As we remember St. Ronnie's 100th birthday, think how much better off this country would be if Reagan had have stuck with acting with chimps. He actually was pretty good at that.
Of course, he was so much more dignified and "presidential" than our current president.
And his legacy is still with us in so many ways, which is why so many worship him to this day.
Just to let you know that I'm still participating in blogroll amnesty day, but I'll be...well...just a little late. I spent most of yesterday engaging in "non-internet related activities" and will be spending a lot of today watching some obscure sporting event. So the blogroll update, while still coming, won't be done today. Again, if you'd like me to add your blog to the 'roll, leave me a comment.
Via our old friend skippy, I see that it's time again for the annual blogroll amnesty day, and I'm again happy to participate. I'd been planning to update the blogroll anyway, and this weekend seems like a good time to do it. I'll be adding some blogs that entertain me, and dropping a few who've gone dark.
So here's an open invitation: if you'd like me to add your blog to my blogroll, let me know in the comments. I really don't care about how much "traffic" a blog has (this one doesn't get much), but I do value "interesting" most. Link to me, and I'll link to you. Only one exception: I don't link to blogs that are strictly commercial.
Wow, I'm actually two days late in noticing it, but my little blog is at its fourth anniversary (or blogiversary if you prefer). This is the 1,828th post, which means that I'm not exactly prolific.
When I created this blog, I had a simple modest plan: a place where I could throw up whatever crossed my little mind, and then receive accolades from millions of readers around the world. Well, OK, maybe not millions. But the blog has gotten over 51,000 views, which is flattering, to say the least. Most have come in search of Boobies, which I'm only too happy to show them.
One thing I've never been certain of in my own mind is whether this blog serves any actual purpose. While I sometimes put up a "serious" (or at least 'semi-serious') post, most of the content has been trivialities that I found entertaining and, of course, Boobies. Luckily for me, there are no quality standards for blogs. Blogger doesn't care whether a post is meaningful or pure mindless drivel. And I expect that I'll continue to adhere to those standards.
So, to anybody and everybody who's stopped by: a hearty "thank you". I really appreciate your attention, and especially all the comments.
Of course, I lack optimism. Perhaps the world will improve, but that doesn't seem to be the trend line. Actually, if you look at the history of us humans, we've gone a long time without a catastrophic collapse. Currently, this national elevator is headed in only one direction.
Of course, my view could be a result of my seasonal affective disorder. Consider 1. You notice that Seasonal Affective Disorder has the initials SAD, and you’re both sad and angry about this. You make up a new word, “sangry,” and you are. Sangry.
2. You build 14 detailed snowmen with various personalities and traits. Then you kill them. With a blowtorch.
3. Warm cookies cheer you up. At least the first couple dozen do. Then they make you sangry.
4. You build 14 more snowmen, all different from the first 14, but they meet the same fate. And before they do, you say, “Now you will meet the same fate!” as if they understood you and feared the blowtorch.
5. The happy cries of children yelling “snow day!” sound like actual crying to you, and you join in, which scares the children, and then they really do cry.
6. You go swimsuit shopping to cheer up. That’s how bad it’s gotten.
7. You build 14 more snowmen, put swimsuits on them and feed them cookies. Then, the blowtorch.
First, before you bother to read anything I have to say about Egypt, please read this:The tail has long wagged the dog in American Middle East policy. The rotten order of the modern Middle East has been based on wily local elites stealing their way to billions while they took all the aid they could from the United States, even as they bit the hand that fed them. First the justification was the putative threat of International Communism (which however actually only managed to gather up for itself the dust of Hadramawt in South Yemen and the mangy goats milling around broken-down Afghan villages). More recently the cover story has been the supposed threat of radical Islam, which is a tiny fringe phenomenon in most of the Middle East that in some large part was sowed by US support for the extremists in the Cold War as a foil to the phantom of International Communism. And then there is the set of myths around Israel, that it is necessary for the well-being of the world’s Jews, that it is an asset to US security, that it is a great ethical enterprise– all of which are patently false.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/02/mubarak-defies-a-humiliated-america-emulating-netanyahu.html
The Muslim Brotherhood is not on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations list. It renounced violence in the 1970s and has no active militia.
