In re Womyn's "Health" Care

I, for one, thought the recent performance by John McCain at the last debate was downright appalling, especially his use of women's health in air quotes. Sort of like using air quotes while saying the universal suffrage movement in the early 20th century was women's "liberation."

Would McCain get away with that one? Given his previous record of being slightly more aware of women's health concerns, McCain seems to have lost major ground on this topic, but of course, isn't that the same across his platform? I don't mean this in the pejorative sense that's bandied about a lot these days, but McCain is such a visibly old man, in his actions, behavior and willingness to sacrifice his "integrity" for political stature. I recall the same was true for W. in 2000 and 2004.

That said, there were plenty of gaffes last evening that I thought put McCain in such a poor light, and I wished Obama would have been more active in asserting those falsehoods. All in all, in my own opinion, Obama proved again to be a capable politician and an assertive, albeit sometimes too cordial debater. But that's enough from me on the topic; too often, I find that many people are prone to providing critical analysis beyond their knowledge, and that's just as foolish as those who pretend to know and direct public policy.

Although I will say this: see "Religulous," by Bill Maher. I know there is a sizable number of people who think Maher is brash, arrogant and that he commits the exact foolish act I just described; however, that conclusion ignores the premise of "Religulous" and of Maher's philosophy.

The fact is, as Maher asserts, we don't know what's out there. I can say that I'm an atheist because there is no proof that a god does or does not exist, but it remains that, well, I don't hold any dogmas about it. In the scope of things, it doesn't matter to what opinions we hold our personal philosophies and way of life.

What matters is when people contend they "talk" to their god, and then act in that god's name or will. The history of humanity is driven by gods, the gods of myth and finance, the gods that others create and we consume. It's one of our deepest and most historical attributes, the will to believe in the unbelievable.

For finance, we can see the charade when the system trips or collapses, but for religion, well, we only see the catastrophic death wrought by fanatic belief and lack of reasoned dialogue. And that's not a leap of judgment: it's evident in our world that dogmatic belief in religion, be it mythical, financial, political. I think Maher treats the subject deftly and concludes his film succinctly with a serious call to getting people to the table and working out a sustainable future.

Well, that shouldn't spoil the film at all. Go see it!

As far as life, it's going pretty well. I'm still searching for a permanent social scene in D.C. Everyone tends to be very busy here -- even the weekends seem like matters of business! Flitting here, there, going out of town there and now and later, and I'm left here many times to read and write, two activities I've been meaning to do for a long time now. I've met a few creative people here in D.C., which gives me hope for the short term that I won't be bereft of active minds in a sea of busybodies.

Maybe after I figure out how poor I will be in November as I begin paying back thousands of dollars in student loans, I should go to N.Y. The weather is perfect for it. Who would be willing to house a poor man like me? I will provide drinks, good cheer and some of my business cards cut up and fashioned into a carnation-rose-hydrangea bouquet.