What's up, pussycat?

...Nothing much, very little.

My pet hates right now are the new airport security measures. How not excited am I at the prospect of having to carry all the whatnot I need for an 8 hour flight in a clear plastic baggie? ...Oh yes, that's right. Not excited at all. Call me self-interested and short-sighted, but I find this all just a wee bit extreme. I mean, if I were a suicide bomber and I'd gotten caught (oh, did you hear that? There's my FBI file starting...Now), I would make up the most ridiculous things to say. Such as lipstick being involved in the "plot". Or earring backings. Or pantyhose. Banking of course, on the reaction of the Decadent West being to ban the shit out of all those items, thus making the soft, evil, corrupt citizens of these countries even more irritable and uncomfortable. I mean, look at the ease (and by that I mean 'lack of public resistance and outcry') with which the Patriot Act passed. People over here don't care about their major freedoms. They care about having their iPods and eyeliner on their persons during their intercontinental flights. Somehow, I just have the nagging feeling that people are missing the point. I'm not ready to posit any kind of concrete suggestion as to what The Point might be, but I feel almost certain that it's not cell phone batteries, saline solution or nail scissors.

While I'm on a roll here, something else I find delightfully intriguing is that Joe Lieberman lost the Conneticut primary as an incumbent. Now, anyone who sat through electoral politics with Professor Elliott had it hammered into their psyches in that very special Elliott way that it is nigh on impossible for an incumbent (SENATOR!!) to lose his or her seat. There is really next to no turnover in the Senate. People vote for the names they know and love. Seniority is rewarded in the Senate. The Voting Public likes the familiar. Really, it requires something akin to fathering a bi-racial baby with a transvestite crack whore with no green card and then lying about it to un-seat an incumbent Senator. Or, apparently, backing the war in Iraq to the extent that Lieberman did and being a Democrat. Innnnnnnteresting. I mean personally, I think it's about time. He was a shoddy Democrat anyway--and it's good to be rid of him. Perhaps this incident will give the rest of the candidates, incumbent or no, the chutzpah to take decisive stands on the crap policy decisions the president has been making. Maybe even in fabulous areas entirely unrelated to Iraq--like stem cell research or something. But let's face it. I'm probably being overly optimistic again. Ahh well. I was reading an interview with Linda Evangelista, I think...One of those fabulous supermodels that was big when we-all were young, and she was talking about how much she loves fashion and why. Her reason was primarily that she found it terribly exciting how everything changes every six months. I think I understand that. As frustrated as I get with American politics, I love the fact that it's so changeable. Iraq is really so five years ago. Everyone knows Iran is the Iraq that should have been and that Lebanon is just a cheap knock-off distraction. Of course, it's maddening to know that at the time, when everyone else is touting the "clear and present danger" presented by Saddam Hussein and you're getting headaches thinking about the potential repercussions, but that's why, deep down in that dark part of my heart, I am enjoying Lieberman getting his comeuppance. It's called schadenfreude. However, we'll be the ones trafficking in damages if he runs as an Independent, splits the demographic and the Democrats lose the seat. Which is extremely plausible. I mean, honestly--what has he got to lose? If he's been cussed enough to back the Iraq war for this long, how good are the odds that he's suddenly going to grow a spirit of solidarity with the Democratic Cause and bow out like a good sport? Mmm-hmm. I'm thinking slim-to-none. Stubborn bastard.

Whew. That was exciting. However, what I really ought to be doing is finishing the rest of my post cards, wrapping up my pseudo-insurance paperwork and getting dressed so I can run errands this afternoon. I'm off today, so of course the weather is bleak, grey and humid. I love it. Starting tomorrow, I'm working the next nine days straight. Helloooo overtime. And back aches and blisters and open sores on my hands. Okay, maybe I can't call them "sores", but little painful spots where the skin has worn away from touching so much bread without gloves is just a little too long winded even for me. Anyway. I'm signing off for now.