An ad for the morning-after running mate pill. For when you wake up and regret the running mate you picked in a moment of passion.

Patrick just called me to communicate the results of Raphael's 4-month physical. the highlights:

->Raphael is over 15 lbs now, despite the fact that he continues to spit up what seems like everything he eats. R, you can stop that anytime and that would be fine.

->He is at the 60th percentile for length and weight. 80th percentile for head circumference. because he is smart.

->he's four months, but is doing everything that six-month-olds should be doing. And has been for what, a month now? He's been laughing since he was two months; rolling over and standing-when-you-balance-him since three months. Maybe they just lie to you about the benchmarks so that everyone feels that his/her child is exceptional. All I have to say is that if Raphael is a physical prodigy he is not getting it from me, yo.

->he got four shots, which he did not enjoy.

me: you lacksidasical parent. didn't you know that children who are vaccinated get autism?
Patrick: yeeeeah, I heard about that.
me: but you know what they don't get? Measles.

also, last night I took a bath with Raphael and it was really nice. he's cuddly. he did not throw up in the bathtub. yay!

Blackberry unveils a touchscreen phone to compete w/the iphone.

I am really hoping this is significantly competitive with the iphone. Because I think that Apple is acting absolutely despicably in not allowing people to choose phone plans for the iphone and forcing people to pay ridiculous monthly phone costs. I would very much like an iphone or iphone equivalent, but I'm not interested in being apple's bitch.

after all this boring political talk, I bet you guys want to hear about something more interesting and exciting. like how much I weigh.

Good news is: I fit into my pre-pregnancy pants again. some of them aren't too comfortable yet, but patience, grasshopper. It takes time to lose weight when you're not willing to diet or exercise at all.

I am hovering around 8-10 pounds up from my pre-pregnancy weight. since my pre-pregnancy weight was 108, and part of the extra is surely my nursing boobs, I look pretty much back to normal. seriously I think the remaining weight is not really fat, but instead is just extra skin from the pregnancy. That takes time to go away.

At one point in the debate last night, McCain referred to Obama as "that one." People are talking of it as immature of McCain, scornful, condescending, etc.

I have another theory.

I think McCain actually just couldn't remember Obama's name for a minute there.

There are some people who are as sharp as ever at 72. then there are some who forget, e.g., that Iraq doesn't border Pakistan... that Iranians tend to be Shiite and Al Qaeda is Sunni... and their opponent's name.

I just have one thing to say about last night's debate, and happily someone already made an image of it.



...seriously. He said "my friends" at least once in every single response. wtf. Add "my friends" to the list of phrases/words banned in debate from now on.

other than that, I thought the debate was pretty dull really. no one really impressed me or amusingly imploded. I'd heard everything they said before. I did think it was funny how McCain glommed onto that naval officer answering his question at the end. McCain practically humped the guy's leg.

McCain says he will finance his proposed health care plan by... cutting Medicare and Medicaid.

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

wow. not only does McCain want to privitize social security (because the market is safe! oh wait...) he ALSO wants to CUT MEDICARE?

be sure to tell every senior you know about this. hopefully the AARP will also tell every senior you know.

Drug companies cave, saying that OTC cold meds shouldn't be used on kids under 4.

"It's a huge step forward," said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner. "There is no evidence that these products work in kids, and there is definitely evidence of serious side effects."

wtf? is this guy serious? As a parent I can tell you that there is DEFINITE evidence that these products work in kids. like, kids being able to breathe, and runny noses ceasing. apart from the OBVIOUS fact that children are human and have the same systems adults have. they're not magically immune from medication.

I cannot be the only parent freaking out at the prospect of not having cold mediciations to give to my suffering children.

to paraphrase another guy: When cold medicine is outlawed, only outlaws will have clear sinuses.

The Humane Society endorses Obama. They've never endorsed a presidential candidate before.

I think this officially means that a vote for Obama saves a puppy, while a vote for McCain drowns a kitten.

Also, here is an awesome story showing what a decent human being Barack Obama is. an American woman in Norway recounts how once, in 1988, at an airport, she was unable to pay an unexpected baggage overage charge and faced having to give up a suitcase's worth of possessions. But a random stranger in line behind her volunteered to pay the $100 charge for her. The random stranger was Barack Obama.

He was my knight in shining armor, says Mary, smiling.
She paid the 103 dollars back to Obama the day after she arrived in Norway. At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker in Chicago, and had started his law studies at prestigious Harvard university.

That is just such a huge contrast with the complete and total jerkiness that is John McCain.

It's just, wow, watching the conservative commentators try to spin the Palin performance like she was excellent by just forming complete sentences. In an apparent attempt to complement Palin, Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal says "[Palin] is not a person of thought but of action."

uh. that's great. I'd love to have a VP (or G-d forbid a President) who just ACTS WITHOUT THINKING. Oh wait, that's what we've had for the past eight years.

Seriously, Palin really is just another Bush. She uses "folksy" to try to distract from the fact that she is ignorant and uninterested in learning. It's not just that she doesn't know anything about national or foreign policy, but it's also that she doesn't think she needs to learn anything - she thinks she'll just do whatever her gut tells her and that'll be fine, like she's magically going to make the right decisions without actually knowing or understanding anything. Bush has been trying that for eight years.
Guess what! It doesn't work!

here is an amusing commentator just as amazed as I am about this.

