oh, brother, where art thou?

In my brother's house. He picked me up at the airport (air temp: 10 degrees), and we chatted about this and that (mostly our medical problems) on the drive up to Mequon.

We sat around the kitchen table, chatting with Ellen, and a political ad for Obama came on (remember, the Wisconsin primary is next Tuesday). I mentioned that I had just changed my party affiliation from Green to Democrat, so that I could vote in the Oregon primary, and that I would certainly vote for Obama.

Ellen casually mentioned that she's a Democrat, but that Allen (with whom I share a considerable number of genes), is a Republican.

I am shocked, but, in retrospect, statements he's made over the past couple of years gave me pause. I fear my brother is among the brain-washed, and here's the capper:

He said to me: "Don't you know that Obama is a secret Muslim, and that the Muslims are behind his candidacy so they can take over?"

WTF?

Can it be that my dense brother has been drinking the kool-aid of Internet smears? It is apparently so.

Restraining my rage and disgust, I firmly let loose with a rant, asking if he's been watching Fox News. He then asked me, would I ever consider voting for Hillary and I said, of course, if she is the Democratic nominee. He was incredulous, and listed several unflattering adjectives that are commonly used to disparage the Clintons, most of which perfectly suit the Bush crime family.

I gave my stock answer, that the future of the Supreme Court demands that a Democrat take the White House in 2008, and nothing else matters.

I retired up to my room, and, with Google assisting, immediately found two websites that convincingly debunk the Obama/Muslim smear. I emailed them to Allen, but I sense that it may be judicious to avoid politics for the next couple of days.

Big snow-storm expected Saturday night and Sunday, but things should be tidied up by the time I need to head back to Portland Tuesday afternoon. For the moment, though, I feel storm warnings here in my brother's house.