Strollerderby : McCain

Kids Yell Assassinate Obama on Idaho School Bus

JeanneSager — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:49:00 GMT

Warning: if you’re having a bad day, don’t read this story. Because nothing about a bunch of kids chanting “Assassinate Obama” can make you feel good. Even if you’re a McCain supporter, we’re still talking children supporting murder.

In fact, the parents who brought this case to an Idaho TV station are McCain supporters. But like most parents in America, they’d rather not hear their kids spewing hate and homicidal recommendations on the school bus.

The kids from a Rexburg, Idaho school were actually shouting “Assassinate Obama and Kate,” throwing in the name of one of the bus passengers. Matthew Whoolery’s kids, second- and third-graders who were riding the elementary bus, came home and asked their dad what “assassinate” meant.

First he called the school. Then he called the media. He said he’d like more parents to realize they need to be careful of what they’re saying in front of their kids. Even a flip comment can be picked up by little pitchers and become an anthem for the pint-sized masses.

I’d like to think that this was a flip comment taken out of context by a child. I’d like to think that people in this country who are angry over the results of an election don’t automatically begin thinking about assassination as a means to salve their frustrations. The beauty of democracy is our ability to all have our say. So your candidate lost. You can fight a little harder in four years, and maybe you’ll succeed.

But killing the candidate? That’s hate. That’s extremism. That’s un-American. Is that really what you want to pass on to the future of our country?

Image/Source: 2News.TV

Woman in Labor Holds Off Delivery Until After Voting for Obama

How to Keep Your Kid From Pissing off The McCain Supporters

A Taste of Sasha and Malia's White House Rules: But Can They Paint it Pink?

Mississippi Students, Postal Worker, Punished For Wearing Obama Shirts

Rove Predicts Obama Landslide, but You Should go Vote Anyway

Shannon LC Cate — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:35:00 GMT

Political strategist of infamy, Karl Rove, is predicting a huge Obama victory tonight. His website, Rove.com shows a map giving Obama 338 electoral votes to McCain's 200. If Rove is right, it will be the biggest margin since the 1996 Clinton-Dole race.

Rove's prediction depends on all swing states going with the candidate currently leading, even if that lead is statistically insignificant. Therefore Rove puts Florida in Obama's column in spite of a mere 2 point lead. He also gives Missouri and North Carolina to McCain, though those states are split exactly 50/50 in the most recent polls.

It seems that most people who are supposed to know these things are saying Obama is a sure thing, and the only question is how big a sweep he will make it. I say, it's not over 'til it's over. Go to the polls and do your duty. McCain folks may stand a chance in some of those "battleground" states and Obama folks--how could you stand aside and let this one roll by without you?

I stood in line with my three-year old for an hour and a half last week to vote early. If it can be done under those circumstances, it can be done under any circumstances! Get out there and vote. Let us know when you've done the deed. We'll be here when you get back.

What Do You Do When Your Kid is an Extreme Partisan?

Kelly Mills — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:25:00 GMT

This has been the most emotionally charged election I can remember since, well, ever, and it makes sense that the kids would pick up on that. But Slate's Emily Bazelon asks, what do you do when your children's political allegiances are extreme? She covers a Halloween experiment in which kids chose candy from either side of a porch: The Obama side--marked with a large sign and life-size cutout--and the McCain side, with corresponding signage and cutout. The blue neighborhood kids gave Obama 78 percent of the vote.

But when offered two pieces of candy at the Obama side versus four at the McCain side, support for Obama only dropped by ten percent. The kids were pretty fixed in their political ways, even though their vote obviously didn't "count" (hmm, like the electoral college.) And Bazelon notes that her sweet kids threw around the word "traitor" to candy defectors. And, she observes, with kids who are reared on lots of lessons in tolerance, it may be that McCain is one of the few people they can clearly think of as a bad guy.

