I find it's a handy place to park the cars and dry the laundry... on the rare rain free days that we happen to get in this part of the world. I have two things to say today: firstly, am I the only one who thinks the Republican VP candidate is a seriously scary person. I watched her speech to the Republican convention this morning and shivers went down my spine at the thought that, should McCain be elected (and surely the Americans can't be so dumb that they want another four years of Republican rule), there is a possibility he will not survive the four years, then 'hockey mom' will be the most powerful person in the world. More than that, though, an 'evangelical Christian' (and we know how tolerant they tend to be) who believes America is doing 'God's work' in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I'm at it, can the American right-wing (the euphemistically self-labelled 'social conservatives') explain how they can call themselves 'pro-life' when they are so keen on the death penalty, hunting, guns, big military and war. When Tony Blair was our prime minister, Britain tended to do whatever the Bush administration asked of it... we had the obligation without the representation, so to speak. In fact, Guam and Puerto Rico exercise more direct influence over the US political system than the UK. We don't get a say on who gets to boss our prime minister about for the next four years. Time for another Boston Tea Party -- although this time in the original Boston. The second thing I have to say is... Damn. I've forgotten. Can't have been important. Now I'm off to watch The Daily Show and the Colbert Report.