I Heart Ben Affleck (and Keith Olberman)

"As you know, throughout this campaign, I have repeatedly called for Senator McCain's arrest." Awesome.

Harrogate Endorses Barack Obama for President; and, a Happy Thursday Musical Tribute

Here you go, Andrew Sullivan. You can add this to your list of "stunning" endorsements.

Harrogate, after considering the many brilliant brain things in his head, Officially endorses Barack Obama for Presidency of the United States. For further explanation, see at least half of the posts that he has posted on this site in 2008.

Also, here's the song that Harrogate has listened to three times today already. It's really a wonderful song. He thinks Readers are familiar with it.

OMFG: Ed O'Neil Making a Little Rhetoric on Obama's Behalf

Harrogate has always liked Ed O'Neil. His performance in Blue Chips, for example, was astonishingly subtle, and contributed significantly to the movie's overall feel.

Nice to see him throwing back to the shoe salesman bit, here.

It also reminds us how old we are. Doesn't Married With Children seem like forever and a half ago?

Let's not forget about the current administration

This story on waterboarding prompts me to ask "Is anyone really surprised by anything the current administration does anymore?" I say let's line up all the politicians, George Bush included, who say that waterboarding isn't torture, and let them experience it for themselves. If after experiencing it for 15 minutes (which, I daresay, is a much shorter period than any of the 3 individuals whom the CIA now admits they used this "legal" form of questioning), they can still say it isn't torture, we can talk.

Here's a tip to the CIA, the FBI, the Republicans, and President Bush: if the tactic you favor was also used by the Spanish Inquisition, it probably is torture.

A Little Perspective

I'm not usually one to wax nostalgic about living in the U.S. In fact, I generally complain more about the state of our country than I praise it. That said, I'd like everyone at The Rhetorical Situation (especially in light of the recent/continual discussions of the upcoming presidential elections) and all of our faithful readers to take a minute to be glad that we live where we do. After all, we are permitted in this country to express our dissent with the government; yes, we may suffer some repercussions, but those repercussions do not include being bludgeoned to death with machetes. If the candidate whom we do not support gets elected, we have the right to protest and to complain, but we do go on with our lives, even when the candidate of choice gets elected in a questionable way.

Then, I'd like everyone to ponder this question: why do we, as a country, continue to involve ourselves in the affairs of the Middle East and continue to ignore the horrors taking place in Africa? Consider this headline: "One Month After Vote, Kenyan Toll Reaches 800." This is a topic I'd like to see all the candidates address.

Obama, Clinton, and Identity Politics

I wish I could have expressed my thoughts on the current focus on Obama's race and Clinton's gender as well as Judith Warner does in her weekly column. She raised a compelling question: can the left separate identity from politics? I have to agree with her: I'm not sure we can.

Introducing M

As Solon has graciously invited me to join The Rhetorical Situation, I decided I should introduce myself. I am M, and I typically blog on matters relating to motherhood, families, and academia over at Separation of Spheres. I occasionally venture into politics, and as the upcoming election draws closer, I expect that people will continue to piss me off and I will blog about politics more often. I will not, however, join Harrogate and Solon in there ongoing debates about all kinds of sports. Thanks for the invitation, Solon.