Blog Master G

Daily Kos: “Okay, this is just a tiny story, but worthy of repeating. I magically found myself with an RNC Guest Pass today (moohoohoohaahaa), and so I made my way toward the Garden, herded along with many, many, hot, pissed-off New Yorkers. Eventually, security stripped away layers of the great unwashed, leaving me strolling along the sidewalk with GOP delegates and other various soul-sucking creatures from the depths of hell.”

The rest of the story is worth reading.

The Daily Kos is a site that I know is very popular, but one that hasn’t really been on my radar a whole lot. But I think I’ll start reading it. There seems to be good stuff there. And, in all honesty, it seems to have the appeal and readership that I would love to have on my own site one day.

The best and worst of tonight’s RNC:

The best: John McCain referring to Michael Moore as a “disingenuous filmmaker” and the crowd errupting in boos as Moore himself smiles, laughs, and chants (in response to the monotonous “four more years”), “two more months.” Yes, the man with arguably the biggest balls in America was in the den of the lions.

The worst: Exploiting 9/11 widows for political gain. Oh, wait, that’s been the plan all along by holding the convention in NYC just two weeks prior to the three-year anniversary of the attacks.

Nonstop coverage on C-SPAN.

In honor of the start of the Republican National Convention, which officially kicked off today, I present to you the average IQ and 2000 presidential election votes by state according to the Ravens Advanced Progressive Matrices:

Again demonstrating his mastery of the English language, Bush today declared the war in Iraq a “catastrophic success.” Huh? That’s like saying, “We rescued the decapitated man just in time!”

The Australian: “GEORGE W. Bush has admitted the US failed to plan for a speedy victory in Iraq, describing the sudden collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime as a ‘catastrophic success.’

“In a rare concession from the President, who dislikes admitting error, Mr Bush told Time magazine that his planners had not considered the prospect of a quick collapse.”

Yesterday marked a picture-perfect end to a great summer. It was warm and sunny when we walked to Saratoga Race Course for the 135th Travers Stakes million-dollar running, the biggest race of the year. It was shown live on ESPN. The sun shone brightly for most of the afternoon.

Then, as if the universe had written the perfect screenplay for this stunning Saratoga Springs summer day, the sky blackened, thunder boomed, lightning flashed to provide a striking backdrop just moments before the Travers, the 11th race of the day, commenced. Day quickly became night. The energy of the crowd was intense. We had the best spot in the house, right up against the fence next to where the race began.

I had lost some money on the previous two races on which I had bet, but my winnings in the Travers were as dramatic as the weather.

$10 Exacta Box on 5 and 6.

Horse 5: Birdstone, owned by Saratoga socialite Mary-Lou Whitney, upset Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown attempt this year when he cruised to victory in the Belmont.

Horse 6: The Cliff’s Edge, whom I didn’t know much about except what I learned yesterday morning in the Times Union. Matt Graves called him to win, and I had a good feeling about him.

I had $4 on The Cliff’s Edge to win, but I just couldn’t overlook the fact that the horse that beat Smarty Jones was also running. Hence the $10 Exacta Box.

The race ended with an exhilarating photo finish that gave Birdstone the win and The Cliff’s Edge the place. As a downpour errupted from the heavens, I cashed in my winning ticket and came home $116 richer.

[ Watch a video of the race ]

As the big winner of the day, I ended up buying about 50 bucks of drinks for the gang, but it was worth it. I’m anything but a high roller, so it was the most I’ve ever won, trumping the $75 I scored at the blackjack table in Vegas this year.

After the races, we walked home in the downpour for a delicious BBQ dinner and margaritas. Then we cruised into town for drinks at Tiz Now and DA’s before hitting the party at Joe’s place. By 3am when we walked back home, Caroline Street was like Mardi Gras, with people packed from wall to wall. We had a final round at Nine Maple, then called it a night.

It was a banner end to an awesome first summer here in Saratoga Springs.

[ Saratogian | Times Union ]

View all Travers party photos

This is awesome. And apparently I’m only two degrees from one of the climbers who got arrested for this:

Gabe -> Dan -> climber

Plaza Hotel, New York City
August 26, 2004

Extended and poignant excerpts from Where Is The Shame? (New York Times): “In what is surely the most important election of the last half-century, we seem trapped in the politics of the madhouse. What is incredible is that these attacks on men who served not just honorably, but heroically, are coming from a hawkish party that is controlled by an astonishing number of men who sprinted as far from the front lines as they could when they were of fighting age and their country was at war.
…
“I would like to see at least some of these men, in keeping with their positions as leaders of a great nation, stand up and say it is wrong – just wrong – to try and reap a cheap political gain by defacing the sacrifices of individuals like John Kerry, John McCain and Max Cleland, who put themselves in mortal danger in the service of their country.

“It’s one thing to decline to serve. It’s quite another to throw mud at those who did serve – or to remain silent as allies hurl the mud.

“I’ve interviewed several soldiers and marines who have suffered grave wounds in Iraq, including the loss of limbs. A permanent place of honor should be reserved for them in the pantheon of American heroes. The idea that someone some years from now may trash their service for political gain is beyond disgusting.”

In other news, praise from Alan for my willingness to listen to his point of view on the world. To me, a given. I give him props for his willingness to listen to me, too. What angers me is people who just refuse to listen to other points of view and cut each other off without exploring views that may be different than their own. (Everyone, regardless of political views, should really see Fahrenheit 9/11.) From the mouth of F. Scott Fitzgerald (and included on my quotes page): “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

It’s been a busy social week and will continue to be so. Wednesday morning I joined David and Mary and their kids for a refreshing breakfast at the track while watching the horses warm up for the day’s races. Last night Nat and Heather came over for some BBQ chicken and salmon dinner. And tomorrow Alex, Catty, and Justin join us for Travers weekend at the “most idyllic track in the United States,” dinner fun, and perhaps even some bocce ball.

I’d like to welcome my old buddy Alan Manning to the world of blogging. He writes that I inspired him to get his blog online. I’m flattered. He also responds directly to some of my recent posts (here and here).

We obviously see the world differently, but I’m glad that Alan has stepped forward with a willingness to debate some of the issues facing this country today. If you’re looking for a different take on politics than I offer here, check out Alan’s blog.

(Now this means you’ll have to continue what you’ve started, Alan!)

Demands unmet, Swedish militants decapitate fiberglass cow: “A shadowy group of militant Stockholmers carried out their threat to ‘execute’ a fiberglass life-size cow after their demand that ‘Cow Parade,’ an outdoor art exhibit, be dismantled was not met, organizers said.

“‘We have received the cow cut into pieces in a bag. It’s really sad. There’s no way of repairing it,’ Cow Parade spokeswoman Helene Cederberg told AFP.'”

(Thanks, David, for the link.)

ABCNews.com: “Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry picked New York City, host to next week’s Republican National Convention, to urge the GOP to abandon negative attacks and debate solutions to problems facing voters.”

Now there’s a novel concept.

The fact that Bush and Co. (along with the media) have spent so much time focusing on this ridiculous issue questioning Kerry’s wartime record is evidence that it’s the most serious thing challenging the self-proclaimed “wartime president.” I think it may be a step in the right direction that Bush called for the independent ads to stop. But I just don’t trust the guy. Something tells me he’s more concerned about the force that is MoveOn.org than he is about getting the Swift Boat group to stop its campaign.

Don’t miss Kerry tonight on the Daily Show…