Headline Muse, 8/28

When the Maine-iacs faced relegation
They reacted with well-earned frustration
Though their shouts were in vain
All could hear the refrain
Of “Remember the Maine… delegation”

Headline: Angry Maine Delegates Cause Ruckus During GOP Convention

As the formal nomination of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney got underway, a very, very vocal minority of Ron Paul supporters from Maine let their disappointment be known.

The elected Maine delegates were upset that through procedural maneuvers the party denied them the right to sit on the floor–so it was from the balcony they chanted, “Seat Maine now!” and interrupted proceedings to the point that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus had to ask the audience for “respect.”

After attracting a media scrum of cameras and audio recorders, the group was peacefully escorted–or walked out–of the convention floor by security officials. The Mainers continued to voice their frustration in the hallways with a rousing chant of “Ron Paul!”

As always, there is more to the story. The Maine Primary was split about 50-50, Ron Paul and Mittens. But the caucuses, where the actual delegates were chosen, was flooded with Paul supporters. Caucuses always have smaller turnouts, so more motivated minority supporters can have disproportionate influence. In Maine, that meant that something like 21 out of 24 delegates were Ron Paul delegates.

The GOP did not like that, so they switched ten of them to Romney delegates. Just like that. Paul’s supporters say that they followed all the rules in gaining their delegates. Romney says he paid every bit of tax he owed and not a penny more. Rules are apparently there to be gamed.

Headline Muse, 8/27

He’s a former Republican page
With a problem concealing his rage
It’s a terrorist plot—
He myopically thought
There’d be others whom he might engage

Headline: Revealed: Militia leader soldier who ‘killed comrade because he left anarchist group’ was page at 2008 Republican convention

Ok, this is horrible. As much as I expected this years ago, I am horrified that this is happening now.

A former soldier accused of killing two people and leading a plot to assassinate President Obama worked at the last Republican National Convention, it has been revealed.
Isaac Aguigui is currently on trial alongside three comrades charged with murdering another soldier and his girlfriend because they had apparently betrayed their anarchist militia group.

There’s much more to this. We’re looking at a genuine attempt to assassinate government officials and take over. The assumption was that enough other people thought like they did, and would cheer their attempt and join their crusade.

I’m gonna stop here. I hope these people get appropriate news coverage, and are not swept under the rug so as not to seem unkind to the GOP convention… You know, the one that Aguigui attended as a page four years ago.

Headline Muse, 8/16

Fancy footware is rarely bad news
But a shade could be simply a ruse
When a pirated red
Isn’t silly—instead,
It’s the soul of the sole of the shoes

Headline: Fake ‘red sole’ shoes seized at Los Angeles port

Customs agents in Los Angeles seized 20,457 pairs of fake Christian Louboutin shoes shipped from China, U.S. officials said Thursday.
The counterfeit lacquered “red sole” shoes, an icon in women’s fashion, could have brought $18 million if they had reached the online and underworld market, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

18 million dollars for 20,457 pairs of shoes?

I may well be on the side of the counterfeiters.

Headline Muse, 8/15

Things are weird, for a rich politician
So you have to respect his position—
But just what kind of schmucks
Can call five million bucks
Just a small “inadvertent omission”?

Headline: Ryan corrected Hill reports during VP search

While being vetted by Mitt Romney’s campaign, GOP vice presidential hopeful Rep. Paul Ryan amended two years of his financial disclosure statements to add an income-producing trust worth between $1 million and $5 million that he had previously neglected to report.

So… Romney’s horse is worth more in tax writeoffs than I earn in a year, so to appeal more to his republican base, Romney goes for a blue-collar guy who loses between one and five million bucks in the sofa cushions.

Ryan’s amended reports were hand delivered to the House Clerk with letters characterizing the belated disclosures as an “inadvertent omission.”

Hey, if he won’t miss it, I could sure use it.

Headline Muse, 7/30

Though we don’t know the fallout just yet
A sure thing is no more a safe bet
It shook up a swing state—
At this very late date—
The withdrawal of Steve LaTourette

Headline: GOP moderate from Ohio quitting his seat. Is he punishing his party?

Potentially leaving his party in the lurch, Rep. Steven LaTourette (R) of Ohio is set to announce his retirement at the end of this term, the Columbus Dispatch and The Hill newspaper reported Monday evening.

He was a sure thing, in a swing state. Now, the deadline for announcing a candidate for the upcoming race is August 8th. If LaTourette officially announces before then, Republicans are up against a wall. If the official announcement is later, they get to simply choose a replacement candidate. Either way, a swing state loses momentum in a serious way.

I grew up in Ohio, in lots of different places. In this past election, every county I lived in in Ohio… went for Santorum. I’d be happy to see a sea-change in the Buckeye state.

Headline Muse, 7/20

Is the person, or system, at fault,
For the crimes which must come to a halt?
In today’s Air Force case
There was one guilty face—
Sergeant Walker committed assault.

Headline: Air Force instructor convicted of rape, assault

An Air Force instructor was convicted in military court Friday of raping one female recruit and sexually assaulting several others, giving prosecutors a victory in the first trial over alleged widespread sexual misconduct by military trainers at a busy Texas base.

A seven-person jury of military personnel at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio found Staff Sgt. Luis Walker guilty on all seven counts he faced, including rape, aggravated sexual contact and multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault. He faces up to life in prison and a dishonorable discharge at his sentencing hearing, which starts Saturday.

Headline Muse, 7/8

The range of his roles was far-flung
And he saw his accomplishments sung
Earnest Borgnine is dead,
And again, it is said,
Ninety-five’s altogether too young.

Headline: Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine dead at 95

It’s strange–for me, he’s indelibly defined by McHale’s Navy, but his Oscar came a decade earlier. I heard an interview of his, on NPR a while ago, and was astonished at his career. Thinking back, of course, I had seen him in so many little roles–Gattaca, for instance–that I never really thought of him as a serious leading man. More the wrong am I. Time to watch some movies and educate myself.