Back in 1993, somebody decided to make a movie based on Super Mario Bros. Just watch the first 62 seconds of the film to get an idea the quality of the film. It then quickly deteriorates.

First Geraldine Ferraro says this:

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

In response to the inevitable backlash, she defended herself:

"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up," Ferraro said. "Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?"

It's stupid, that's what. How does saying people only like Barack Obama because he is a black man equate to "let's address reality reality and the problems we're facing in this world"?

For the record, I do not deny that mainstream media's coverage of this election has been heavily biased, and I do not deny that society has been unfairly critical for aspects of Clinton's character that, if she were male, would be largely ignored. But I think people calling Ferraro out on this one are largely accurate. She should really know better.

With regards to New York Governor Spitzer's revelation that he was involved in a prostitution ring, the Director of the Republican Governors Association, Nick Ayers made this astute comment:

"The governor of New York should immediately resign from office and allow the people of New York to pursue honest leadership. The American people are tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians. The governor of New York is just another in the long list of politicians that have failed their constituents"

We are very tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians. Remind me again what happened in 2006.

Here's an offer for Ayers: I'll denounce mine if you denounce yours.

Photo from the The Associated Press

There's been a lot of talk about the photos of Barack Obama wearing traditional Somali while on a visit to Kenya. Most of the controversy is focused on whether the emails were forwarded by members of Hillary Clinton's campaign as a smear. I doubt Clinton had anything to do with it, and if she did, then shame on her, but that isn't my point here.

What scares me about this is that people still consider this to be such a negative thing. That Americans still consider association with Islam to a negative factor in 2008 shows how vulnerable our nation is to racial and religious prejudices. We marginalize gays, wax misogynistic about the first potential female president, and think references to lynching African-Americans can be made casually. Have the lessons of the Civil Rights Era been lost on us already?

Remember back when Keith Ellison wanted to be sworn in on the Quran and the conservatives had a fit over it because it somehow "undermines American civilization?" Remember when Barack Obama had to struggle to defend himself against allegations that he was a Muslim? He stood by his Christian convictions, and the controversy has largely died away, but it still angers me that people feel such hatred toward Muslims that the idea of him being a Muslim would even be a issue.

Women, gays, and minorities have suffered so much under our system of prejudice, and we learn nothing. Instead of ending the injustices, we blame rape victims and downplay the dangers gay youth face every day, and I'm getting sick of it. It's time we grew up.

This was from the Associated Press:

NEW YORK (AP) — Even though Mike Huckabee is still battling for the Republican presidential nomination despite long odds, he said Saturday he won't "overstay his welcome." Then he did precisely that, lingering on the "Weekend Update" set of "Saturday Night Live" despite repeated cues to leave the stage.

The former Arkansas governor appeared in a "Weekend Update" segment in which he described his confusion over whether it is mathematically impossible for him to win the nomination over front-runner John McCain. After anchorman Seth Meyers explained the numbers, Huckabee responded: "I'm not a math guy, I'm more of a miracle guy. So at this point I'm gonna focus on the miracle part."

However, he said: "Mike Huckabee does not overstay his welcome. When it's time for me to go, I'll know. And I'll exit out with class and grace."

Then he remained seated at the "Update" desk even though Meyers made it clear it was time for him to leave.

This was published after SNL aired on the East Coast and before I got to watch it here in Portland. The article made it seem as though Huckabee had actually not understood he needed to leave the stage, when the sketch made it pretty clear that it was scripted. Did the AP actually fail to pick up on this? They could have fooled me.

Speaking of Huckabee, the guy scares the crap out of me, but he did a pretty good parody of his religious rhetoric.

Sometimes I get offending listening to conservatives. Other times I just laugh:

This is Leslee Unruh, President of the Abstinence Clearinghouse, a pretty big Evangelical organization promoting abstinence-only education. She is also an idiot, apparently.

BONUS VIDEO!!!!

Cool, I can make the player change colors!

So, I was checking my RSS feeds, and discovered a new Snopes.com article about Barack Obama apparently not placing his hand over his heart during the national anthem. Personally, I do not give a crap about what he does with his hands, as long as he is respectful. No, what bugged me about the video is the singing:

People are freaking out how Obama is so unpatriotic, but does no one care about the woman "singing" the song? What the hell is she trying to accomplish? If an eighteen-year-old computer geek who hasn't taken choir in over a year can sing better than you, there is a problem.

Seriously, I am more offended by the people who did put their hands over their hearts. I would have put mine in my ears.

At the FIRST Robotics Championship in Atlanta, we had some woman come out and sing an overly-glamourized pop version of the song. Is this our idea of respecting the nation? Would it seriously kill anyone to sing it correctly? Sheesh.

Bart Simpson took a journey to Hanover:

The scandal has put the community at odds. They either scold the students for making poor choices or question the extreme competitiveness that could spark cheating.

Community members scrutinize police motives as well, wondering whether their tough stance is really a carefully orchestrated attempt to show impartiality toward privileged kids. (A doctor, professor, hospital president and journalist are reportedly among the parents.)

Mike Rotch, a junior, said the students deserve to be punished by their principal rather than a prosecutor.

"I think they are coming down hard. I mean, cheating is bad, but it's not like it's unheard of anywhere in America," he said.

New Hampshire Split Over High School Cheating, NPR

Really, the reporter should been smarter than this.

Interesting product placement, Microsoft.

(For those of you wondering, Word likes to suggest what you mean to type so you can autocomplete it, and that is what it thinks I mean by "off.")