The guy who wrote that RNC speech for the mom whose son died in Benghazi which blamed Hillary Clinton, is now thinking of voting for her.

Courtesy of Politico:  

The lifelong Republican who wrote the powerful speech delivered by the mother of one of the Benghazi victims says he won’t vote for Donald Trump this fall and could end up voting for Hillary Clinton. 

Richard Cross, a former staff member for Maryland Republicans such as former Gov. Bob Ehrlich and former Rep. Helen Bentley, wrote in a Baltimore Sun op-ed that he penned the scathing remarks delivered by Patricia Smith, whose son Sean was killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack. Smith, delivering Cross’ speech, asked the Cleveland crowd "If Hillary Clinton can't give us the truth, why should we give her the presidency?" 

Despite what he wrote in Smith’s speech about Clinton, Cross said he “may yet have to vote for her because of the epic deficiencies of my own party's nominee.” The GOP speechwriter said the deal-breaker on Trump was his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., a plan the Manhattan billionaire has modified in recent weeks in favor of a ban on immigrants from certain countries. 

“President Eisenhower would have never proposed banning Muslims from America. Nor would President Nixon. Nor would President Reagan,” Cross wrote. “Donald Trump has betrayed and perverted their legacies. Consequently, I no longer recognize my party.”

Man you know that Donald Trump is losing big when the guy who wrote a speech essentially accusing his opponent of murder is thinking of voting for her instead of him.

Think I'm exaggerating?

Then go ahead and watch the video of that speech again.

Bristol Palin's new message on Instagram is......interesting.

Source

Not sure exactly who this directed at, or really what it means exactly.

As far as I can tell lately the person who has wronged Bristol the most is her own mother by having crazy and ignorant things written on blog under her name.

Who does she tell about what her mother did to her? Todd?

P.S. While we are on the subject this is an old picture of Bristol, not a current one. 

So let's close out today with video of our President wishing three lucky moms a happy Mother's Day.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

Three lucky moms got the surprise of a lifetime when President Barack Obama called to wish them a happy Mother's Day. 

The three women, from Minnesota, Arizona and Florida, had all written to the president during the year, CNN reported. 

"I know how tough it is to raise kids and do right by them, and if it hadn't been for my mother, I certainly wouldn't be here," he told one mom. "You're doing the most important work there is." 

"I was so proud of everything you've done raising four kids and you know serving our country. And you know, those boys are going to turn out good because of you," he told another. "Congratulations on being a great mom," he added.

Aw, that is damn sweet.  And you just know those mothers were all blown away to receive a call from the President.

I know my mom would have been.

Well gee it kind of makes the flowers I sent and the fact that I took Mom to see "Avengers 2: Age of Ultron" pale by comparison.

Next year I think I'll shoot for one of those presidential phone calls.

The NRA meets its most formidable foe yet, moms.

Courtesy of Mother Jones:  

For years, advocates of stricter gun laws have rallied at the barricades of the National Rifle Association's annual meeting. But this year, as the gun lobby convenes in Indianapolis, there's a new posse in town. They're mothers, they're survivors of gun violence, and some of them are both. And they're dead set on disarming the NRA of its outsize political power. 

They operate as Everytown for Gun Safety, a new organization combining the grassroots group Moms Demand Action, launched after the Sandy Hook massacre, and Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns. At a press conference in a packed downtown hotel conference room on Friday, the group unveiled a forceful new report and political ad. 

The NRA may have money, and political power at their disposal, but as every son knows all too well, nothing stands long against the power of mom.

I look forward to watching how the NRA tries to respond to this.

Happy Mother's Day!

I thought I would commemorate this day with an example from my all time favorite comic strip of all time.

I ma kind of a comic strip nerd and have lots of collections on my bookshelf. But my all time favorite is Calvin and Hobbes.

If any other strip came as close to explaining how I saw the world as a child I have yet to find it. And Calvin's relationship with his mother is a great example of how it seems to mirror my experiences growing up.

An advertisement in India that I think a few American men could stand to read through as well.

You know my mom made just about every mistake in the book, but she drilled into my head repeatedly that I needed to respect women and treat them as equals, and it was perhaps the advice she ever gave me.

