Knit picking.

Blog Explosion is addicting in a strange, unsettling way, much like the first few seasons of Saved by the Bell.

But in surfing all these new blogs, I’m amazed how many are about knitting and pets.  I’ve realized that 51% of America is composed of people who knit and who like pets.

Moral values?  Please.  The Democrats lost the election because of their weak stance on knitting and pets.

I think we all remember that one moment in the Presidential debate:

---
MODERATOR: So what do you think of blogs about knitting and pets?

BUSH: I’m in favor of blogs about knitting and pets.  Knitting and pets make our country great.  If I’m elected, I’ll start more blogs about knitting and pets.

KERRY: I’m glad you asked that question.  I have very strong convictions about knitting and pets, many of which have been misconstrued by my opponent.  My family often knitted, and sometimes we had pets. When I think about knitting and pets, many strong thoughts come to my mind--

(goes on for ten more minutes, everyone falls asleep)
----

It seems clear to me that the Democrats will have a chance in 2008 if they cater to the knitting and pets majority.  I only wonder if they can do so without compromising their core values.

Hi.  I wandered in through BE and enjoyed your presidential posts about knitting and pets and the GWB library.

Posted by Mad Kane  on  11/28  at  08:29 AM

Sabrina fair,
Listen where thou art sitting
In the glassy, cool, translucent fog
In twisted braids of lilies knitting
The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair,
And the train of thy thoughts into the blog!

With apologies to John Milton (1608-1674)

Posted by Papa Goose  on  11/28  at  01:03 PM

Wow, Papa Goose, way to work (and rhyme) blog within a Milton riff!  and yes, I heart Milton.

Posted by rockgrrl  on  11/28  at  02:38 PM

Promise you my blog isn’t about knitting.

--Jon Langdon
http://jonlangdon.blogspot.com

Posted by Jon Langdon  on  11/28  at  03:14 PM

Damn, I need to learn how to knit.

(Came in through BE.)

Posted by Mir  on  11/28  at  03:28 PM

I’m a BE junkie - I have to get those damn credits!

Posted by tanya  on  11/28  at  03:37 PM

I could be wrong about this, but I thought Kerry also had a PLAN about knitting and pets. If he’d followed through on that just a bit more, he may have won! smile

Posted by  on  11/28  at  03:52 PM

Uh oh… I have a blog about knitting (although separate from my daily site) and post about my dog.

But really… I’m not that bad! smile

Posted by Dell  on  11/28  at  05:45 PM

Um, you’re dad said what I was going to say. Yep, that’s it. I’m going with that.

Posted by anna  on  11/28  at  06:19 PM

I wish everyone would stop joking around.  Politics is a serious business.

Greg, you are, of course, dead center on this issue.  As far as knitting is concerned, I’m just hoping that the Democrats are smart enough on the next go-around to stick with the core issues.  You know, scarves and mittens.

Posted by Keith  on  11/29  at  05:11 AM

I feel so out of the loop of American culture once again.  I’ve never once knitted anything, ever.  But I CAN start chronicling the life of my cat on a daily basis now, Greg.  Just for you.

Posted by jennn  on  11/29  at  05:28 AM

Smells like knitters in here.

Posted by Dirty Dan Sin  on  11/29  at  08:10 AM

that won’t work.  then we’ll just separate ourselves according to whether we’re smart cat people or silly dog people.

Posted by Theresa  on  11/29  at  08:48 AM

I recently had to introduce myself to a room full of people by offering some personal facts, so I said I was an equal parts dog and cat person and someday I hoped to learn to yodel.

Posted by Greg  on  11/29  at  08:51 AM

so obviously nobody is going to take the bait: the dangerous thing about all these knitters and pet owners is the proliferation of undocumented afghans. 

I’m particularly impressed by those who combine their fetishes into one unholy hobby.  Puts new meaning into the phrase “that darn cat.”

Posted by dan  on  11/29  at  09:16 AM

You know that Kerry actually voted for knitting before he voted against it.

Posted by HOON  on  11/29  at  11:16 AM

dan dan dan…
*sigh*
grin

~~~

i can sew a button and that’s about it.

Posted by snowy  on  11/29  at  12:10 PM

i’ll be impressed when they show me that they’ve conquered the heretofore unchartered territory of knitting pets. and i don’t mean pets who can knit. i mean knitting a pet who walks and talks and tinkles on the carpet...all from a ball of yarn.

i expect great things from the democratic party. 

Posted by Kimberley  on  11/29  at  12:45 PM

*giggleds*

ohmy. so true

Posted by Fiona  on  11/29  at  01:29 PM

or is it because those joining Blog explosion happen to belong to a community of knitters and pet owner?

Posted by Lauren  on  11/29  at  01:47 PM

This BlogExplosion thingy is like a virus. Every single blog I’ve read today mentions it. I’m not sure if I should embrace assimilation or run in fear.

Posted by Flip  on  11/29  at  10:21 PM

I’ve never heard of it, but I live underground.

I did, however, knit an eyepatch last week.  No shit.

Posted by nikita  on  12/02  at  07:10 AM

Oh no!  You know, right around the start of blog explosion, I put a link to it on my blog.  I’m actually kind of ambivalent about it, but um, I noticed that a lot of knitting bloggers signed up through my link.  So I think it may be my fault that all you BE folks are being subjected to our weird obsession.  Listen, we didn’t mean to make you guys read shit about merino and short rows.  We know it’s bizarre.  That’s why we talk to each other.  I think the BE signups were in hope of finding other knitbloggers.  And then it snowballs.  Just figure it’s payback for us having to read the latest Major Mental Illness blog or the musings of the world’s hottest redneck republican.

Oh yeah, and BTW, it has become abundantly clear in the knitting blogosphere that almost all of us voted for Kerry.  Didja see the “Knitters For Kerry: Don’t Make Me Get My DPNs” or “Don’t Unravel Our Rights” buttons?  Bush would have to be handing out skeins of handspun cashmere to get most of our votes.

Pets, I have nothing to say.  That’s its own little debate in our knitting world.  There are those who frown upon the inclusion of pets in knitting blogs.  Quite the little brouhaha a month or two back.  No lie.

As for the level of controversy related to scarves and mittens, actually, Keith, you’d be amazed.  Mittens are actually a pretty safe topic, but scarves...well...might want to do a focus group on that one.

Like I said, sorry ‘bout that.

Posted by mamacate  on  12/03  at  07:10 AM

Knitters versus petaholics?  Oh, how humankind fractures ourselves.

Posted by Greg  on  12/03  at  07:30 AM

No, it’s knitting petaholics against knitters who object to frequent cat photos.  There was a troll exposed, hate mail, controversy over publishing a phone number.  Drama, I tell you.

Personally, I am slightly more concerned about the scarf-knitters vs. the non-scarf-knitters.  Insert hackneyed knitblog concept about how we are all “knit together.” Why can’t we all JUST GET ALONG?

I’m sure the Quarter Horse people or the Numismatists for Peace have similar squabbles.  They just haven’t flung their world into BE yet.  Won’t be long now…

Posted by mamacate  on  12/03  at  10:53 AM