It makes me just slightly uncomfortable to see children actively campaigning, if only because you know that until a certain age, the opinions they express are not likely their own. Then again, isn't it our job to pass on our values, political or otherwise? And I've seen this "death and destruction to candidate so-and-so" in my area too, from young children who just seem to want to be able to freely bash a clear villain. What about your kids? Does it bother you?

Take Your Kids To Vote...NOW!

Witch Tricks Obama Kids on Halloween

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:12:00 GMT

Yes, yes, half of us have already moved on to turkey, but there's still room for one more Halloween tale -- this one from Michigan, where an old hag refused to dole out candy to kids who supported Obama or kids whose parents supported Obama.

Nice.

At least she didn't hand out candy apples stuffed with razor blades -- but maybe she's just waiting for next year. I can only imagine the joy it's going to be to live on this woman's block. Her response to leaving kids in tears?

"Oh well."

Sadly, this appears to be a case of mistaken holidays. She apparently thought the Grinch comes out at Halloween.

Babble Talk: The Babies Tell Us Who Will Be Their Next President

JeanneSager — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:01:00 GMT

When Elmo wants to know something, he always asks a baby, so we figured, what the heck. When in doubt, do it the Sesame Street way. Babble has asked a bunch of babies who is going to be our next president. Want to take a peek?

We'll give you a hint, he's got a name Tina Fey's daughter thinks is absolutely hilarious. . . Hey, when you're three, anything can set you off in a fit of giggles. Like my daughter, who tells everyone who will listen that Barack Obama is the president. I didn't tell her that - she saw him on Nickolodeon Kids Pick the President, and she picked him. My mom tried telling her George Bush is the president, but I don't like anyone lying to my kid. I mean, come on, we all know Dick Cheney is the president. Duh.

But back to those babies and their election forecast. Watch 'em getting down, doing the wave and showing their patrotic pride over their dinner plates.

Have a Uterus? McCain Wants You to Pay More for Health Insurance

Anti-Palin Ad Targets Parents With Teenage Rape Victim's Plea

Hey Sarah Palin, Make Your Kids Go to School

Salvation Army Says: We'll Take Palin's Clothes!

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

Palin's Kids Traveling on the State's Dime, She's Trying to Claim "State Business"

GOP Shows Obama With Fried Chicken and Watermelon

Morning News: Which Spice Girl is Sarah Palin?

Have a Uterus? McCain Wants You to Pay More for Health Insurance

JeanneSager — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:31:00 GMT

Turns out the biggest difference between men and women in America might not be their "down there parts," but what health insurance companies think those there parts will cost them. A study in yesterday's New York Times states women ages 19 to 55 who are paying for individual health insurance plans are being charged significantly more than male counterparts for the same plans.

The reason? Women are using more insurance, the companies say. But thanks go to the sharp-witted writers at Jezebel, who were quick to point out that research has shown seeking care earlier (they often call it preventative care?) saves people down the line. Saves their lives, and saves them money. Because preventive care, well, it prevents major illness.

Jezebel's report also pointed out something American voters need to keep in mind come Tuesday. Senator John McCain's chief healthcare plans call for "tax credits" that we as Americans would then use to pay for our own health insurance plans - the ones that cost women more. He's against the (currently relatively widespread) practice of employer-based health insurance plans, or group plans, whereby insurance plans are bought in bulk by an employer to wrangle a lower cost for each individual plan. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (you see the little EEO or EOE acronyms in a lot of newspaper classifieds) watches over employer-based health plans and prohibits gender-based discrimination. In other words - our civil rights in the workplace guarantee we can't be charged more for our employer-based health plan than the guy at the next desk. Walk out of the workplace, however, and the game changes.

The Times report even quotes a Humana representative who claims, "Bearing children increases other health risks later in life, such as urinary incontinence, which may require treatment with medication or surgery.” Say what?

A woman who popped out a baby, but has a yearly check-up at the general practitioner plus her annual "foot-in-the-stirrups, let's get this over with doc, I hope you have warm hands this time" visit is apparently going to wet herself down the road. And that's going to cost them. But the guy who hasn't been to a doctor in a decade and sits on his ass eating Cheetos and screaming, red-faced at SportsCenter all day, every day is going to cost them less down the line?

