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After McCain loses this election, can we perhaps charge him with some kind of felony for inciting violence against Barack Obama? Seriously, his supporters are getting downright scary, and the constant “he’s a terrorist” trash talk from McCain and Caribou Barbie has long since passed the point where the Secret Service needs to give them a serious talking-to. It strikes me as more than inappropriate, cowardly, and divisive (though it is all of those things). It has actually become dangerous. Maybe even treasonous.

Andrew Sullivan and Joe Klein nail it pretty well.

Apologies for not posting in over a week. I was in Vegas. VEGAS, BABY! Yeah, Vegas. My luck was not so great - other than a winning session at blackjack and a mediocre win on slots, I mostly lost for four straight days. I used to be such a good poker player, I don’t know what happened to me - oh yeah, now I remember. I had a kid and stopped playing poker!

Anyway, the highlight of my trip was two visits to the Qua spa at Caesar’s Palace (where we were staying). I’ll have to do a whole separate post on that later. This is a quick update though just to share something funny that my brain just did.

I saw this headline in my Google Reader, for a post on WoW Insider:

“Don’t panic: Paladin changes in Beta build 9014″

And I read that as:

“Don’t panic: Palin changes in Beta build 9014″

If you think about it, um…hilarious! Except if Sarah Palin really was a Stepford candidate or a robot, I’d think they could program her to seem a little smarter. Hopefully the changes in the upcoming Palin beta build will include scanning in some facts on historical Supreme Court cases and telling her the name of a major newspaper or two in her own home state, so that she won’t have to stutter like an idiot next time someone asks her what news sources she reads.

Beta, indeed.

As expected, those shoes were waiting for me Friday evening, and I took all weekend to consider their merits and decide which, if any, I was going to keep; and which to send back.

By the way, both shoes came with dust covers. The Apepazzas came with one dust bag for both shoes, and the Borns came with a dust bag for each shoe. And in these reviews, when I say I “walked around” in the shoes I mean indoors, of course. Otherwise I can’t return anything!

Apepazza “Giordana” in Antique Black

- Pros: really glitzy, very sexy, I just love the way these things look. Perfect heel vs. platform height. Perfect for Vegas!
- Cons: not very comfortable. Not horrible, but not soft inside at all. Worst aspect: they have a “thong” type strap that goes between the big and second toe. It’s impossible to see in the pictures (or honestly I’d never have ordered them - I can’t wear thong shoes at all) and it’s quite stiff.

After walking around and trying to decide if I could get used to the toe “thong” thing, I decided that no, I probably couldn’t. Also, while they’d look cute in Vegas, it’s hard to imagine getting much use out of them otherwise. The rare times that I do go out, I have other shoes I can wear; and they’re a little over the top for work.

Verdict: They go back.

Born “Jersey” in Black Patent

- Pros: it’s called patent, but this leather is actually much softer than any patent leather I’ve seen, so the uppers are quite comfortable. The footbed is very padded and soft - it’s like walking on a cloud! Very comfortable. They fit perfectly. And they are really cute and MUCH sexier in person than they look in the pictures.
- Cons: only one con, and that’s that the heel is higher than what I’m used to. Even with the platform, the heel to platform ratio makes them quite high, and while I don’t think it will make my feet hurt (they’re so padded and comfortable); and I can still walk in them (thanks to the mostly wedge shape); I think it puts a strain on my bad ankle.

I walked around in these quite a bit too, deciding if the heel is too high. I really think I can get used to it.

Verdict: I’m keeping them!

Another happy shoe ending, courtesy of Zappos.com. And no - they don’t pay me. I just ADORE the site. To me, it’s exactly what ecommerce should be - amazing selection, outstanding customer service, tons of information about every product, and nearly instant gratification.

(Edited to fix links and add a tag.)

I’m no fan of conservative columnist Bob Novak; in fact, I think he’s a giant asshole. Politically, on policy, and on social issues, I think he’s misinformed, misogynist, and ignorant. But do I wish him dead?
Christ on a crutch, NO.

See, there’s this thing called humanity, and we all share it. Even those of us who are opinionated, ignorant blowhards who flout the law and are so full of ourselves there’s little room for anything else. Tonight I read Novak’s column for the Post where he talks about the status of his brain tumor. My only thoughts, when I first read his frank account, were “My God, how terrifying that must be.” Then I thought, “I hope he can find some hope; nobody deserves to die from cancer - NOBODY.”

The only thing that bothered me about the column were Novak’s references to his own surprise at how kindly he is being treated, especially by those he has disagreed with in the past. You know what? I hope that’s maybe a lesson to him, if he does manage to beat this thing and survive. Yeah, he’s been nothing but a dick to Ted Kennedy (and all the Kennedy family, really) for years - yet Ted’s wife Vicki was not only polite, but gracious and supportive when he spoke to her about treatment options. He expresses mild surprise at how professionally and courteously he was treated at Duke University, where he had neurosurgery, in spite of the fact that he has “no use for” Duke’s basketball team or their fans.

Maybe Bob needs to learn a little bit about humanity, too. Sure there are some commenters on his piece who spew useless vitriol and take him to task for all his past offenses. There are a few crazies who say he deserves cancer and worse and express glee at his suffering. It’s easy to say such horrible, controversial, inhumane things on the Internet, where we’re mostly anonymous. I’m betting that 99% of those commenters would never say things like that to his face, or to his family, were they to meet in person.

I would never say anything like that to someone simply because I disagree with them, and I honestly feel like most people out there, most human beings, feel the same way. Because at heart, people (most people) are decent. They don’t want to see others suffer needlessly. Maybe they, like me, just want to see people learn from their experiences, be open-minded, and embrace humanity, in all its diverse and sometimes infuriating incarnations.

So, Mr. Novak, I wish you only the best. Please survive to piss me off another day.

Barack Obama is 1,000 kinds of awesome. And so is this: