Queen of Spain Blog

I Played Basketball AND Softball. Trump That Palin!

September 18, 2008 by Queen of Spain 13 Comments

In my home state, where I played varsity basketball for four years, Senator John McCain saw fit to bring up his running mate’s point guard prowess as a qualification on how she will empower women.

Well first let me take a shot at that, and I’ll tell ya, I’m a product of Title IX in our schools, where equal education and equal opportunities in sports really helped propel me into the—I guess into the position that I’m in today where,” Palin said.

McCain then interjected, “Could I mention she was a point guard on a state championship basketball team.”

After the crowd’s applause died down, Palin continued: ‘”Sports were very, very important to me growing up, you know just learning about self discipline and healthy competition and about what it takes to win and even how to graciously lose sometimes. But how to win, that’s what it teaches ya. Now, I was a product of Title IX where legislation allowed that equal opportunity. Now if we have to still keep going down that road to create more legislation, to get with it in the 21st century, to make sure that women do have equality especially in the work place, then we’re there because we understand that in this age we have all got to be working together. I respect you so much that you are a Democrat recognizing that John McCain and me as a team of mavericks understand where you’re coming from, and we can work together on these issues. But yup, equality for women, for all, that’s going to be part of the agenda and I thank you for that question.”

In case you missed that…those are two Republicans touting Title IX and using her point guard experience as how Palin will ’empower’ women if she’s elected.

By those standards, pigs just flew and my vast high school athletic experience, coupled with my new PTA role, qualifies me as the next Queen of the Mother Fucking world. Screw VP, I’m aiming higher.

The 2008 GOP platform has some language not exactly RAH! RAH! Title IX in case you want to take a look. You see the Bush Administration thought it was bad and essentially ordered a review and slammed Title IX.

So by these standards, Palin and McCain are touting their Alaskan point guard to the tune of a program their party tried to eliminate. And there is evidence McCain isn’t even clear on what Title IX actually DOES.

Lovely.

And by the way, I was as small forward. I could, and still can, block out Palin with my hips and steal the ball. And have every intention of doing so in this election.

Filed Under: Obama '08, Stepford Crazies

If You Vote Obama, My Family Will Keep Their Ears

September 15, 2008 by Queen of Spain 23 Comments

We’ve been clipping coupons for awhile now. Ok, my husband has been clipping coupons for awhile now.

This weekend I cut both my son and husbands’ hair myself. I only drew blood once.

These are not huge things, but they are a sign of the times. In case you missed it, the Dow is down by 500 points, Lehman Brothers, a firm that survived the American Depression, has filed for the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. history, and everyone is running around going ‘aaaaaahhhhhhhh sssshhhiiiiittttttt!!!!’

I don’t know about your family…but mine is pretty much going…’umm, yeah….we know…join the coupon clipping party.’

I have friends who are now sending their kids to preschool only twice a week, to cut back on bills. I have family considering moving in with other family members so they don’t charge another grocery store trip. While my husband and I would consider moving out of Los Angeles, our home is now worth about $150,000 less than what we paid. I’ve taken a full-time job. My mother is now working simply for the health insurance. Sign. Of. The. Times.

What the hell is going on? And how do we fix it? Because as much as I don’t mind sitting in my backyard cutting hair…I can only nick so many ears before my family demands better.

I also write this, somewhat hesitantly, because I know we are the lucky ones. We have jobs. We have a home. We have little to complain about. But I would be remiss if I didn’t think of my friends, my family, my neighbors, and the rest of the country when I see the headlines and watch the reports.

But here is the thing…and it’s the thing that got me writing this blog post and the thing that drives me…I firmly believe Senator John McCain is NOT one of us. I realize that is a harsh statement…but…DAMN. With an heiress wife and a lack of knowledge of ANYTHING relevant to ME…he just has no clue.

I wasn’t the only one who heard it.

The Obama campaign picked up on it too. John McCain told Judy Wudroff – “It’s easy for me to go to Washington and, frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have.”

To which I yelled at my tv “NO FUCKING SHIT ASSHOLE!”

I realize that is a bit harsh. But it’s how I felt.

John McCain has no clue- NO CLUE– what average Americans go through. NONE, except for what is put in front of him in a memo as he sits in one of his MANY homes. I do not believe for ONE SECOND that he understand the out-of-work Detroit auto-worker or the single mother. NOT FOR ONE SECOND.

Which leads me to why I think Senator Barack Obama does…and frankly, it’s easy.

He’s lived it.

He’s doing well now, sure. So am I. But he at the very least GETS IT, and I will go a step further: he gets it and RESPECTS it. Maybe that’s the bigger key…he RESPECTS it.

Go ahead and laugh at me. Tell me I’ve been taken by yet another politician and that this guy doesn’t get it as I’m a dreamer for thinking he does. But I will tell you something…and I will tell you it FROM MY TOES…I have met him. I have met hundreds of politicians and done hundreds of interviews. You can tell when they spout statements and taking points. You can tell when they speak what you want to hear, not what needs to be said. You can also tell when they speak from experience. Which is exactly what Senator Obama does when he talks about having little money and having a single mom and speaking with people on the streets of Chicago.

However, you can’t just take my gut as a reason to vote. You can’t. While I wish you would all take my gut as a reason…that would be stupid. So…Just having lived it and ‘getting it’ isn’t enough. And while we all want someone we can related to running things ( see: conservative women finding kinship in Sarah Palin) I am smart enough to know just ‘getting it’ won’t fix this country’s problems.

Thus Obama’s plan. It does not favor the rich. It does not favor those running large companies and it most certainly does benefit women, families, and the working class. While I don’t want to punish the rich…I want the working class to be empowered. I want women to be empowered. I want families to be empowered.

I, very simply, want my parents to have health insurance and I want to send my husband and son to get their hair cut at a salon.

I want…I want many things. But I want leaders that know and understand what needs to be done and just WHO needs help. Please, listen to Senator Joe Biden at MY high school in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. MINE. Where I was the editor of the paper and where I played varsity basketball. MY HIGH SCHOOL.

Yes, Senator Obama knows and understands what is happening enough to send his Vice Presidential candidate to the South Lake High in St. Clair Shores- because he KNOWS how many of my friends are now out of work. Because he KNOWS how many of MY family members need tax relief. Because he understands what has happened in the home town I love.

People I know need help making their next mortgage payment. People I know want to send their kids to better schools. People I know just want a job.

Please watch Senator Biden. Please listen to what he says about the Obama-Biden ticket. Please hear his rant against McCain. Then head over to BlogHer.com and read Michelle Obama’s latest blog post on equal pay.

Listen. Read. Watch.

Watch and understand this is from where I spent 4-years of my life in school and 19-years growing up. THIS right here is how much the Obama campaign gets it…

Filed Under: BlogHer, Obama '08

I’m Just Hoping By November 5th, I Still Have Friends

September 13, 2008 by Queen of Spain 45 Comments

A sad and disturbing thing happened at Kindergarten this week.

I finally started talking to some other parents.

I then immediately alienated them.

It started innocently enough. I was volunteering to work in the class room, discussing dates with the ‘room mom’ when her husband showed up. He, of course, introduced himself and we all chatted like old friends.

This is the couple that had already met my husband and chatted. In the back of my mind I was thinking ‘sweet! friends! I wonder if they drink?’ when I got the ‘so what do you do?’ question.

‘I’m the political director for a site called blogher, it’s a network of women bloggers.’

‘Oh, really…so what do you think of this Palin thing…she’s getting a lot of the women’s vote, huh?’

And then…something happend. It was like, involuntary. I launched into this tirade on women voters and issues and how, actually, a new study showed Clinton voters are now 55% less likely to vote for McCain due to the Palin pick and women actually vote on issues, not gender…so assuming they would vote for Palin based on gender was not only untrue but rather insulting…and on, and on, and on.

He then politely said something to his wife about his dentist appointment and left the table, moving to talk to a much less crazy mother.

I can’t even have a normal conversation while waiting for Kindergarten pick-up. I am hopelessly trapped in the echo-chamber and I see no real escape until November 5th, 2008.

I just hope I will have friends when it’s all over.

Scratch that, I don’t care if I have friends so long as Obama wins. Then I’ll work on that friend thing. And maybe talk about something like…the weather.

Filed Under: Obama '08, Stepford Crazies

Clapping Hands in Glee

September 12, 2008 by Queen of Spain 4 Comments

I’m overjoyed when the YouTube Gods provide:

Filed Under: Obama '08

Emails, I get a few

September 12, 2008 by Queen of Spain 8 Comments

My inbox overflow-eth.

As I type this, there are 1760 unread emails in my inbox. I’m not kidding. I thought I would share a few with you, my favorite readers.

Why? A few reasons really.
#1 some are damn funny
#2 some are damn disturbing
#3 some of you need to understand why I can’t respond quickly, or at all.
It’s not that I don’t love ya’, it’s just that I can’t possibly reply to every email, direct message, instant message, facebook message, or request for my soul.

So without me going on and on about it….enjoy:

Hi Erin,

My name is xxxxxxx. I am a regular reader of your blog – I think it’s great! I know you have been, and continue to be, a strong supporter of Obama and I recently saw your interview with him which I thought was awesome! I was hoping you might be able to help me.

I work with a company, they are actually a credit card alternative payment option. They are very much interested in offering their option to the Obama campaign to be another way people can make campaign donations since currently the only options to donate online are credit cards. They want to help out and give more people the opportunity to contribute. We have been trying to find the right person who we might be able to discuss this with or someone who might handle the campaign website or the donations but we have had no luck so far.

I thought I would check to see if you might have any suggestions for us or perhaps any contacts that you would be willing to pass along. I appreciate any feedback you might have to offer!

Ok, here’s the thing. I have media access just like any other blogger or media person. I can not pitch the campaign your company, your ideas, or your fill-in-the-blank. I get at least 5 of these a day. Family members and undecided voters who need INFO…well hell, THAT I can do…but I’m not your business contact ‘in’ at either campaign.

Moving on. This one came with the subject title “Hello i love how u breastfeed your daugther”

I like your big milky tits.I would like to ask u if u would like to be interested into adult nursing.
I would like to drink your big supply milk
please type me a message.

Wow. Classy. and also EWWWWW.

Then there are these:

Niggerlovingbitch how can u be fer fucking osama you nothing but a white trashie cunt

Fun times. How about something more lighthearted?

Dear BLOG OWNER NAME,

I was just reading your post SIPPYCUPS AND DIAPERS and I think you would really like our new xxxxxxx. We would love you to blog about xxxxx and if you don’t like it, you can just send it back and not blog at all. How about I send you some xxxxx for you and your family to try?

Sincerely, xxxxCEO

I’ve never once written a post with that title. Ahhhh, idiots.

Now I have to be honest, some of you will say ‘but Erin, you’re emails can’t be all bad’ and for the most part they are not. They are work related, family related, penis enlargement spam…the usual. And yes, every so often I get words of encouragement and even, time to time, praise. However picking these emails out of my inbox were not hard…at all. They come daily and they come often. Along with legitimate requests and campaign press releases and notes from my Aunt asking for the latest kid photos.