I can invest in Depends, but he's a walking heart attack.

And, apparently, Senator McCain thinks he shouldn't have to pay as much for cardiac catheterization, an eventual quadruple bypass, a lifetime of blood pressure monitoring and heart medications, a twice-yearly stress test . . . should I go on? . . . as long as he doesn't have a uterus.

Image: CrunchGear

Anti-Palin Ad Targets Parents With Teenage Rape Victim's Plea

Hey Sarah Palin, Make Your Kids Go to School

Salvation Army Says: We'll Take Palin's Clothes!

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

Palin's Kids Traveling on the State's Dime, She's Trying to Claim "State Business"

GOP Shows Obama With Fried Chicken and Watermelon

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

They (Should) Say: 6 is the New 60

Kids Rock the Vote Way Better than Bono

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:03:00 GMT

If my civics classes were this fun in middle school, I never would have cut class. This is from the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, and I just can't stop listening to it.

RNC Mailer Could Give Your Kids Nightmares

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:00:00 GMT

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The RNC has mailed a flyer to homes in Virginia and Missouri that unabashedly aims to link Barack Obama with terrorism in the minds of voters. On the front is the word “TERRORISTS” above a picture of a plane about to crash into a room filled with people (imagine your kids finding that horrifying image in the mailbox). Inside is a photo of an angry-looking Obama and the words, “NOT WHO YOU THINK HE IS.”

The small print of the flyer at least mentions a statement that Obama actually made—if you’ve turned on the TV at all in the past few weeks, you probably know which one: when he said that he would be willing to sit down and talk with hostile foreign leaders.

Funny that Reagan, whom McCain loves to call a “hero,” aggressively pursued talks with governments hostile to the United States, including the Kremlin and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Not to mention that agreeing to sit down and talk with world leaders is hardly agreeing to sit down and talk with terrorists like Osama bin Laden, whom Obama has repeatedly vowed to hunt down.

There is so much that is dishonest, despicable, and desperate about this mailer that I could go on and on. But the point is that, after eight years of fear mongering and divisiveness, the American people have had enough of hate-based politics.

Barry Goldwater’s granddaughter, one of numerous high-profile Republicans voting for Obama, put it best herself: "The Republican brand has been tarnished in a shameless effort to gain votes and appeal to the lowest emotion, fear....The McCain/Palin plan is to appear diverse and inclusive, using women and minorities to push an agenda that makes us all financially vulnerable, fearful, and less safe."

The Plus Side to McCain's Scorn for Women's "Health"

Kelly Mills — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:26:00 GMT

Flowers grow out of, uh, manure, don't they? Over at Jezebel, they point out that since McCain used his finger quotes about women's health (you know, our concern for our "lives" and "future reproductive health" which are apparently, quite silly) there have been a slew of women sharing stories about subjects you don't hear much about. Things like late-term abortions and miscarriages. You know, a couple aspects of our health stuff. The stories are often wrenching to read.

Brett already told you about A Little Pregnant's feelings on the subject. If you missed this very personal story of late-term abortion from the Boston Globe, I highly recommend you read it, with kleenex handy. And Dooce also pointed to Flotsam's story on pregnancy loss at 22 weeks. Oh yes, lots of "health" concerns. We women are just full of those.

I suppose if nothing else, it is a strange blessing women are sharing all their most profound and gut-wrenching experiences. If politicians feel comfortable dismissing very real matters of life and death and health, while at the same time legislating them in ways that do not protect our most basic rights, then it's only right they should have to look in the faces of the women who have suffered immeasurably and maybe someday answer to them. Though I won't hold my breath.

They Say: No One with a Uterus Should Vote McCain

Bipartisan Group Says McCain Would Be Bad For Kids' Health

Bipartisan Group Says McCain Would Be Bad for Kids' Health

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:30:00 GMT

First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy group, has released a statement warning voters that John McCain’s health care plan would result in millions of American children going without health insurance.

