Mitt Romney has "suspended" his claw to the top. Today he
dropped out of the presidential race after spending an estimated $60 Million dollars of his own unearned money in the attempt. This leaves manhole-at-midnight-dark horse McCain as the Grand Old Party's most obvious contender for the 2008 election season. I'll bet Mitt tries to position himself to be the running mate- this news seems to have a back room deal in it somewhere. At last,
everything's coming up Milhouse for the Democrats.
Many people's distaste for McCain's
drifting principles notwithstanding, he has definitely become a very political creature in recent years and that can rule the day as often as not. McCain has gone from an attack dog in his own party to a lap dog for the neocons he once seemed to despise, affording him access to money that the American school system can only dream about. Here's a link to an
interview with McCain in which he states his desire to see and overturn of Roe vs. Wade. McCain, you'll read, had a very different take on this issue only a few years ago, defending a woman's right to choose. Many of his positions are new. I think they came with his new friends and supporters. He's so hungry for the office he's willing to be someone completely different to get the keys.
Democrats for Democracy in '08? Hillary Clinton has morphed from a shrill liberal woman who
would not compromise her beliefs to a shrill
conservative in liberal's clothing. Barack Obama seems to be the only choice for Dems who are
proud to be liberals.There is an old saying, reputed to be a Chinese curse phrase from antiquity:
"May you live in interesting times". In the spirit of that old proverb, I say that this year should be an interesting three-legged race for the button.
You know, Zac Efron is rumored to not only wear loads of makeup (lip gloss, by god!) but also often sports false eyelashes! Little girls have always loved feminine male teen idols, so I don't think any of that coming to light will affect Zac's earning power for the next couple of years. This is one of the most masculine photos of Efron a few minutes of Googling brought up.
One of "Basil's Beauties", the infamous Lena Hyena*
Basil himself.
The great Gus Arriola has died at the just-right age of ninety. His comic strip "Gordo" chronicled the life of a Mexican bean farmer turned tour guide, taking the occasional detour to follow Gordo's nephew Pepito, one of Gordo's family pets, or tell a story straight out of Mexican folklore. Impeccably drawn and sweetly good humored, "Gordo" ran from 1941 through 1985, finishing with Gordo's marriage to his longtime housekeeper. I had a collection of these strips, but it's been missing for years- a testament to Gordo and Arriola's appeal that a borrower would choose never to return it. None other than Charles Schulz declared Arriola's strip to be "probably the most beautifully drawn strip in the history of the business", and “My admiration for the drawing that Gus puts into Gordo knows no bounds. Gus can draw anything. Better than that, Gus can cartoon anything, and there is a world of difference.”
I just read on the wikipedia page that this comic was controversial in its early days. I had no idea. The fat, sombrero-wearing, siesta-taking stereotype didn't sit well with the Mexican and Mexican-American readership (and who would think that it would?) so Arriola changed things up a bit, slimming his hero down and bit and making him a more thoughtful character, deepening his personality and ultimately making him much more likable and popular. Arriola had recognized that Gordo had become one of the few high profile Mexican fictional characters, and that he had a responsibility to make him something more than a simple gag machine. What a great comic.