One part of watching yesterday's clashes that was truly surreal was the "pro-Mubarak" mob riding in on Camel and Horse back. These Camels and Horses are usually employed giving rides to tourists, not to run roughshod through crowds. The fact that the army allowed them to charge into the crowd is rather ominous for the future of the protest.
Ah, the annual harassment of the Groundhog reveals an early spring. Which is good, as much of the country seems to be getting an overdose of winter. Here in my little mountain town we're not getting much of any snow, but it's bloody cold. Down to -17 with wind chill today, which is making me want to hibernate until spring. Here's a weather advisory:
I'm not optimistic about America's future.
That's not really news. I haven't been optimistic about America's future since Ronnie Reagan was elected in 1980. That is when the 'systemic wreckage' of America's infrastructure began. There was a fundamental change in political philosophy with Reagan: instead of trying to build a 'better future', the focus became 'how much can we make now?'.
Jimmy Carter was our last President who was a visionary trying to build a better future. While you can disagree about the quality of his vision, he was truly focused on building for the long term (think about his energy policies and how much better off this country would be if we had followed his plan).
Both Bill Clinton and Obama have a much more moderate vision. In the face of systemic wreckage, both have taken the approach of "what can we salvage?" Which is better than the Republican greedhead response of "what can we loot from the wreck", but far from building a better future.
Our government now thinks like a corporation, with polls being the equivalent of the stock market, where quarterly profits outweigh long term growth. "Now" trumps the "future" in our politics more than ever before. Given that the corporations now buy the government they want, the decline will only continue.
Tonight we'll get to hear the annual "State of the Union" address, and I fully expect Obama to use the word "investment" a lot to talk about our "future". But the reality is much more grim. There really is no political will to build a better infrastructure for a better future. The only real question is what can be salvaged from the looters.
In short, the "state of the union" sucks, unless you're a rich greedhead. And it's not getting better anytime soon.
Which can lead to this:
So, please, celebrate responsibly.
(Happy Narwhal by Shane Rickman.)"I paint to inspire, to wake the spirit from its slumber and to remind myself of the splendor and beauty of life."
(Turtles Library by Shane Rickman.)
This is the 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. Sadly ironic that we celebrate the life of a man who advocated non-violent political action while still in the wake of another round of political violence and unjust wars. Many remember Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, but he was just as eloquent about war:
The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of people normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more on military 'defense' than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence
I'm old enough to remember how powerful and effective an orator Dr. King was, and how fierce the battle over civil rights and the Vietnam war was. We could use someone like him today.
Also, today is the 47th birthday of First Lady Michelle Obama, a fitting legacy for Dr. King.
Looks like we won't have Michael Steele to kick around anymore. Which is somewhat sad, as he was a constant source for easy blog snark (not that I took advantage of the opportunity all that often). At least he left with his own style, saying "Exit, stage right" and then walking off stage left.
I doubt that his replacement, Reince Priebus, will give us as much comedic fodder, other than from spellcheck alternatives, but we can hope. Already, several folks have noticed that if you remove all the vowels from "Reince Priebus" you get: "RNC PR BS", which is a fine start.
Tom DeLay Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison. It took a while, but the corrupt 'Hammer' has gotten the sentance he deserved.
There's a lot to think about in the aftermath of yesterday's tragic Tucson shooting. I'm avoiding the issue of political motivation, except to agree that the violent political rhetoric in recent years has become too over the top to be acceptable to decent people. I'm also going to skip over Arizona's gun laws, which allow pretty much anybody to carry guns pretty much anywhere. Both are very valid issues for debate, but not the topics I chose to focus on.