McCain’s proposal centers around a flat tax credit, which would be given to every family, regardless of size or income, to be used to buy health insurance. (The money for these credits would be raised, at least in part, by cutting Medicaid and Medicare.)

First Focus has warned that the tax credit is well below the amount of money required for the average family’s health care needs. Plus, since McCain wouldn't require insurance companies to cover children with pre-existing conditions, it's likely that many of these kids would be denied coverage.

Obama’s plan guarantees that every child will be covered, either privately or publicly, regardless of preexisting conditions.

For a comprehensive primer on Obama and McCain’s health care proposals, check out Kim Mance’s essay.

Photo: New York Times

The Halloween Poll

Shannon LC Cate — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:30:00 GMT

History has shown that Halloween masks featuring candidates for president seem to indicate who wins the election in November. Bush outsold Gore in 2000, he outsold Kerry in 2004. There seem to be some split decisions this year however, with Obama masks outselling McCain at about 66% of mask sales, while Palin masks are outselling Biden by three to one.

But those are national numbers. Let's break them down by state. Writes Brittney Andres of Mother Jones, "Overall this year, Obama is ahead, with 66 percent of national sales. His mask has hefty margins in all of the swing states, though McCain's is close in Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina."
Which political mask will/would you buy and why? Does it reflect your vote?

Best of FameCrawler: Week of October 17th

Whit Honea — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

John McCain Does The Monster Mash

More Private Angelina Photos Leaked

Joe the Plumber: The Videos!

Tina Fey "You Ignorant Slut"*

PlumberGate: Joe The Plumber IS Related to Charles Keating, and Also Owes Back Taxes!

Lisa Bonet Confirms She's Pregnant

Russell Crowe Says Sons Are Complete Opposites

Joe the Plumber: Republican Plant and Relative of Charles Keating?

Gwen Stefani Worries About Her Weight

Michael Jackson's Kids Unmasked!

Denis Leary: Autism Means Your Kid Is Stupid and Lazy

Billy-Bob Trumps David Duchovny In The TeaLeonifornication Stakes

Anti-Palin Ad Targets Parents With Teenage Rape Victim's Plea

JeanneSager — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:36:00 GMT

In a chilling video for any parent of a little girl (and those of not-so-little girls too) Women Against McCain Palin have struck hard at the "unapologetically pro-life" vice presidential candidate.

Watching the sniffling teenage girl relate the tale of being raped, without a choice, made a lump form in my throat. I'd like to see any parent - pro-life or otherwise - watch this one stone-faced.

"I was raped, and then I got pregnant," the girl (whose identity I haven't been able to determine - is she an actress?) says. "Sarah Palin believes the government should be able to force me to carry the pregnancy to term. Sarah Palin believes that the government should make that choice. Not me. Governor Palin, I didn't have a choice about being raped. But I should have a choice about this."

The words coming out of an adult woman's mouth would have been striking, but this campaign ad is going straight for parents. It's a reminder that no matter what decisions we make for ourselves, we have to be making them for our kids too.

Does it change your opinion?

GOP Shows Obama With Fried Chicken and Watermelon

Palin's Ohio Rallies Reveal Frightening Misconceptions about Barack Obama are Alive and Thriving

Video Gamers Find Obama in Xbox 360

Does PSA Blame Parents for their Daughters Being Raped?

Palin Urges Voters Not to Forget the "Right to Life"

Hey Sarah Palin, Make Your Kids Go to School

Barack Obama: The Force Is Strong With "That One"

JeanneSager — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:30:00 GMT

John McCain may refer to Barack Obama as "that one," but as far as a group of Star Wars fans are concerned, the force is strong with "that one." We'll vote on the fate of the empire in three weeks, and they're hoping their intergalactic duds will help defeat the dark side.

