On Friday, I turned 38 wise-and-strong, years old. What I didn’t know what that John McCain shared my Virgo birthday...weird, right? The Senator was a war hero, who suffered five years of torture, probably while my mother was in labor for twenty-some-odd-hours with me. You would think McCain should have been a Leo, or Taurus, or something...? Senator McCain gave himself a present for his 72nd birthday to supposedly secure his Presidential Nomination for the Grand Old Party. It wasn’t another house; it was a woman named Sarah Palin, the current governor of the 49th state, larger than any other in terms of area, the final frontier...Alaska!On a side note, I usually don’t blog about politics, or anything so dull and boring, but that Grey Haired Dude had my knickers twisted! Now I can see why Madonna dubbed her record label as per one of Senator McCain nice-names, Maverick. He one-upped Paris Hilton’s presidential commercial, which was hilarious and very well acted (I was about to write a check, for christ’s sake!), AND had the nerve to doing on MY birthday! John McCain had sooo crossed the line. And now, after returning from what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend in Martha’s Vineyard over Labor Day, I’m still steaming mad! I hardly noticed the tents being erected as I walked to work this morning for Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2009. I’m consumed with the Republican VP choice, hopefully, writing this blog will help me work through it.Octupussy James Bond

As a homosexual male, HIV+, living in Manhattan, with an annual income of substantially more money than a typical US family of four, you would think I really don’t have any say in the matter. But I’m also an American, I want a piece of the pie?damn it! Do you think Governor Palin gives a sh*t about gay marriage (I’m not planning on getting hitched anytime soon, I’m just pissed that I should have taken my ex to the cleaners?only joking!) Most importantly, because I’m not employed, and I’m no longer with my ex-boyfriend (whose medical insurance I could qualify for under New York State’s same-sex partnership benefits), I’m on Medicare ? my ONLY option. In addition, I have Medicare Part F which allows me to see all the doctors I was seeing previously, and rack up out-patient therapy and/or hospital stays at no cost. The clincher is the medicine, the dreaded Medicare Part D, and there’s no way out of this. AIDS meds are all brand names, no generic, which makes them incredibly expensive. There’s an unofficial term they use for Medicare Part D, it’s called the “dough-nut hole”... don’t get me started. Ultimately, I have to fork over close to $5000 every year, before I go into what’s called a “catastrophic state”, and then the prescription coverage kicks in. Are we talking about Medicare...or some B horror/porn movie from the 70’s? Five grand is nothing to shake a stick at, I could put that away into my ?nest egg,?....or the idea of a Fire Island Pines summer share sounds appealing...only joking! Yep, that’s HIV+ and Medicare in the richest country in the world! I’m not saying life President Obama all sunshine and rainbows, and the trees would grow Truvada (hee hee,) but at the Democratic Convention you heard the words ?health care? and ?gay,? and it didn?t mean ?happy.?

I have my own take on who Governor Sarah Palin, Republication Vice President Candidate reminds me of, and it’s kind of evil. First of all, I think that Tina Fey would be SO offended to be equated to Mrs. Palin in ANY way both physical and/or political?IT’S INSANITY! Instead, I see Sarah Palin as the equivalent of a Bond Girl. She starts off as a woman in a smart suits, low heels, hair up and the signature glasses, but as time goes on she lets her hair down, the glasses were only a ploy, and the suit magically Velcroes off to reveal a Brazilian bikini with a strap on gun holster ready for the next round of shooting. My friend Kate and I had a great time imagining this transformation as we watched the media coverage over the weekend. Palin would be the ultimate Octopussy, one hand holding the rifle, another frying up bison burgers on the grill, one hand to keep up on Blackberry e-mails from President McCain, and a final hand clutching the breast-feeding, Down Syndrome baby Trig. The only hope I have, if Palin really is a Bond Girl, is that she gets screwed a few times but is ultimately terminated?or eaten by piranhas!

XOXO...

Edited by Smith Alum (art history major, fuh sho!), mother to adorable little Will, and favorite quote "Mayflower?...My parents flew first class on a 747, Seoul-JFK direct!!!" Mrs. Heedan Chung-Goh