Instead, there are two major areas that are in my thoughts in the wake of this horrible tragedy. First, this is really bad for representative democracy. Rep. Giffords was shot while making herself directly available to her constituents, as good elected officials should do. The aftermath of this incident is certainly going to frighten her peers into greatly increasing security and reducing public access. That will be a logical reaction for politicians of all political stripes, very few of whom have the courage to risk their lives just to meet with their electorate. Our system of representative democracy was already seriously endangered by the big money in politics reducing the influence of regular citizens. More and more of our elected officials are distant out of touch elites, and the aftermath of this incident will only increase their isolation from the 'populace' that they in theory represent. In the recent past, I could sit down and speak directly with my (recently defeated) congresswoman, and while I doubt I had any influence on her actual votes, she heard my voice as an actual human constituent. Now members of congress will only be meeting with people who are pre-screened (TSA like) and pre-vetted (donors) in the audience. The bubble of isolation will be expanded and strengthened in the wake of this tragedy.
But the even bigger issue in my mind is the appalling lack of mental health treatment in America today. Long time readers may remember that I spent many years as a mental health counselor, working to help seriously disturbed individuals in an incredibly dysfunctional system. I ranted about this in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, and I'm looking at the exact same issue today. How many times have we heard that a mass murder was the act of a "disturbed" individual? Among my clients when I was a counselor, I had several I felt were capable of acts of explosive violence, and the most important part of my job was preventing that.
Today, we hear the alleged shooter, Jared Loughney's internet postings, and it's easy to conclude that this young man was seriously "disturbed" (I'd bet on a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia) and probably delusional. While I don't know if he or his parents ever sought mental health treatment, the fact is that real treatment is generally unavailable and/or woefully inadequate. Unless you are wealthy, treatment only becomes available after you have endangered yourself or others. Clearly there is no guarantee that counselling will prevent acts of violence, but the lack of treatment does guarantee that we will continue to have more tragedies like yesterday. Because we have very many "disturbed" individuals in our society who need help but aren't getting it in our current system.
There will be an excess of finger-pointing in the media, but I doubt that I'll see much talk about helping the "disturbed" individuals before people are killed. So we'll have more tragic mass murders. It's a given, because prevention by helping people is not one of our society's priorities.
Truly tragic news: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been shot in Tucson, while hosting a "congress at your corner" event outside a Safeway store.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head while holding a public event in Tucson, Fox News and National Public Radio reported on Saturday.
Fox said 11 other people were shot when an unidentified gunman ran up and began shooting indiscriminately as Giffords addressed supporters.
Giffords was shot point blank in the head, Fox said.
The network said the gunman was in custody.
Giffords, 40, a Democrat, is married to U.S. astronaut Mark Kelly. She took office in January 2007, emphasizing issues such as immigration reform, embryonic stem-cell research, alternative energy sources and a higher minimum wage.
Rep. Giffords is one of a truly rare breed, an Arizona liberal.
NPR has now reported that she has died from her wounds:
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and six others died after a gunman opened fire at a public event on Saturday, the Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's office confirms.The 40-year-old Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona
I'm not going to speculate on the motive behind the shooting, but I will point out that Arizona's "open carry" laws allow pretty much anyone to walk around with a gun. By meeting openly and publicly with her constituents, she showed herself to be a responsible representative with courage.
Incredibly tragic.
Update: There are conflicting reports as to whether she is alive in surgery. I'm hoping for the best.
Update 2: Now confirmed that she is alive and in surgery. I struck out the report of her death.
Update 3: Giffords is out of surgery, in "critical" condition. Also, federal judge John Roll was killed in the shooting.
This post is further evidence that I am shallow and easily amused, but it's playoff time. For those who don't follow football, tonight's game between the reigning champion Saints and the Seattle Seahawks looks like a fluke. The Seahawks won the wretched NFC West with a losing record, which had never happened before.
But tonight, the Seahawks will be putting every ounce into the game:
"We received a copy of the YouTube video showing the quantity of liquid served in the 16 oz. beer cup is the same quantity that fits into the 20 oz. beer cup. This is the first time we have been alerted to this fact. Upon our internal investigation this afternoon, we discovered the cups that are marked 16 oz. hold 20 oz. of liquid.