The group of Obama fans from Santa Cruz, Calif. and New York City have set up a Website, May the Force Be With Him, and they're sending all the profits for their t-shirt sales to the campaign. Priced at $19.95, the shirts have to be purchased in two steps. The first is a $10 donation directly to the Obama campaign, followed by $9.95 to May the Force Be With Him, which they say covers the costs of production and nothing more.

The site doesn't say what sizes of the shirt are available, but we'd imagine they range from Ewok to Wookie.

Image: May the Force Be With Him

Hey Sarah Palin, Make Your Kids Go to School

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Political Bullying in Elementary Schools

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

The Candidates on Education

Shannon LC Cate — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:30:00 GMT

Wondering how the candidates compare on the little-mentioned issue of education? Patrick R. Riccards has looked at the official campaign platforms and laid out the major similarities and differences between them. He sums it up this way:

McCain — Standards, accountability, quality, empower, excellence, parents, effectiveness, choice
Obama — High quality, opportunity, teachers, programs, support, rewards

Riccards suggests that McCain is ideas-oriented and Obama is program-oriented. After reading his summary, I'd say Obama seems more focused on making the public system work for more children, and expanding it accordingly, with improvements to Head Start and expansion of early childhood education programs. McCain is more "choice"-oriented, interested in expanding vouchers programs and charter schools.

The differences come out looking more philosophical than concrete. And given the desperation of the economy and a neverending war (or two), I am guessing education will be on the back burner for a while in the next administration. Still, it is always preferable to have someone at the top likely to share your own values when it comes to deciding what's going to happen to your kids' school.

Bush Wants to Fund Religious Schools with Your Tax Money

Extending the Privilege of Preschool

LGBT "Magnet" Schools: Hurt or Help?

Levi Johnston – Bristol Palin’s Fiancé Speaks Out

SunnyChanel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:32:00 GMT

In an interview with the Associated Press, the 18-year-old “Wasilla heartthrob” Levi Johnson, who’s engaged to Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol, chatted about his relationship, his life and his upcoming child (hinting that it will be a boy). He says that his upcoming nuptials won’t be a “shotgun wedding” and that they always intended in marrying. Levi admits he was “a little shocked” when he found out that Bristol was knocked up, but he “quickly embraced the prospects of fatherhood”. To prep for his new life and responsibilities, he dropped out of high school and is now working at the North Slope oil fields.

After suddenly being thrust into the national spotlight, the “soft spoken” teen talked to a reporter to set the record straight on a myriad of topics. Here is Levi Johnston on…

On MySpace:
His MySpace page that stated “I’m a …redneck” and that “I don’t want kids” was a joke played by his friends and that they put it together and he had nothing to do with it.

On his relationship with Bristol:
• "We both love each other. We both want to marry each other. And that's what we are going to do." He has dated Bristol since he was a high school freshman.

On hobbies:
He loves to hunt and has “bagged bears, sheep, elk, and caribou”.

On his tattoo:
Bristol had given him a promise ring a while back but he lost it while hunting. He opted to get her name tattooed on his finger so that, he thought he just lose another ring.

On Obama:
"I don't know anything about him. He seems like a good guy. I like him."

To read more about Levi via the Associate Press - click here.

Best of FameCrawler: Week of October 10th

Whit Honea — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Totally Biased Political Post Containing Cute Kids and Stuff (Video)

New Video & Photos: Angelina Jolie and Kids

Katie Holmes Tells Tom- I'm Leaving

Congrats, Emma! You Endured Pain In Childbirth! JOIN THE CLUB.

Bigot Bridget Bardot Mouths Off About Sarah Palin

Tina Fey is Sarah Palin on SNL: VP Debate (VIDEO)

Mark Wahlberg Talks to the Animals on SNL (VIDEO)

Ricky Schroder Talks About Son's Accident

Madonna Scares Me

The Truth About Angelina Jolie

JLo: I Had A Nervous Breakdown

John McCain Bingo!