I think there are many men, some sitting in Washington right now, who would have benefited from having a mother like mine.

Seriously Alaska? WTF?

Okay so I woke up this morning to my daughter coming home at 5:30 a.m. after driving her drunken co-workers home last night. (She is a nondrinker and therefore always tapped to be the designated driver.)

First she says "Good morning Dad," quickly followed by "Have you SEEN what is going on outside?"

Well I was just then sipping my first cup of coffee, so no I had not seen what was happening outside as I was still not completely sure what was happening directly in front of me.

So I looked.

Gryphen front porch

Crappy cell phone picture of Gryphen front yard featuring denuded, snow encrusted, tree.

Gryphen back yard. Well at least you can no longer see the dog poop!

Okay what the actual fuck, Alaska?

I had to check my calendar three times just to make sure I was the appropriate amount of freaked out about this. Yep, it is ONLY September 29th!

Again, WTF Alaska?

Okay you know we do get early snowfalls. Usually around the end of October. But never this early, right?

I know that because I live here. And also because it is part of my childhood trauma.

Here let me explain, you see when I was a little boy I wanted to dress up like Spider-man, because you know Spider-man was the shit.

However we were pretty poor, so my mom tried to talk me into dressing up as something she could put together from items around the house. You know like a hobo, or a ghost, or a little boy whose heart was broken because he could NOT be Spider-man!

Anyway after I whined the sufficient amount and promised to eat my vegetables (Yeah right!) and clean my room (Never happened!), she caved in and bought me a cheap ass Spider-man costume at Woolworths.

And let me just tell you that I looked EXACTLY like Spider-man! (YOU know if Spider-man had been a hyperactive little midget, with a speech impediment.)

I loved the hell out of that costume and wore it to bed, at the dinner table, and even tried to wear it to school but my mother stopped me because apparently she did not want me to be the most awesome kid on the playground. (Mom was always holding me back like that.)

So after two weeks of waiting it was FINALLY Halloween, and I was so amped up I was crawling on the walls even without web-shooters. (Which this cheap ass costume did not have, even though it was an obviously imperative accessory.)

However when I woke up, you guessed it, we had snow.

A butt load of snow.

In response my mother made one of those executive decisions that all kids dread, and told me it was now too cold and that I would have to wear my Spider-man costume UNDER my snowsuit. Aaagghh!!!

Anyhow after some calm negotiations (Well essentially after fifteen minutes of my screaming and banging my head on the floor) we compromised. I COULD wear my Spider-man costume for all the world to see on the OUTSIDE of my snowsuit.

My throat was dry, I was having trouble breathing, and my head hurt like crazy, so I acquiesced.

However after my mother squeezed my snowsuited body into the costume I ended up looking like Spider-man with a serious pituitary problem. I was so bloated that I looked like a candidate for a superhero fat farm.

Well what could I do?  There was candy just waiting for me on the streets of Anchorage, so I "Spider-manned up" and went out to claim my booty.

Well to make a long story short (I know, too late right?) I ended up having one of the WORST Halloweens ever!  The snow was up to my knees, so my costume got drenched and started to fall apart. It was cold outside but hot inside my mask, so my face was sweating, and then the sweat was freezing to my cheeks. And to make matters worse my eye-holes got all frosty and I couldn't see where the hell I was going and kept wandering into traffic.

But possibly the worst thing was that I also could not see the top of my little orange pumpkin Halloween candy bucket and I kept missing it and dropping my candy in the fucking snow! And when I reached down to get my hard earned popcorn ball, the back of my costume split from crotch to hairline, and suddenly I was only a cool pudgy Spider-man from the front, and a sweaty little sobbing child from the back. Fuck that Halloween!

But I digress.

Really the important part of this post, is why in they hell is it snowing already?

I thought I would end my posts today with something both upbeat and appropriate.

Happy Mother's Day FLOTUS!

In a slam to REAL moms everywhere Sarah Palin makes the list of Top 5 Moms in American Politics.

It is posted on a site called Policy Mic, and the other five women listed are Hillary Clinton, Lisa Murkowski, Susana Martinez, and Nancy Pelosi.

