She and her brother came to me almost 14 years ago, joyous balls of fluff with puppy breath, endless curiosity and an uncanny ability to stay underfoot. Many a sock and shoe met its demise during their teething period--and never a pair, oh no. Once they figured out my schedule, I never again got to sleep past 7:00 am, and if there was more than one hit on the snooze button, a cold wet nose would work its way under the covers before the alarm went off again. In January, by God, that'll wake you up. And a quiet moment in the bathroom? Ha! There's a saying at our house: You'll never pee alone.

Her brother, who could always somehow manage to leave eye boogers on clothes no matter how vigilant you were, and snored louder than any human being I ever shared a room with, left this world two years ago. He was sick for a while before we knew it, the cortisone that helped his hips masking the symptoms of something far worse. By the time we realized he was ill, it was too late to do anything but let him go. My beloved and my father dug the grave he now rests in, and while his passing left a hole in our lives, we still had her.

Like most of the people here on Kos, I'm a political junkie and I'm here to get my fix, daily, rain or shine. At some point, having all this information and a variety of viewpoints, not to mention background and specifics, creates a problem for me. I start to assume everyone else knows this stuff too. At least the basics...

Uh, no. No, they don't, they really don't.

I had a conversation this morning with a couple of ladies in housekeeping. I make it a point to talk to them every day and tell them how much I appreciate what they do, and about once a week, I'll extend the conversation a bit to find out what they're thinking about politics, etc, because it gives me a good idea of what people who don't live on blogs think about the world.

Yesterday was quite an eye-opener.

I've been a registered user on Kos for a long time, came here back in the Deaniac days, and before I start this rant, let me just say I love this community. It's an amazing place, full of incredibly thoughtful diaries and truly caring individuals. That having been said...

What the hell is wrong with you? Yes, you--all of you.

Why, why would you start your day watching Morning Joe, Asshat Extraordinaire? A 7:00 am root canal or colonoscopy would be more pleasant. Do you want to be upset and torqued for the rest of the day over the pile of BS that man is vomiting through your TV screen?

Why, why would you spend 2 seconds, let alone 2 hours, with Wolf Blitzer? Wasn't there a seminar on curing nail fungus you could go to instead?

Why, why would you repeat, under any circumstances, a word that comes out of Chris Matthew's mouth? I mean, damn, America's Next Top Model has more depth than Hardball.

I can't help it, every day when I watch the "news" and the string of BAs and PAs (that's Bloviating Asshats and Pontificating Asshats for those not living in my house) who continually read crap off of teleprompters, I feel like I'm at the drivethru. And in a weird way, it seems like the traditional media has had the same thing happen to them that happened to fast food.

When they first started asking if I wanted fries, my response was "sure." Hey, fries, I didn't think I wanted them, but now that you mention it, that would be great. A short while later, it was "no, thank you", and a little bit after that "did I say I wanted fries? No--and I don't want a damn pie either. Just give me my order!" That was before I quit patronizing fast food completely. Haven't eaten it in years, and I haven't missed it.

I had no epiphany where Obama was concerned, no moment that was the clear turning point, but I see people on this site, over and over, bemoaning how people could still be supporting Clinton and wondering how they cannot see that he's the winner, etc. Now that I've hopped on that "hope train", I understand a little better the frustration, but I also get how becoming a supporter can be a slow process for some.

Oh, I've seen the standard fare: he's inexperienced/muslim/communist/misogynist/America-hater, and I'm not talking about that stuff. This is going to sound silly, but damn it--he's such a nice guy. I mean honestly, when have you ever seen someone continue to be pleasant under the kind of assault this man has been under? When have you ever seen a politician under this kind of microscope that didn't lose it at least once? Our political bar is set so low (thanks George) that we just can't believe he's for real.

He writes his own stuff? And reads it? And speaks complete sentences? And makes sense? And he's a politician? Get out of town!

Those words have played over and over again in my head since my mother spoke them the other day.

My parents are children of the segregated South, and they grew up in the era of Jim Crow, separate bathrooms and water fountains--things I cannot conceive of. My parents' families lost everything in the Depression, but if you go far enough back in my family tree, there are plantation owners as well as a great-great grandfather who crossed the Mason-Dixon line and fought for the Union. Go a little further back and you'll find Haitian plantation owners who were just about the last white folk off the island when the slaves rose up and overthrew them. I have no doubt that there are branches of that same tree that are black, but I also have no doubt that they were never listed in the family bible. In other words, you can't get much more "cracker" than me.

Like almost everyone here, politics has been a hot topic at my house this campaign season. While I've been a registered Democrat for my entire voting career, I changed to Unaffiliated last year after watching the House and Senate cave, yet again, to the idiot in the White House. No impeachment proceedings, continual funding of the war...I was so angry I decided that I wasn't going to be listed on their voter rolls anymore. Not that my ideals had changed, I was just sick of getting mail from the people who kept ignoring the Constitution.

My beloved, on the other hand, has been a registered Republican for his entire voting career, his mom even worked to help get Reagan elected. He too, switched to unaffiliated last year because he couldn't stand to support, even if only on a voter registration card, the "party of asshats" as he likes to call them.