Should We Raise Little Democrats or Republicans?

JeanneSager — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:13:00 GMT

My grandmother spent weeks trying to teach my toddler new words: Barack Hussein. Muslim. Kenya. Can you tell she's a Republican?

I refused to take the bait. My husband and I haven't decided if our daughter will skew Democrat or (eeek) Republican. Because it's not really our decision to make. Although a Michigan State University study recently showed most Americans cast our ballots based on party rather than issues, we're all about raising an issues child.

We're pro-choice (although not really pro-abortion). We're pro-gay marriage. We're fiscally conservative. And we've been known to vote on either side of the fence - chiefly in local elections. In other words - we're fiercely independent (or neither party would want us, but that's another story). And we'd like to think our child will be too.

So what's the problem? A study back in the 1970s by Kent Jennings and Richard Niemi found that parents are "more effective at transmitting their political party affiliation than their beliefs on specific political issues." A piece called "Ask the Kid" in a New Hampshire newspaper proved their point this week. Asked if they'd pick Biden or Palin, the 10-year-old asked which was a Democrat, which was a Republican. When he got the answer, he said Palin. "Because our family usually votes for Republicans."

So beliefs = bad; party politics = good? The fact that the last substantial study on the issue is three decades old gives me more than a litte pause - despite the piece in the Concord Monitor. I don't know what party my parents belong to, even today. I was always told that asking a person "who did you vote for" was akin to asking a woman her age - you don't do it. And yet, the values that drive my vote come from my parents. They too are pro-choice. They too are fiscally conservative. They never needed to tell me to check the box for "independent" when I signed my voter registration card. I simply did.

To be raising a child to think as a "Democrat" or as a "Republican" seems almost counterintuitive to our job as parents. You want bi-partisanship? Then I believe you raise a child to fight for what's right rather than a particular side. You raise them with good values - the sort that mirror our own. And on the day they turn 18, we should march them over to the DMV or the voter registrar's office and say, "You're ready. Register however you feel, but just register."

Image: Proud Brand

What Bristol Palin Can Expect, After Baby Algebra

Are your kids aware of the election?

McCain's Anti-Family, Anti-Marriage Healthcare Plan

Miriam Axel-Lute — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:00:00 GMT

McCain's "healthcare plan" appears designed to punish both marriage and childbearing. And no, I don't just mean because it won't actually provide universal coverage or address the market failures of privatized health insurance. I mean even if you do it the courtesy of taking it on its own terms.

McCain's plan involves refundable tax credits that can be used to purchase health coverage—in the amounts of $2,500 for an individual and $5,000 for a family.

In other words, the McCain campaign thinks it doesn't cost anything to insure children.

The plan was announced back in April, but I haven't seen anyone do this apparently obvious math: The average cost for a family health insurance plan is nearly three times that of the cost for a single person's plan. It's definitely more than the double they're offering.

But McCain's plan would give families no additional resources beyond what a married couple (or an unmarried couple for that matter) get. Am I missing something?

It's even possible that if parents chose not to marry they could score $7,500, if the family rate also applies to unmarried parents with children. And here I thought Republicans were supposed to be trying to get rid of marriage penalties in the tax code.

But I suppose we shouldn't expect anything better from a guy whose (supposedly former) healthcare advisor thinks that no one in America can be called uninsured as long as they won't be turned away at the (government-subsidized) emergency room.

Photo, "One Stop Shopping," by swanksalot.

Can a Presidential Candidate Be a Family Man?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:30:00 GMT

I can’t help noticing that the announcement of McCain’s vice presidential pick has conveniently upstaged all reports of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention (which you can watch here).

While I, too, am shocked and fascinated by the fact that McCain’s running mate is an inexperienced, staunchly anti-choice woman whom only he’s only met one time, let’s not forget to keep our eyes on Obama and Biden.