"Fans who purchased a 16 oz. beer actually received 20 oz. of beer for the 16 oz. price. Fans that purchased the 20 oz. beer received the amount they purchased. We are working with Levy Restaurants to follow up with the cup vendor about the measurement and to determine how long this has been occurring at Qwest Field.
"We are determined to find a solution as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we will serve domestic beer in the 20 oz. cup at tomorrow's playoff game to ensure all fans receive the amount they purchase, and we will charge the 16 oz. price."Here's the YouTube video exposing the difference -- or lack of difference.
Quite the oddity. As most regular bar patrons know, the standard bar "pint" holds 14 oz., not the 16 oz. of a true pint, making this is opposite of the standard practice. So Seahawks fans should have at least one reason to be happy.
As symbolic gestures go, reading the constitution on the house floor falls in the "mostly harmless" category. Of course, the repubs skipped over some parts they decided were "irrelevant" because they didn't quite fit the agenda. So most every representative decided to skip the reading. Heck, new speaker John Boehner held a press conference right in the middle of the reading.
I'm glad that the 112th congress is starting on such a serious note.
So my lovely, slightly crazy neighbor decided to gather up all the snow around our apartments and use it to build an ice cave.
Inside the ice cave. It's tall enough for me to stand up straight inside (and I'm 6'3").
Partying inside the ice cave. We're planning to ring in the New Year with a toast inside the ice cave tonight.
As the year comes to an end, it's customary to list the best (and/or worst) of the year. For me, it's a very short list:
I fully realize that many more important things occurred this year, like health care, the repeal of DADT, the rescue of the Chilean miners, and others. But for the rest of my life 2010 will be remembered as the year the Giants won it all!
Growing up in San Francisco, we never got a "white" Christmas. But my father was very much a traditionalist with all the wintery decorations. Snow seemed so beautiful back then. Now that I live in a place where it actually snows during winter, snow is not so romantic. This year we have a little snow on the ground from a midweek storm, but it's melting into slush. And I'm perfectly content with that.
One thing I truly do not 'get' is the whole idea of a "war on Christmas". Apparently diversity is some how a "threat" to Christianity. When I was growing up in San Francisco, I knew that many groups around me didn't celebrate Christmas. Heck, my Grandmother was Jewish (although not strictly devout) so we also had Chanakkuh. That our neighborhood was diverse was why we often said "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" because virtually every culture has some sort of winter/solstice celebration (and it was a lot of fun to go to different types of parties). Now that I'm a grown up secular atheist, I still enjoy Christmas/solstice/winter celebrations. Doesn't seem like a cause for conflict.
Another thing I really don't get are Christmas car commercials. I do understand that there are some people who are rich enough to buy someone a new car as a Christmas gift, although it's sickeningly decadent. What I don't get is the commercials where the car is in the living room by the Christmas tree. Who has a drive-in living room?
I'll be spending the day hanging out with a few friends, sharing a bit of "cheer". My family is small, and spread around the country, so getting family together isn't practical. But I'm very happy that I have good friends to share the day with.
While the media hasn't paid much attention to it, one of the more important pieces of news of the past few weeks might be Bill Richardson's "unofficial" trip to North Korea. Remember the heightened tensions between the two Koreas around military exercises? Then North Korea did a sudden about face, backing down from the militaristic posturing, with Richardson's visit.
Funny, but it's the BBC reporting it, not the American media:
Bill Richardson has emphasised that his visit to North Korea - at a time of very high tension on the Korean peninsula - was in an unofficial capacity.
A former US ambassador to the United Nations, he has visited North Korea on several occasions in the past.
"My sense is the North Koreans realise that they have moved too negatively against negotiations, that they have taken some very bad steps and they wanted to move in the right direction," Mr Richardson said.
"They agreed to the proposals that I made.... Now there has to be deeds, not words."
I've always considered Bill Richardson to be a very savvy, shrewd diplomat. While it's not clear what he did (or could) offer North Korea, it is clear that they backed down from a very dangerous position. North Korea does have a long history of not negotiating in good faith, so this may end up going nowhere. But at least the tensions are being ratcheted down a bit. And that is "news".
