Maybe I'm a Bitchy Jew

But I don't understand why the Obamas were having a Passover seder in the White House. They're not jewish. I heard that one of them has a relative who is a rabbi, but everything I've read on the O's seder fails to mention that rabbi hosting or attending.

Judiasm is a religion. A real one, with beliefs and everything. It's not a lifestyle to try on. It's not a club to join just because you like the uniform (or the food, in this case). My parents have hosted seders for years, and invited nonjews. There was the Italian couple whose husband worked with my dad. My mom packed up the extra hard boiled eggs and gave them to the wife as she was leaving, to use for Easter. In high school my Italian friend came to a seder. My brother's indian friend came to one. When I first moved out to San Francisco I hosted a Rosh Hashanah dinner and invited my Irish Catholic roommate.

So it's not that non-jews should be shunned from celebrating jewish holidays. It just strikes me as really fucking weird for a bunch of non-jews to get together to do something jewy. Yes, matzah ball soup is awesome, but you don't have to do a seder to eat some, you can just get it at the nearest kosher deli or make it yourself.

I'd be more impressed with the Obamas if they cut out the White House Easter Egg Hunt. But I won't hold my breath, since we all know separation of church and state doesn't really exist.

The Broken Pantsuit

There's a blog devoted strictly to keeping track of Michelle Obama's clothing choices. It's more interesting than you'd think. Partially because the writing is truly good, but also because Michelle Obama has actual style.

There are lots of compliments I could give Hillary Clinton, but her fashion sense is not one of them. You'd think that after spending over a decade in the public eye, Hillary would take some of the feedback she's gotten and change the way she dresses. I totally understand the idea of ignoring things that are said about you. However. If everyone has the same critique maybe it's time to pay attention.

Hillary does not share my stance. Maybe she really digs pantsuits. Maybe she feels very attacked out in the world and views her pantsuits as armor. Maybe a guy she had a huge crush on in 10th grade made fun of her one day when she wore a dress, and ever since then she's hated how she looks in them.

Whatever the reason, Hillary forges on in her new position suited up in her pantsuit. It will be interesting to see if Michelle's style rubs off on Hillary at all. Will Hillary break out of her self-imposed pantsuit prison? My guess is that it won't, but that won't stop me from keeping an eye on the situation in order to report back to you.

What Did I Tell You About the Trash?

Didn't I say something about how much pollution the inauguration would produce? Yes, yes I did. Sadly, I was right. Why don't people listen to me?

Screw Being Professional

I am absolutely exhausted after having woken up at 5 am, excited and nervous about today.

This afternoon I was running around all about town but watched the morning festivities earlier in the day. What made me laugh, what made me cry, and feel all verklempt was this:

When the Obamas (and CNN) went inside for the fancy lunch with 200 people, I saw a line of waiters standing against the wall, waiting to pour drinks and serve food. They were, for all intents and purposes, the hired help. They were not there to say anything inspiring, nobody expected them to stir emotions in people.

I saw them, this line of people standing to the side, all in the same white jackets. All of them with huge grins on their faces. Every last one looking excited to do their jobs.

When do you ever see waitstaff so eager to throw down plates of food? Never. Until now.

I have to go to bed now, and cry with relief that George has gone home, that McCain and Crazy Sarah didn't move in, and that our country has a chance now. Happy Obama, everyone.

I Had To Look Up How Inauguration Is Spelled

So, dude takes office tomorrow or something. Yeah. Very exciting. Except ... not really. Yeah, you read that right, I'm not excited. In fact, I'm kind of unhappy about the whole thing. Did you just check to make sure you're reading the blog you meant to be reading? It's me. You're not lost. I did vote for Obama, and I am happy he's becoming our president.

But to be honest, I think I'm more excited that Georgie is getting the fuck out. Yes, the politically correct thing to do is to celebrate the positive, but hello, have you met me? I want to celebrate the negative. That Bush is finally leaving. That his hurricane of destruction is dying out. That when Americans travel abroad, we (or should I say you, since I have never traveled abroad?) won't claim to be from Canada so as not to be hated any longer?

How gross are we to do that, by the way?! After all the fun Americans poke at Canadians, for being stupid, for the hockey, the syrup, the cold? But when the United States are sucking and an embarrassment what is the best choice? Claiming to be Canadian. Sorry, Dave.

So back to this inauguration thing, and why I'm not happy. Something like four million people are expected to show up for Obama's thing (I can not bring myself to type that word again). I heard on the news recently that 5,000 porta-potties were being brought in. By the way, that's not enough, so if you're going, don't drink anything, or wear a diaper.

Part of why we like Obama is because he's into the environment, right? He believes in the whole "global warming" thing, thinks it's real? Doesn't pollution go hand in hand with that? Do you REALLY TRULY believe all those four million people aren't going to pollute? How much money do you think it'll cost to clean up after four million excited people?

Isn't part of why we like Obama because he acknowledges we're in a major recession? So don't you think it would be better to save the money it will cost to clean up, to provide crowd control, security, etc., and spend it on more important things?

Also, one figure says that over 65 million people voted for Obama. So let's just completely generalize and say that a lot of people like him. There are a lot of people out there who don't like him. There are even a lot of people who'd probably like to kill him. Some because they're afflicted with hating black people disease, some because they want to be famous for killing a president, and some for other, unknown reasons.

Know where a good place to hide is? Inside a big fat fucking crowd of people! Like say, four million of them. I like Obama. I think he can do a lot of great things for our country, or, at the absolute very least, staunch the flow of bad things Bush has been doing to our country. I don't want Obama to die, and I'm really scared about that. (How come nobody talks about that?) Now, I'm sure there's some statistical system that figures out how many people one cop/security guard can control, and that's how they figure out how many cops they need for this crowd. But the thing is, two is not just one more than one. 100 people are not just twice as strong as fifty people. My confidence in whatever security will be working tomorrow is shakey at best. I am a skeptical person. If anything goes wrong, I do not have confidence that order can be maintained.

You're white, and young. You don't understand how big of a deal this is, and why we need to celebrate. Well, you're partially right. I am white, and I am young. But I do understand that this is an outrageously huge deal. That's why I cried when Obama won. I was crying with relief. I watched the debates, I asked tons of questions, did lots of research.

But I think it'd be much more cost-effective and environmentally friendly (not to mention safer for Obama) for his inauguration to take place inside somewhere, without crowds, and simply televised for all to see from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

You all hate me now, don't you?