Much of the reports on Palin have focused, on the one hand, on her decision not to abort her child with down’s syndrome (if this makes her a hero, our nation has set the bar abysmally low), and on questions about her commitment to her five children, including an infant, on the other hand. So, if we’re going to judge Palin’s parenting record, what do we know about Obama’s? Obama has repeatedly urged parents to be more involved in their children’s lives, and his own interactions with his daughters Sasha and Malia indicate that he is truly a devoted, loving father.

This short video from the DNC shows the Obama family chatting, albeit in a very stilted environment. While the strong love amongst the Obamas is clear, one could argue that the children of any presidential nominee will inevitably suffer as their parents are consumed by the campaign. What do you think—is it possible to compete for the White House while putting your children first?

Photo: BrotherPeaceMaker

The Human Element of War

Brett Singer — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

No matter what you think of the Iraq War (or any war for that matter) I think it's important to remember the human side of things. The soldiers aren't only fighters, they're people.

Some of them are even parents. In her terrific Personal Essay titled "Return to the Home Front", Korinthia Klein tells us what it was like when her husband Ian came home from "over there." It's all worth reading, but here are a couple of highlights:

"By the time I got my arms around Ian, all I could do was sob."

"Ian marveled at the quiet as we went to sleep, because he'd lived so long with mortar fire and the constant whine of generators and military jets. I kept forgetting that he didn't know where things belonged and that he still had to be introduced to some of the people and places the kids and I know best."

"The children adjusted remarkably well. It's hard to believe Quinn's daddy was a stranger to him only a few weeks ago."

Look – support the war, don't support the war. But no matter what, always support the troops.

Political Nanny's Playground: Readers Call McCain's Daughter Fatty

Madeline Holler — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:18:00 GMT

Ew. Can't a girl get out there and campaign publicly for her father without regard to her appearance? Apparently not.

One of the most entertaining blogs about this 2008 Election is the one that presumptive Republican Nominee John McCain's daughter writes. The 25-year-old travels with her father on his campaign and records, in seriously minute detail, much of what goes on.

She talks about everything BUT politics, really. She sticks to an insider's look at the logistics of campaigning, which seems to me to be a lot of travel, bad food, end-of-the-day greasy skin and bunch of sitting around. She picks a song of the day. And best of all, she loads it down with pictures, pictures, pictures.

Many of said pictures include her. Which has opened her up for scrutiny -- not about the blog, her writing or her Dad/candidate. But about the size of body.

Photo: McCainblogette.com

Strollerderby : McCain

Kids Yell Assassinate Obama on Idaho School Bus

From 52 to 48 With Love: When Families are Split Down Political Lines

Woman in Labor Holds Off Delivery Until After Voting for Obama

How to Keep Your Kid From Pissing off The McCain Supporters

A Taste of Sasha and Malia's White House Rules: But Can They Paint it Pink?

Mississippi Students, Postal Worker, Punished For Wearing Obama Shirts

Rove Predicts Obama Landslide, but You Should go Vote Anyway

What Do You Do When Your Kid is an Extreme Partisan?

Witch Tricks Obama Kids on Halloween

Babble Talk: The Babies Tell Us Who Will Be Their Next President

Have a Uterus? McCain Wants You to Pay More for Health Insurance

Kids Rock the Vote Way Better than Bono

RNC Mailer Could Give Your Kids Nightmares

The Plus Side to McCain's Scorn for Women's "Health"

Bipartisan Group Says McCain Would Be Bad for Kids' Health

The Halloween Poll

Best of FameCrawler: Week of October 17th

Anti-Palin Ad Targets Parents With Teenage Rape Victim's Plea

Barack Obama: The Force Is Strong With "That One"

The Candidates on Education

Levi Johnston – Bristol Palin’s Fiancé Speaks Out

Best of FameCrawler: Week of October 10th

Should We Raise Little Democrats or Republicans?

McCain's Anti-Family, Anti-Marriage Healthcare Plan

Can a Presidential Candidate Be a Family Man?

The Human Element of War

Political Nanny's Playground: Readers Call McCain's Daughter Fatty