McCain: not the sharpest tool

"In the 21st century nations don't invade other nations." --John McCain on Russia's military action against Georgia, Birmingham, Mich., Aug. 13, 2008

"The fact is we had four years of failed policy. We were losing. We were losing the war in Iraq. The consequences of failure and defeat of the United States of America in the first major conflict since 9/11 would have had devastating impacts throughout the region and the world." --forgetting the war in Afghanistan, which was launched in October 2001, CBS News interview, July 21, 2008

"We have a lot of work to do. It's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border." --referring to a border that does not exist, ABC News interview, July 21, 2008

"I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia." --referring to a country that no longer exists, Phoenix, Arizona, July 14, 2008

"I will conduct a respectful debate. Now, it will be dispirited -- it will be spirited -- because there are stark differences. I am a proud conservative, liberal Republica-- conservative Republican...Hello? Easy there!"

Pretty women

In light of the recent L'Oréal-bleaching-Beyoncé-discussion on the web I started to think about my own standards for beauty. I don't particulary find the Beyoncé of the ad beautiful yet this is exactly the kind of action that sparks the discussion about standards of beauty that average women can never meet and leaves us insecure about our own appearance.

I asked my husband about his top five beautiful women. Now he is very emancipated in his attitudes towards women. When I met him and his friends I actually was pretty flabbergasted about their attitude towards women because it's so respectful. Maybe they're a strange bunch, they don't watch porn, they don't talk in a derogatory way about women, their views on shared responsibilities are the dream of every hardcore feminist. Or maybe they're just part of the new generation of men: they fulfill every stereotype when it comes to typically male things (sports, games, movies, hate to go shopping etc.) but they're so secure in their own skin that there's no need for them to hold up stereotypes about women. They're comfortable with a woman being whatever she wants to be herself.

Maybe that is reflected in his choice of beautiful women:

1. Liv Tyler

2. Rosario Dawson

3. Uma Thurman

4. Rachel Weisz

5. Cate Blanchett

I like his list, these are all women who look like they're real. I mean, you can imagine their lives being about more than their appearance. Their beauty is just a small part of who they really are.

But I asked him why he left Angelina Jolie of his list. Surely she should be on any list of beautiful women? 'No', he said, 'she's just incredibly sexy, there is a difference, but I'm not sure how to explain that difference. You've got the sexy women and you can look at them and enjoy that and there are beautiful women and you look at them and you're drawn to them.'
His list of beautiful women is pretty similar to my list. I would have chosen Lauren Graham over Rachel Weisz and Angelina Jolie over Uma Thurman, but I like his standard of beauty and I don't feel insecure when I compare myself to these women. I will never look like them, but my life, like theirs, is about more than my appearance.

Some articles I enjoyed recently...

Silent Posting
Is Obama the end of black politics?
Don’t ask, don’t tell, but Alan Rogers was a hero to everyone who knew him.
The Truth Will Not Set You Free

And two older articles from the New Yorker, just because I re-read them and remembered how good they really are...

Fidel’s Heir: The influence of Hugo Chávez.
The Fall of Conservatism: Have the Republicans run out of ideas?