March 26, 2008
How Could They Possibly Screw This Up?
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't care much for politics. I follow it very generally, mostly because a lot of it is a combination of funny and sad.
That being said, I have but one question about the presidential election this year:
How could the Democrats have possibly screwed this up?
The outgoing president is wildly unpopular (by every poll I've seen). A lot of people are upset about the war in Iraq, gas is pushing $4 a gallon, the housing market is bad, and the economy is (apparently) tanking. Fairly or not, Bush (and by extension, Republicans in general) is blamed for everything.
Americans, wanting a change, will surely easily elect whatever numbskull the Democrats throw out there. Unless the Republicans manage to reincarnate Ronald Reagan, they will lose this election.
Or will they?
I think the Democratic Party may have blown their golden opportunity. They have narrowed their field down to the only two people in America who could not beat the Republicans. All they had to do was find a mediocre candidate with no skeletons in his or her closet who wasn't super-liberal. They didn't even really need someone that people would vote FOR...they just needed someone that people won't vote AGAINST.
Instead, the Democrat's candidate will be either the most disliked woman in America, or a man with very little political experience that half of America thinks is a terrorist in disguise. The squabbling and in-fighting between these two, which will probably extend up until their convention, has definitely not helped matters either. They'll probably end up with recounts and/or voting scandals at the convention.
It's amazing to me that Democratic voters have not realized this. Joe Schmoe could have won this election as a Democrat, but instead they're going to end up splintering their own party, and Republicans and independents will vote for McCain simply to vote against Obama or Hillary.
Of course, the Republicans aren't free of criticism either. At least they know who their candidate will be, but it's one that nobody is particularly excited about. McCain is very liberal for a Republican, and I just don't think a lot of people are really excited about him as a candidate. It's just the one they settled on.
You gotta love politics.
January 27, 2008
Stupid, Stupid Stores
So I went to Old Navy today, armed with a gift card that I got as an early birthday present, hoping to buy a zip-up fleece. I've seen them there before, and I liked the ones they have there and on their website, so I figured I'd pick one up.
Unfortunately, although my calendar says January 27, apparently theirs says it's May 27th. It was ridiculous. There were almost no winter clothes in the entire store, and most of those that they did have were on clearance (and for good reason). There was not a scrap of fleece in the store. It was all t-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, and short-sleeved shirts.
People always complain about stores putting out Christmas stuff before Halloween, but what about them putting out bathing suits in January? Seriously...who buys bathing suits in January? Who decided that it would be a bad idea to keep at least some clothes for the current season in stock in case someone decides they want something mid season?
I've never heard anyone say, "Gosh...it's almost the end of January! I'd better get moving on my summer wardrobe!" It's not as if this is the first time this has happened. Since I have a January birthday, I'm generally not allowed to buy anything for myself, including clothes, after October. By the time my birthday has passed, and I have birthday and Christmas money to spend on clothes, none of the stores have winter stuff anymore. It took me about three winters to finally find a coat a few years ago, because by the time it got cold enough to need it (December or January) each year, the stores had already stopped selling them.
When I am ruler of the world, one of the many changes I will make will be for stores to not start putting out shorts and bathing suits until March. They'll need to be out a few weeks ahead of Spring Break for all the kiddies, but that should be plenty of time. January and February will still be focused on winter clothes.