First things first.

I watched the debates. Twice. First on PBS and then on FOX. A couple of observations:

• Dick DeVos is frighteningly similar to G.W.B. From the cadence of his voice to that deer in headlights look he gets when he's halfway through something he's saying but he realizes he actually has no idea what he's saying because alot of what he's saying is substance-less catchphrases.
• Jennifer Granholm flung mud. I thought it was cheap and unnecessary.
• Granholm talked substance and numbers; DeVos talked vaguely and sweepingly.

I guess because he framed the race I never thought about how silly it is that she's campaigning on 4 years as governor and he's campaigning on years of being the CEO of a company. Apples and oranges, people, that'd be apples and oranges. He's doing a pretty good job of making it seem as if she's just not doing enough when in reality there's very little she can do with things like trade agreements and various constitutional issues. It was interesting to watch the 2 of them frame this nationally--name dropping Trent Lott and Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton. It's sad really that state elections-where everyday citizens have the most power-are usually overlooked and instead of focusing on issues that are important to the people candidates still feel the need to make things bigger and feel more inaccessible.

The biggest scariest thing?

The similarities between DeVos and G.W.B. aren't just in their ratfaced appearance. G.W.B. had zero political experience before becoming governor of Texas. He was governor for only 5 years before he became president. He was a made politician by the Republican Party. He came from a family of unbelievable privilege and yet still managed to capture the good ol'boy vote by seeming to be down to earth.

Michigan does not want to be the state that launched DeVos' national political career. Because no one spends 20 million dollars of their own money to stop at the governor's seat. He's got his eye on something much bigger.

Second things second:

I'm sick of hearing about Foley. I hate to think that the only reason we're going to win back the house this year is because a very sad gay man acted inappropriately. I hate the moral hypocrisy of the right as much as anyone. But I hate the left's hypocrisy just as much. We were so pissed about Clinton. And here we are doing the same thing.

Third things third:

The DVD release party was a success. We had fewer people than expected which we're chalking up to some publicity confusion and the fact that it was rated PG-13. Which is totally the way to go. I don't think I can fully express the huge difference between a G rated film where parents drop off 5 year old kids or stay to "watch" the movie and then talk loudly to other parents leaving kids the impression that it's okay to be disrespectful or little animals who throw popcorn and run in and out of the auditorium willy-nilly. Unfortunately the rest of the movies are all PG or G so I got to ease into things, but I'm sure chaos is right around the corner.

Fourth things fourth:

It's not a cold. It's the weather. It's stress. It's allergies.

I'm not sick.