I hear a bucket of water works well...

Well, apparently the Wicked Witch is still alive and thriving in Grosse Point Farms, Michigan. She must have hitched a ride back when the "Great OZ" took off in his hot air balloon...maybe clinging to the underside of the basket with her nose?

Anyway, the newest incarnation of the Wicked Witch goes by the alias of Shirley Nagel. Ms. Nagel declared herself on the most appropriate of days - Halloween. Apparently, she realized that the holiday has become too much about the children and not enough about the mean and nasty, and she made a vow to fix that. So, she tried her hardest in a one-witch campaign.

Ms. Witch decided that the only children she would give Halloween treats to would be the children of those people who voted/will be voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Apparently there was a quiz before the treating, and unfortunately, many children failed and ended up tricked instead. She posted a sign outside her house that read "No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters.". Her reasoning? That Obama is "scary". Her reaction when asked about the children turned away crying? "Oh well. Everybody has a choice."

She's right - sort of. The PARENTS have a choice. But she effectively took away any choice those children had. And everyone has a right to choose whether or not they will hand out candy and to whom. However, having said that - it is completely unfair to those children. The majority of trick-or-treaters tend to be the younger children who have little or no concept of the election or who their parents may be voting for. Nor will they understand why other kids got candy, but not them. What are their parents supposed to say to that? "I'm sorry sweetie - it's all my fault because I'm voting for the person I believe would run our country the best...but I'll change that so you can have some candy!".

I have no problem with people choosing who to vote for, and that is a huge part of this country as it stands. But when grown adults start acting like bullies and picking on children so that they can make a point or take a stand - then I have to wonder about not only those people, but those they are voting for. I'm hearing way too many stories of McCain/Palin supporters showing their true natures - nooses, picking on children, cries of "kill" at McCain/Palin rallies...the same things that the conservative, racist bigots said were going to happen with the Obama supporters. Their fears brought to life when they looked in the mirror...

Would it make me kin to the witch to hope that she got some lovely "treats" visited upon her? Maybe someone could free all her flying monkeys...

Hello? 911? Can I order a pizza?

So by now, I'm assuming you've heard about the brouhaha regarding John McCain's brother Joe. But, just in case you haven't, here's the lowdown...Joe called 911 when he was stuck in traffic to complain and see what the holdup was. When the 911 operator asked him if he was calling 911 to complain about traffic, Joe's eloquent reply was "&%@# you" as he hung up...he apparently has his brother's amazing speaking skills...

Anyway, as required, the 911 operator called 'ole Joe back, got his voicemail, and left a message to the effect that it is against the law to call 911 for anything not emergency-related. Joe, being the efficient man that he apparently is, got his message within a relatively short period of time and was none too happy. So what does he decide to do? That's right...he called 911 *back* to complain that "somebody just gave me this riot act about the violation of police". Seriously. How stupid does one have to be here?!

Now, I realize it's not Joe running for President. I do. However, I do have a couple of beefs about this. First - McCain (John) has always been accused of having anger-management issues, and this certainly does not help his case. This is exactly the sort of thing that people would expect from him. Not only that, but what kind of brother is that big of a jack-ass as to pull something like that? Is the McCain family trait popping up? Apple not falling far from the tree and all that?

But here's my biggest peeve about the whole thing - I was a radioman in the CG for a little over 7 years. There is absolutely nothing like having some idiot calling "mayday" over nothing, or doing it as a prank. It wastes valuable time and potentially blocks a line someone else in REAL trouble may be trying to get through on. It is no different for a 911 operator. These people are there to help save lives, not deal with some asshole with entitlement issues. Alexandria is a very large, very busy place. What if there was a mother who was trying to get help for a choking child? A wife whose husband was having a heart attack? A man who had been shot and needed assistance? Any one of those situations could be happening at any time of day, and what happens if the phone line is busy? Because traffic is too slow and we have someone who thinks they're above the law? As far as I'm concerned, he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law...and his license should be suspended for some amount of time. See how worried about traffic you are when you're on public transportation, buddy!

It just amazes me how stupid people can be. This is certainly not limited to politicians, but it seems to show up more with them. I saw a great sticker the other day...it said:

Elect Obama and Biden - two brains are better than none.

That's what we'll get with McCain and Palin...no brains and a religious agenda. Maybe they should dress up as the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz? Or Palin could be the scarecrow and McCain could be the tin man. Can't you just see them skipping into the white house, singing about their yellow brick road?

God help us all.