So we've been watching the entire campaign season, wavering between optimism and pessimism, hoping for the best and expecting the worst, and viewing both the Republicans and Democrats with a jaundiced eye.

Until yesterday. Until Obama stepped up to the mike and talked to us like adults.

The last couple of years have been really bad for me and my significant other. In the grand scheme of things, as bad as it has been, we're much better off than most. I feel small and petty and bitchy when I get mired down in my own troubles and then see newscasts about Darfur or Iraq or any of the numerous other places and peoples getting pummeled by violence and greed.  

We have free counseling at work, so I took advantage of it and went and basically vomited all my crap on the floor for the poor woman to sort through, and when I paused to take a breath, she nodded, scribbled on my shiny new file and murmured "PTSD".

Well, I know what that is, but it startled me. I've not been in a war, I've not been assaulted, not been the victim of any violent crime. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder seemed too--important--a term to assign to me. I'm just dealing with a lot of crap, that's all. PTSD is reserved for people with much deeper and more significant traumas than mine. Isn't it? Well, no, not really, because the only perspective any of us have on tragedy is the worst thing that ever happened to us. If the biggest tragedy of your life is a bad hair day, then the ATM not working on Saturday afternoon could be a mighty big deal.  

Like a lot of people here on Kos, I'm dismayed by the ugliness that has emerged in this primary season. Round after round of recommended candidate diaries with comments that quickly devolve into "your candidate sucks" and "well, your candidate sucks more" hijacked threads where its obvious that a comment against a candidate has been taken faaaaaar too personally.

When a question on candidate policy gets someone labeled a troll, it hurts all of us. This IS the place to voice concerns, isn't it? This community is one of the most informed I know of, so when did it become a waste of time to share knowledge/insight/perspective with respect and kindness? So what if you're repeating something that's been written about numerous times--post a link to that diary or comment--not everyone hanging around these days has been here for four years or longer.

Just as often, I see anti-candidate diaries (and some do seem expressly designed to tick supporters off) where everyone rushes in to troll rate and spew venom. While these don't make it to the rec list as often, the ones that do are full of vitriol and anger. If this is the first diary a newcomer hits, what must they think of us? I try to read as much as I can from every viewpoint, but I can't help but feel we're becoming what we hate.

Or the House, I guess it applies to either one. See, I love my whistlepig (don't ask) very, very much, but he has some...quirks, shall we say, that drive me out of my damn tree sometimes.

Well, join the club, I hear most of you saying--and what the hell does this have to do with the Senate? Mostly, it has to do with the compromise that comes with any relationship, the need to pick your battles, and finding the moments to best make your case. And, of course, recognizing that moment when you have to take a stand, throw down, and let the chips fall.

Like a lot of people on Kos, I'm beyond weary of the "my candidate farts gardenias" diaries and the candidate bashing and hostility that immediately follows. I'm also beyond weary of "this candidate sucks harder than a black hole and here's why" diaries--and the bashing and hostility that immediately follows.

Before the flames and accusations start, let me be clear. I still don't support any candidate. The entire "yer fer us or agin' us" mentality of these candidate diaries is such an echo chamber of the current administration that I can't stomach it. Would that I could find one candidate diary with a lively debate instead of toxic anger, mindless agreement, personal attacks and unnecessary condescension and sarcasm. I don't need anyone repeating the talking points I've read in candidate diaries already. I visit opensecrets.org on a regular basis, and I know the history of all the contenders. I have enough reservations about all of them that I can see myself standing in a voting booth in Feb and just closing my eyes and letting my finger walk where it may.

And I'm beginning to make peace with that. Because the presidency can't save this nation. The presidency can't destroy it either.

Yes, on this, our national day of mourning, the date that marks the greatest tragedy in our nation's history (or so the pundits would have us believe), the date that changed EVERYTHING (or so the pundits would have us believe), I was born. Many moons ago, of course, when the only holiday/event anywhere nearby on the calendar was Labor Day--which Labor actually celebrated.

My childhood was filled with mostly ordinary stuff, although I do remember going to the only house in the neighborhood with a TV to watch the first moon landing. I do not remember seeing anything about Vietnam as a child because my parents kept the news off in my brother's and my presence, so it was many years later before I even had a vague grasp of what that war did to this country. I remember being really peeved that Watergate kept interrupting my after-school cartoons (Speed Racer, in particular), but thanks to PBS I have a life-long affection for everything muppet.

But Vietnam and Watergate had one thing in common..throughout late childhood and adolescense, I was told and it was affirmed by many around me, that the country would not stand for anything like it again (insert brief, bitter laugh here).

I've thought about this constantly over the past year, in the form of various questions.

As I watch the "news" I wonder "How did it get this bad?" and "How did we let this happen?" and, of course, the $64,000 question, "What the hell is wrong with us?"

As I flip the channels and see Survivor and Celebrity Fit Club I wonder "How is this relevant to ANYTHING?" and "How did this get on the air?" and, of course, "Who the hell is watching this?"

As I surf the internet and read stories on altering the bacteria in ruminant stomachs to lower their methane production so they produce less greenhouse gas, and floridated water that is poisoning millions and anything to do with Mansanto, I wonder "How do these people sleep at night?" and "In what world is this acceptable?" and, of course "Why did our government allow this?"