the channel.

    i’ll admit — i despise the man. and that goddamn combover fools no one.

    gasman, you said you don’t want bush to be around for another 30 years. i wonder why you think he’ll live that long. something tells me he’ll get back on the booze and it’ll be a quick downward spiral. or laura could fall asleep while smoking in bed and burn down the house.

    as for derbyshire, i wouldn’t fuck him with cheney’s dick.

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  43. harrison said on November 5, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    addenum:

    i hope the obama sisters get a mixed breed. purebreds are so messed up physically.

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  44. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 2:08 pm

    I will lend the girls my Max, Great Dane/Boxer mix. He’s like a giant dog toddler, holding two mutually exclusive impuses at the same time. I’m a couch potato…I’m a guard dog…I’m passive….I’m aggressive….

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  45. Gasman said on November 5, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    Danny,
    The nonsense about teaching homosexuality in elementary schools is a fear-monger’s canard used to incite irrational fear of gays. Enough already. It is also hopelessly dependent upon the misbegotten notion of homosexuality being a choice. If it is not a choice, then it can’t be taught. Anybody advocating ANY form of sexual orientation to elementary schoolers should be fired.

    Your homophobia is rather transparent and offensive. I am long past the point of suffering bigoted fools their narrow minded prejudices. GLBTs are every bit as deserving the same civil rights as everybody else. There is simply no constitutional argument in favor of denying anyone equal treatment under the law.

    You may not be able to accept a definition of marriage that is anything but a man & a woman, but increasingly, many others can. I suspect before long that the Supreme Court will too.

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  46. MichaelG said on November 5, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    Danny and Nance — point taken to a point. The Mormons were the financial backers and the impetus to both get the prop on the ballot and finance it once there. And a bigot is a bigot is a bigot.

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  47. Dorothy said on November 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Mary how’d you know what kind of puppies they were? Did I miss something? I thought they looked like shepard/collie mixes. But what do I know?

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  48. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    I think it was mentioned on the first day of puppycam they were shiba inus.

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  49. del said on November 5, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    Our golden doodle is great with our kids, 10 and 8.
    In Michigan, the Oakland Co. congressional seat that Nance mentioned changed to Democratic hands for the first time in 64 years.

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  50. Jen said on November 5, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    I suspect that eventually homosexuals will be given the same rights as everyone else regarding marriage. It’s just not a huge deal in my generation, for the most part, except in the most conservative circles. Even my husband, who went to an uber-conservative Christian college has absolutely no problem being good friends with my (male) gay best friend. I told him I was so glad that he didn’t act any different around my friend once he found out he was gay, and my husband just shrugged and said, “It’s none of my business.”

    A few of my husband’s friends from the conservative college DO have a problem with homosexuality and think it’s a sin, but I’ve even heard some of them say that they don’t worry about it because it’s none of their business. It’s not acceptance, but at least it’s tolerance!

    I think a lot of this tolerance in my generation comes from the fact that so many of us have met and befriended homosexuals, and realized that they’re just normal people. Putting a face and personality to a group of people can go a long way toward tolerance and acceptance.

    Meanwhile, I don’t think I know anyone that I met at IU that has ANY problem with homosexuality. Ahhh, some days up in uber-conservative northeast Indiana, I really miss Bloomington.

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  51. Jolene said on November 5, 2008 at 3:04 pm

    Re local races, Virginia got a new Democratic senator (Mark Warner will take the seat of retiring John Warner.) as the result of remarkable political stupidity on the part of the Virginia Republican party. Warner, a popular former governor, ran against Jim Gilmore, an unpopular former governor and won with 65% of the vote. This after the Republicans rejected the chance to run Tom Davis, a moderate Republican w/ a long record of service in the House. He’d have been a much stronger opponent for Warner, but wasn’t conservative enough for the Republican base. Very not smart.

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  52. John said on November 5, 2008 at 3:37 pm

    Doug Wilder looked great last night on a quick interview (MSNBC). I had just moved out of the state when he became governor. I missed the greatest Virginia slogan era (even better than “Virginia is for Lovers”!), “Virginia, Where the Women are Wild and the Governor is Wilder!”

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  53. Jolene said on November 5, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Great slogan, John. It must have been retired at the end of his term, as I’ve never heard it. Wilder, as you probably know, is now mayor of Richmond.

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  54. Jen said on November 5, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    Regarding puppies: I’m ALL for shelter animals! We don’t have a dog, since my husband is not a dog fan, but we did get a shelter cat, and she is absolutely the sweetest, most loving and social cat in history.

    I know we could have had a barn cat for free, but it felt good to rescue our little gal. We were originally looking at getting a little kitten, but as we were looking at the kittens under her cage, she kept batting at my husband’s head. We had to keep her!