This is what is written under Palin picture:

Love her or hate her the former governor of Alaska and 2008 vice presidential nominee has put motherhood front and center of her political career by stressing family values and highlighting her pro-life stance via the highly publicized birth of son Trig, who she decided to have despite the doctor's warning of potential Down syndrome. Palin’s daughter Bristol recently made headlines by criticizing president Obama for taking advise from daughters Sasha and Malia regarding gay marriage.

So what do you think guys? Love her, or hate her?

Personally I am interested in the criteria they used to pick these women.  I mean on the face of it Palin would HARDLY seem like a reasonable choice for such a distinction.

After all her teenage daughter DID get pregnant, and remains unmarried to this day.  Her second daughter has been involved in breaking and entering, along with underage drinking and substance abuse.  And Piper has been relegated to full time babysitter and has been seen roughing up the paparazzi.

So WHERE is all of this good mothering?

Perhaps it was just an impression they got based how well she interacts with other people's children?

Or perhaps it's how she includes her own children in opportunities to demonstrate good judgement?

Personally I am completely unimpressed with the woman's mothering abilities.

In fact if I were to choose the Top 5 Moms in American Politics, I would more likely choose this guy, irregardless of his gender,..

..rather than Sarah Palin.

I mean come on, take away the Y chromosome, and it's not even a close call.

SNL takes on the Time Magazine breastfeeding mom.

Nicely done.

I had actually started to write a post about this earlier in the week when the cover was first revealed but, like many men, I found myself really intimidated by the subject.

My first instinct then I saw this cover was that this mother was really screwing her child up.

But then I thought that I had no right to tell this woman how to raise her child. After all there are MANY ways that parents mess up their kids and at least this one is being well fed.

As I have already shared with all of you I have spent much of my life working with women, so I have had plenty of time to get used to being around breastfeeding. But oddly enough I have NEVER become completely comfortable.

I remember one incident when I was coaching gymnastics, and was teaching a class of four year old children that were brought to the gym by their mommies who carpooled together.

After the class I walked up to the group of mostly young moms to talk about their children's progress, and one of the younger, more attractive mothers engaged me in a one on one conversation. Part way through the conversation the shawl that she had draped over her shoulders and bosom fell away to reveal a nursing baby that for some reason I had not known was there at first.

The sight literally stopped me in mid sentence and I my eyes were suddenly riveted to her now revealed breast and the child attached.  I was completely embarrassed and realized that I was openly staring at this woman's naked bosom and had to turn my entire body in order to tear my now fixated eyes away.

In my mind all I could think of was that I had sexually objectified this woman and I immediately needed to apologize, However before I could, I was met with howls of laughter from the mothers who started to tease me for my discomfort. When I turned back to face the group, with my face now an unmistakeable scarlet color, they only laughed harder, with the breastfeeding mom saying, "It's just a boob Jesse. No need to be embarrassed. Surely YOU have seen a naked boob before."

Well of course I had seen many, but I certainly did not expect to see hers, and I certainly not expected it to make an appearance during a conversation about gymnastics.

After that when I walked by this group of ladies they would tease me by calling out that it was safe to come over and talk to them because "we have our breasts in storage."

The point of course is that even though breastfeeding is possibly the MOST natural thing in the world, it can STILL cause controversy and make otherwise perfectly progressive people uncomfortable, at least momentarily.

Which of course was my initial reaction to this Time magazine cover. And the fact that it was a four year old boy just made that discomfort all the worse.

 So I have shared my conflicted opinions on this topic, what are yours?

(BTW, apparently this woman has now had to deal with threats for appearing on the the cover.)

Study shows that Sarah Palin's "Hockey Mom" schtick failed to impress REAL moms.

Courtesy of Washington Secrets:

Here’s another reason why Sarah Palin failed as Sen. John McCain’s 2008 vice presidential running mate: The whole “hockey mom” thing that was supposed to win over soccer moms flopped. 

A new report from the authoritative American Politics Research journal finds that her story of being a mom of five hockey playing kids held no appeal to the rest of parents. “Palin fared particularly poorly among married mothers,” it said, because her candidacy “did not hold any special appeal to mothers or fathers.” 

And on Election Day, added the journal, “Mothers, like women overall, were a very solid Democratic voting block in 2008.”

