"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation."
-- Sarah Palin, North Carolina rally, October 16, 2008

So, let me get this straight. I grew up in a city, so by Governor Palin's standards, not actually in "real America." This means I do not live in a "pro-America" area of the country. Well, I'll be damned. You'd think that considering Baltimore's role in the War of 1812, and the freakin' fact that our national anthem was written here, we would be considered "pro-America." Do I have to move to a small town to be considered a real American now? Am I only American by geographical location? Please enlighten us, Sarah. I am neither a plumber, hockey mom, nor a beer drinker, so that might rule me out.

You know who's not "pro-America," Sarah? People who are members of political parties that advocate secession from the union. You might know a thing or two about that. This woman, she is so insulting.

You know, with as much as I talk politics, you'd think I'd have a political icon or two.

In happier news, I got bellydance swag from medievalmuse in the mail. Soooo shiny! I'm sure you'll see them in pics soon. Thank you for thinking of me. :)

Winter clothes and coat are here. I have to exchange two pairs of jeans 'cause like a dummy I ordered the wrong inseam. And one sweater just looked kinda funky, so I'm gonna get a dupe of one I loved in a different color.

But all things considered: whee!

1. Fuck you, McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer. People in Northern Virginia are in no way less Virginian than their Southern counterparts.

2. Fuck you, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, for spewing discord and suggesting that Congress and Barack Obama are "Anti-American."

3. Fuck you, Congressman Robin Hayes, for saying, and I quote: "Liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God."

4. Fuck you, Governor Sarah Palin, for your phony apology. You knew exactly what you were doing when you made those deplorable comments. You were playing a strategy. Just because it fucking backfired doesn't mean you get to pretend your remarks were misconstrued.

All in all, fuck this business where some of us are more 'American' than others. This is America we're talking about-- land of the free. The place where we pride ourselves on our supposed equality. I cannot stand this tactic of pitting small towns against bigger cities, implying that those of us who grew up in more urban areas somehow have fewer values and looser morals than those that grew up in farmland. We may have some different values, but that makes neither inherently bad nor worse than the other.

Fuck this business where one's religious affiliation, actual or rumored, defines how 'dangerous' someone might be. I do not want to go back to a fucking America where we have to escort a Muslim woman to the grocery store because some ignorant asshole would taunt her and call her a terrorist.

Fuck this business that because I'm a liberal I must be godless. I have Gods. They might not be yours, and that's okay. This is not a Christian nation-- crack a history book and you'll find that our Founding Fathers never ever intended it to be one, either.

Fuck this business that all conservatives are backwards asshats. I personally cannot stand John McCain and I think his policies are bullshit. This does not make all of his followers John McCain. In fact, these guys were pretty awesome.

A note to the McCain campaign: the America you are campaigning in is not a nation of white, straight, upper middle class conservatives. We have people of all races, ethnicities, religions, political affiliations, and sexual orientations. You do yourself no good trying to divide us and make us wary of one another. This hatemongering tactic is a symptom of extreme weakness at home-- it leaves us all the more vulnerable to attack by outside forces if we're already fighting ourselves. I don't believe one fucking word of the "reaching across the aisles"/ "bipartisan maverick" bullshit you've been spewing when these are the words coming from your candidates and supporters in Congress.

I am liberal, white, Pagan, and bisexual. I am middle class. I am a small business owner. I am a Democrat. I am American. Deal with it.

Let me leave you with a quote that soothed me as I was in the throes of a frothy rage.

"There are no real or fake parts of this country. We are not separated by the pro-America and anti-America parts of this nation -- we all love this country, no matter where we live or where we come from. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women from Florida and all across America who serve on our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America -- they have served the United States of America."
--Barack Obama