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  55. Catherine said on November 5, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    del, *oodles rock! Our Buddy is a schnoodle (that’s a schnauzer-poodle cross, not an Austrian dish), and he’s great with kids, good with allergies and just generally a pleasure to have around.

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  56. Catherine said on November 5, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Quick, it’s lunchtime on the puppycam!

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  57. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    I can’t get the puppycam here at work. Thank goodness the Sisters of Providence protect me from puppy videos.
    If ever there was a place where you need puppycams, this office is it.

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  58. alex said on November 5, 2008 at 4:53 pm

    The puppies were out of their box a minute ago. Just checked back and it looked like a festival of fellatio.

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  59. moe99 said on November 5, 2008 at 4:59 pm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night:

    Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

    The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

    I can think of no reason

    Why the Gunpowder Treason

    Should ever be forgot.

    Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent

    To blow up the King and Parli’ment.

    Three-score barrels of powder below

    To prove old England’s overthrow;

    By God’s providence he was catch’d

    With a dark lantern and burning match.

    Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.

    Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

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  60. moe99 said on November 5, 2008 at 5:04 pm

    Nancy, my last post got hung up. Could you please retrieve it? As it is Nov. 5 today…..

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  61. Kirk said on November 5, 2008 at 5:04 pm

    Late last night, the puppycam seemed to be drawn back or pointed farther out, and they were out of bed running around as if they were in a circus. The puppycam definitely is strong.

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  62. Julie Robinson said on November 5, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    Mitch Daniels worked for W before moving back to IN and working the same kind of magic here.

    He may want to check his ad agency contract: today’s mail had a campaign flyer for his reelection. Can you say “wasted money”?

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  63. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    Puppy fellatio? No wonder I’m being protected from this. Thank goodness.

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  64. joodyb said on November 5, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    i was certain when i heard him refer to Mrs. O as ‘your good bride’ he’d already fallen completely off the wagon. what better time than last night, eh?
    thank you, puppycam.

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  65. Jolene said on November 5, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    Where is the puppies’ mama?

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  66. Scout said on November 5, 2008 at 6:16 pm

    Speaking as a member of the segment of the population whose personal life gets to be dictated to by the vote of strangers, may I please point out that calling it a “sexual preference” sets the whole thing up for the inevitable results?

    When we meet a mixed gender couple do our minds automatically go to what they may or may not do in bed? Mine doesn’t, and I suspect that most other people’s don’t either. When even well meaning people refer to my relationship as a “sexual preference” they are putting on public display something that everyone else is permitted to keep personal.

    PS – edited to give a shout out to Gasman for his comments on this subject. Thank you!

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  67. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    Moe99, you planning a bonfire tonight? The inhouse Brit will stifle those urges lest he set northeast LA on fire.

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  68. moe99 said on November 5, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    LA Mary, I could only dream of a bonfire. Seattle bans them. Tis one of my favorite memories of childhood, burning leaves and roasting marshmellows over the fire. Alas, I’ll not be able to enjoy that bittersweet odor again.

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  69. nancy said on November 5, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    Scout: Noted. It’s “sexual orientation,” then, right?

    All these terms get mixed up in my brain, but my heart’s in the right place.

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  70. LA Mary said on November 5, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    It is the traditional Guy Fawkes celebration, isn’t it? The in-house Brit is driving back from San Jose tonight, so I suggested he pull over on Interstate 5 and just start a little bonfire on the shoulder.

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  71. Linda said on November 5, 2008 at 9:21 pm

    I’ve only had one shelter pet, since I’m a cat person and they seem to just show up, or else get dumped on me by other people. So I’m in favor of people giving a home to an animal that is in dire need of one. However, there are so many rescue organizations for purebreds that if the Obamas want to have their cake and eat it (have a purebred and a rescue) they can easily do that.

    And I’ll say again, yah for the passage of Issue 5 in Ohio, putting limits on payday lending rates. And a great big raspberry to the payday lending industry for spending a ton of money on misleading ads.

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  72. grapeshot said on November 5, 2008 at 10:27 pm

    I am pleased to hear about some good news in Michigan, the state that I grew up in. I’m also flabbergasted about Indiana going blue. I grew up very close to South Bend, and was always saddened to see how decrepit northwest Indiana had slowly become. I am happy to see that voters there turned out and spoke up for themselves.

    Here in Wisconsin, the good news is that northeast Wisconsin went blue in a big way. This is a big deal as normally it is a red area. Our state assembly now has a Democratic majority, and our state senate increased its Democratic majority. So together with our Democratic governor, perhaps now we’ll get some real things done, instead of perpetually being balled up with culture wars. Best of all, our Congressional incumbent beat out the Republican opponent, holding on to his seat. This time he won by a larger margin than in the last election.