You know during the 2008 campaign one of the tactics used to defend Palin from "attacks," were that they were coming from misogynist males on the Left, who simply could not stand the idea of a conservative woman being elected VP.

Of course first off I would have to say that if one were looking for examples of "misogyny" they would be FAR more successful looking over on the Conservative side of the aisle, but I would also say that the idea that Palin's major detractors were male is a false narrative.

As many of you know the Palin saga was unfolding, and of course falling apart at the seams, in real time all over the internet. Including here at IM.

And what I learned very early on was that the very FIRST people to call bullshit on Palin's narrative, were the women. The very first e-mail I received questioning Trig's birth story was from a female nurse, and from there it was pretty obvious that women were challenging virtually every detail of the Palin mythology from day one.

Women KNEW that she did not appear connected to her family on stage. 

They KNEW her response to the news of Bristol's pregnancy seemed unnatural and uncaring.

They KNEW that the way she held her supposedly newborn son felt wrong to them.

They knew!

And of course, THEY were right!

We have since learned that Palin was NOT the involved "hockey mom" that she tried to portray herself as on television. In fact, according to Sherry Johnston, she rarely attended games, and when she did she was always on her Blackberry or flirting with the dads.

According to a rather large number of people who spoke to Joe McGinnis, Geoffrey Dunn, and myself,  Palin was forever pawning her parental responsibilities off on just about anybody that she could. INCLUDING by the way the much maligned Mike Wooten, as he makes clear during his interview on Broomfield's excellent documentary "Sarah Palin-You Betcha."

No I seriously doubt that there were too many women fooled by Palin's transparent masquerade as a heavily involved, adoring parent of a hockey playing family of loveable misfits.

Good on you ladies. Good on you.

Did I mention my mom was a model?

I found this old yellowed newspaper ad among my Grandmother's things after she passed away several years ago.  I had never seen it before, but even without my grandmother's label on the bottom there was no doubt that the pretty lady with the two unidentified children was my mother.

The ad was for a clothing store called Parkers (which I have no recollection of), and was published sometime in the early seventies.

It was not all that unusual when I was growing up to see my mom on a television commercial for clothing stores, or in the newspaper standing next to some product that we could not afford to buy. I just thought every one's mommy got their picture taken all of the time.

Since Mother's Day is almost over, I just thought I would put up one more post to honor the best, and most patient, mother any borderline juvenile delinquent could ever hope to have.

And by the way Mom, thanks for not selling me to the gypsies. (I knew you were bluffing!)

TopTen Things my Mother asked me to STOP doing this Mother's Day.

10) Stop telling everybody that we are still waiting for the blood test results to determine if she is my REAL mother.

9) Stop telling people that though my mother did not drink during her pregnancy she has not skipped a day since my birth.

8) When people ask about my father, stop saying that I am not sure but that I think it was somebody on her high school football team.

7) When mom reaches for something near my head stop ducking and screaming "No mom, I'll be good, I promise!"

6) Stop telling people I was raised by wolves. (Mom thinks that is just spreading ugly rumors about the parenting ability of wolves.)

5) Stop referring to the men she dated when we were kids as "Uncle Cheapskate." "Uncle Smells like Sausage," and "Uncle Aren't You Too Young To Be Dating My Mother?"

4) Also don't tell people that mom refers to the men she dated when we were kids as "Uncle Lied About Being Married, "Uncle Big Hands, Big Feet, Big Disappointment," and "Uncle Should Not Start a Fight if He Cannot Take a Punch!"

3) Stop calling my sister "Nature's Answer to Birth Control" just because mom stopped having kids after she was born.

2) Stop telling people how old I am.  Especially when there is a hot guy nearby who might think mom is still in her 50's. (She's not!)

And finally the number one thing my mom keeps asking me to STOP doing for Mother's Day this year.

(This is my mom talking.)

1) "Stop writing those things about Sarah Palin in that blog of yours!  Do you think I want to be shot from a helicopter?)

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Here is a picture of my beautiful mother, with me on the left, and two ugly orphan children that mom took in so they could  break all my toys and  ruin my childhood! (Okay that is really my brother and sister, but that last part was true though.)