I propose a new edition of the reality show Survivor populated by tribes of some of the nation’s most annoying and extreme political figures. This would be a special version with unique rules, and I’m thinking Guantanamo Bay is a great location for the event.

Here is my proposed starting lineup:

The rules, so far?

1. Contestants begin the competition by paddling to Cuba from the Florida Keys on their own makeshift rafts. First team on the ground gets food.
2. Challenges could include surviving waterboarding, the longest filibuster, the longest silence, shooting & dressing prey (not hunting partners), hunger strike, media deprivation, listening skills, navigating a gauntlet of hostile protestors, skin diving for silver dollars, etc.
3. Halfway through the show, the tribes must combine into a purple tribe without killing each other.
4. Here’s the twist: anyone voted off the island has to disappear from the public media scene and the national stage for, oh, at least four years.
5. The winner could earn his or her own private island, to rule in perpetuity. It might be an empty island, but it would be his/her very own. Mail plane optional.

Can anyone think of additional contestants? Rules? Challenges? I think this has real potential, Hollywood!

Note: I am not a fan of reality tv, and politically I’m independent/libertarian, annoyed by both extremes. This is satire, and anyone who takes it too seriously will have to join the winner on his/her island.

I am hopeful about Obama’s inauguration, and looking forward to the next months and years of his leadership.

I also am not particularly a Bush fan – although I did not detest him either. I consider him a weak and unintelligent man, easily led, who made poor choices of both counsel and executive direction.

My position, as usual, is more moderate/libertarian than fervent partisan supporter (or opponent).

With that perspective, I am more than a little disturbed by the tone of much of the discussion across twitter, blog and comment feeds, as well as the crowd’s reaction to Bush at the event itself.

A relevant tangent:

This Sunday night, Bryan and I watched the excellent movie “Defiance”. It is a story of the Bielski brothers and the forest encampment survival of nearly 1200 Jews in Belorussia during WWII. There is a fairly powerful scene midway through the movie, where a Jewish camp guard captures a young, terrified German courier soldier. While the camp leaders look through the courier dispatches for useful intelligence, the mob in the background begin to kick and beat the solder to death, their pent-up terror and rage and revenge given a target. The leaders take note, but decide not to intervene; still, their grief at the violence is tangible.

It’s feeling more than a bit moblike out there, in the aftermath of Bush & Cheney’s departure. I found Anne’s plea for tolerance and mutual respect to be a refreshing breath of fresh air.

While the issues and the change in leadership are major events in US history, behaving with class and dignity through this transition are also important. With apologies to Janiece, who coined the phrase in relation to an entirely different subject, a message of “we rock” is often more effective than “you suck”.

Bill sent me a great link to Six Words to Inspire America, an interactive page asking for six word inspirational manifestos for America’s future.

SMITH Magazine and the National Constitution Center ask you to help President-elect Obama inspire America.

In six words, give him guidance. Or offer ideas for his inaugural address. Or share six memorable words for January 20th and beyond.

In six words, a President can say a lot: “Malice toward none, charity for all,” “Nothing to fear but fear itself,” “Like a thousand points of light.”

So give your speechwriting a try.

As a request – if you do come up with a six word entry – copy it here as well as on SMITH Mag’s site – I’m curious to see what people come up with!

Thanks, Bill, for the link.

Note: the fabulous Bill and Barb frequently and graciously open their home to me when I visit AK – and they are made of awesome. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Every year, the White House Christmas tree is decorated with ornaments made by artists from every state throughout the nation.

This year, one of Seattle’s artists decided to submit this ornament, on the right. Looks colorful, eh? Click for an expanded view.

This activist artist submitted an artistic piece – to be hung by Laura Bush on a tree in her own home – with the words “Impeach Bush” on the surface, as well as a picture and quote from uber-liberal Washington Rep. Jim McDermott, who signed the House resolution to consider impeachment.

There is a time and a place for political activism, and there are many excellent venues for free and vehement speech. I’m not entirely sure that Christmas trees and controversial political statements mix well, and I’m really certain that common courtesy would indicate not creating an ornament designed specifically to provoke and offend the recipient.

Note that I’m not even addressing the message here – whether you love Bush, feel he’s misguided or actively detest him, it doesn’t matter – I still think that this particular artists’ submission was pretty offensive.

Update: an article in my local paper, the Kitsap Sun, featured a peninsula artist and indicated the artists were instructed to avoid ‘politically touchy subject matter’.

Details and image courtesy of the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

One of the inevitable results of polarizing political contests is that someone loses, often painfully. Without diving into partisan politics, I have to say that John McCain’s concession speech was a highlight of last night’s election returns. It was classy, gracious and humble, and is well worth your time to read.

My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Sen. Barack Obama — to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.

In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans, who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president, is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
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