    All in all, it’s lovely to see a sea of blue wash over the upper midwest.

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  73. moe99 said on November 5, 2008 at 10:53 pm

    the long knives in the Republican party come out and things do not look pretty for Palin. She didn’t know Africa was a continent according to McCain insiders.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc

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  74. beb said on November 5, 2008 at 10:59 pm

    My Dad (Mishawaka, IN) has no love for Mitch because he stole the Toll Road’s income to pay for a by-pass around Indianapolis that (Dad says) wasn’t wanted even by Indianopolisians. All I know is that people on the toll road were laid off then the rates were doubled.

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  75. Dexter said on November 6, 2008 at 1:03 am

    Phillis Wheatley, “a Negro slave born in Africa…”, was the first American poet.
    IMAGINATION
    Imagination! who can sing thy force?
    Or who describe the swiftness of thy course?
    Soaring through air to find the bright abode,
    Th’ empyreal palace of the thundering God,
    We on thy pinions can surpass the wind,
    And leave the rolling universe behind.
    From star to star the mental optics rove,
    Measure the skies, and range the realms above;
    There in one view we grasp the mighty whole,
    Or with new worlds amaze th’ unbounded soul.

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  76. Gasman said on November 6, 2008 at 1:51 am

    moe99,
    That Fox news clip of Palin’s stupidity is stunning. She is even dumber than I thought and I already thought that she was a moron. More of the same from Bill O the Clown:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp96jpWUToo

    It sounds as if the Couric interview performance was entirely Palin’s fault; she simply refused to do any prep work. She was so smitten with herself that she assumed everyone else would be too. However, I can see why she didn’t know which nations were in NAFTA. I mean, there are so many to choose from.

    My strenuous assertions to her vapidity were met with scorn by our resident conservatives. Anybody still willing to offer odds on the likelihood of her ever being a national political figure again, let alone leader of the Republican Party?

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  77. alex said on November 6, 2008 at 7:54 am

    Scout, you said that well, better than I’ve been able to say it. It isn’t just the use of “preference” or “orientation” that keeps us marginalized, it’s all this focus on the “sexual.”

    I remember once reading about what Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz experienced while shopping around their pilot of “I Love Lucy” to the networks in the 1950s. Though the pilot dazzled the network brass with the duo’s comedic brilliance, the response they received was, and I paraphrase, “We can’t put that on the air. A marriage between a Cuban and a white girl can only be about one thing — sex. Most Americans aren’t free to enter into such a marriage and they’ll see this as an endorsement of lewdness.”

    Many in this country are still very backward when it comes to the idea of unions not forged by church and family, and that’s what this is really all about.

    I don’t fault Obama for not wanting to open this can of worms in an election year. He does in fact endorse equality of rights for gay people by whatever name one wants to put on it and I’m confident that “marriage” will ultimately be defined as the religious sacrament that it is and that the state will legally be obligated to grant domestic partnership licenses to all.

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  78. Kirk said on November 6, 2008 at 7:58 am

    Hey, it’s a little tough to worry about who’s in the NAFTA lineup when you can almost see the Kremlin from your bedroom window.

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  79. John said on November 6, 2008 at 8:17 am

    …that “marriage” will ultimately be defined as the religious sacrament that it is and that the state will legally be obligated to grant domestic partnership licenses to all.

    Alex,
    That is also my personal view on the “marriage vs. civil union” argument.

    Once again the Republicans get shot in the foot because of their 11th commandment, “Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican.” Perhaps that Alaskan train wreck would have never left the station if someone had the guts to be honest about her abilities.

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  80. Scout said on November 6, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    Back at you, Alex, for saying THIS better than I could have –
    ‘It isn’t just the use of “preference” or “orientation” that keeps us marginalized, it’s all this focus on the “sexual.” ‘ EXACTLY what I was trying to say.

    However, I am not advocating political correctness by making people get too hung up on terminology. My point is that I am just a regular person… I work, pay taxes, own a house, exercise, vote, blah blah blah. And I happen to be married (in our own eyes, anyway) to another woman. Something I totally forget makes me some kind of anomaly in certain circles until my private life is once again used as a political football.

    I appreciate the community here, it’s one who mostly ‘gets it’ and Nancy, that was sweet of you to try to sort it out.

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  81. John said on November 6, 2008 at 2:34 pm

    Something I totally forget makes me some kind of anomaly in certain circles until my private life is once again used as a political football.

    Scout, this is true for some aspect of nearly everyone’s life. The ability to have a private life is one of the best things America has to offer.

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  82. Laura said on November 11, 2008 at 9:46 am

    Yeah, a Jack Russell!!!! I have one and they’re great. Especially when they hop. It’s hilarious. and what a great photo op.

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