If I were the moderator on these pres/vp debates, these would be my rules:

1) no one is allowed to use the terms "kitchen table," "main street," or "maverick." Anyone saying one of these words will receive a short electric shock. You are allowed to use "change" (since it's too common of a word to ban) but not in a stupid way.

2) No one is allowed to blather about unrelated issues without first answering the question at hand. Anyone in violation of this rule will receive a short electric shock and a humiliating "boo" from the audience.

3) I get to ask follow up questions because otherwise no amount of electric shocks will get straight answers out of you people.

4) after the fact-checking, there will be an award for honesty given out to the candidate who lied the least.

5) no flag lapel pins. seriously, that flag lapel pin nonsense embarasses us all.

Palin performed much like I'd expected - I'd hoped for a crash-and-burn, but in the back-and-forth, no-follow-up-question format I doubted that would happen.

The real surprise to me was how well Biden did. He really did great. I was terrified that he'd stretch the truth or make one of his trademark gaffes, but he was totally together, clear, calm but strong. Palin sniped at him a lot, but he almost always refused to go down to her level. I think that by the end she looked nasty and he looked principled, above that kind of thing.

I think her folksy act was way over-the-top, too. trying really really hard. you'd have to be a moron not to see through it. Also I think it's pretty creepy that she said Biden's wife's "reward is in heaven" given that Biden's first wife died tragically. she probably didn't mean it that way, but still, insensitive!

Obama is finally polling ahead in Ohio and Florida. Happy New Year. ;)

These states are tough for Obama because part of the Jewish base in Florida thinks he's a Muslim and part of the labor base in Ohio doesn't like black people. It will probably be impossible to convince the paranoid section of the Jews in Florida that Obama is not Muslim and equally impossible to convince the racist section of the labor base in Ohio that black people are ok. so we just have to hope that McCain keeps shooting himself in the foot.

The Supreme Court meme

Gacked from gremlingirl:

In an upcoming interview with Katie Couric to be aired this week, Sarah Palin is unable to name any Supreme Court Case other than Roe v. Wade.

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic, to your lj. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) FListers, please take the meme to your LJ to spread the fun.

tbh this is kind of hard for me, because while I've obviously read, discussed, outlined, written about, and cited a jillion supreme court cases, I am terrible about remembering the names. I remember the stories and the points, but not the names. Fondly I recall all those early commerce clause cases about Pure Wholesome Milk, and the many cases slowly eviscerating antitrust law (or at least, making it really really subjective). I remember the property cases about This Whale Is My Whale and the one where everyone was fighting over a frikkin fox corpse. But I don't remember any of their names.

So the one I'll pick is Whalen v. Roe, which is a case wherein the Court hinted that there was a general protection for medical records privacy. Though not violated in that case. The circuit courts have almost all extended some constitutional protection to medical records on this basis.

Sarah Palin was married - or rather, eloped suddenly - on August 29, 1988.

Her son Track was born April 20, 1989.

countless bloggers have already done the math: either Track was born substantially premature (at 7 1/2 months gestation) or he was conceived out of wedlock.

don't get me wrong, I'm the last person to condemn a little premarital sex or an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Thing is, Sarah Palin is the FIRST person to condemn these things. It's just that she's chosen to hypocritically condemn such things after-the-fact, which is so Dr. Laura lame. And also sad, because srsly, an elopement in response to pregnancy? is so 50s. The most you can say is that Sarah Palin oppresses herself too, not just other women.

l'shana tovah tikateivu :) happy new year.

I should be doing Rosh Hashanah stuff today, but I'm observing the second day instead. we should really only have to observe one day IMO. the two-day thing is dumb.

here is a new year's present for you:

“Senator Obama and his allies in Congress infused unnecessary partisanship into the process,” Mr. McCain said, before adding in almost the same breath: “Now is not the time to fix the blame. It’s time to fix the problem.”

lol.

(as an aside, Obama's been trying to take a hands-off approach to the bailout so as not to hinder the process; McCain's attempt to seize the spotlight and take credit for bailout legislation, in contrast, may have hindered the bill by making Democrats more reluctant to vote for it.)

so far, the since-the-debate polling indicates that Obama has pulled a little further ahead. On NPR Cokie Roberts speculated that this may have to do with people feeling more comfortable with Obama after having seen him debate a bit. Getting a better feel for him, etc.

Me, I think it's because Obama wore a flag lapel pin, and McCain did not. also, Obama had the better tie. Patrick had some stern words to say about McCain's tie.

Best part of the debate: the ridiculous bracelet-off.

Best live-blogging of the debate: gremlingirl's, hands down. It is amazing how she transformed the dull debate into hilariousness.

seriously, I have no idea how these debates hit people till afterwards. Listening to McCain, who spouts condescendion and dishonesty and half-truths, who (unsuccessfully, IMO) tries to twist everything Obama says, just makes me yell at the TV and want to hit something. I know this is not the universal reaction so I just have to wait for the polls.