September 2009 Archives

After filing for bankruptcy, I made a conscious decision not to apply for any new credit cards. Damn, am I glad now.

Congratulations NTodd and E!

Seriously. I need to know the benefit of all this commotion over the arrest of Roman Polanski. Now, do not get me wrong, what he did was horrible; awful; disgusting. You will hear no apology from me for his past behavior. Still, I am at a loss as to the benefit of focusing on his arrest. To me, in the grand scheme of today's events, this focus offers no benefit for our current crises. Will discussing his arrest reverse our economic recession/depression? Will discussing his arrest result in a better health care reform bill? Or is this simply another diversion, in a long line of diversions, that ultimately distracts us from today's problems?

What I find sad: many of the very people engaged in the discussion on Roman Polanski's arrest are the same people who decried the media's focus on the string of disappearances of young white women. Now that the story is about an issue that hits home, it is different?

As to the arrest; as a matter of rule of law, yes it is proper, it has happened, and now justice can play out. But it is my belief that many of the people latching onto this issue are doing so due to unfinished resolution of their own issues. It is a shame when the actual victim has been able to move on with her life, while people not directly harmed are spending copious amounts of emotional and mental energy arguing over the merits of the arrest.

But than, in my field I have witnessed many people whom were cruelly victimized in the past continue to victimize themselves today because of a lack of resolution. Should Roman Polanski's lawyers manage to get him released without extradition, what than of any hope for resolution? Is this a desire for justice? Or a desire for vengeance? For the world to finally do something fair? If so, well, good luck with that. The world is notorious for not giving us what we hope for or want.

My experience has shown me resolution comes from within, not from without. When I have put my hopes for resolution on some outside issue, whether or not it turned out as I wished, I found no resolution. Especially if what I wanted was vengeance. Not until I was able to find some internal sense of forgiveness was I able to let go and move on. Until then, I was continually distracted from the present by my insatiable focus on the past.

I was not impressed when Brett Favre was signed by the Vikings. But, after today's game, I am starting to think maybe it was the acquisition of the century.

Because I have not posted for a bit, and because I am bored, I decided to play around with Apple's Safari. So far, it is not much different in speed from Firefox, but the bookmark interface leaves a lot to be desired.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Just do not feel like accomplishing anything this morning. Oh, I fed myself, had my morning coffee, drove The Fuskers™ to school, and did my usual round of Blogstonia. But, other than that, I have no desire to really do anything. Part of the problem is that I do not have a desk at this moment. I gave my hulk of a desk to The Fuskers™, for which he is grateful to have, and enjoying it to no end. I was tired of dealing with the huge behemoth, so large it took up half the space in a 15 x 15 room.

Anyway, I am in the market for a smaller desk. I have been looking at writing tables, but it has been hard to find one the right size. I want one big enough to house my laptop while still allowing me space on which to actually write with paper and pen. Then there is style to consider. So far, of the tables I have looked at, the finish has either been too yellow, or to dull and dark.

To top it all off, at the moment there is no space in the bedroom because of all the boxes. Yes, yes, it is but a temporary situation. Eventually The GirlFriend™ will unpack the boxes, freeing up wall space for the placement of a desk. Until then, I am stuck at the dining room table, which is simply a horrible place from which to work.

In many ways the apartment is actually more spacious. The living room is long enough to place both our couch and our love seat, along with a rocking chair. It is roomy and comfortable, compared to the cramped space of the house. Also, the two bedrooms are larger than any of the rooms of the house, allowing The Fuskers™ much more room for his belongings, even with the humongous desk taking up one of the corners. Overall, we are in a much smaller home. Yet, I feel more space here.

Then there is the deck to consider. Facing east, I am able to meditate as the sun rises, feeling it's warmth on my skin, listening to the sounds of small town Wisconsin awakening. With the St. Croix and Mississippi confluence just a mile away, I hear both train and barge traffic. It is a special treat to hear the deep bass of the tugboat's horn echo off the bluffs and up the river valley. Included are the geese, assembling in trumpeting gaggles as they prepare for the flight south. This morning I listened as two distinct gaggles, one northwest, the other east, passed by, eventually merging as one down river.

And I never will, after reading about his latest column over at BBWW. 

Spent Saturday at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Unfortunately, the camera's battery charger is buried somewhere in one of the myriad of boxes stacked in bedrooms, closets, or the garage. Therefor, no pictures. I must tell you, though, that The Fuskers™ had a wonderful time. His uncle made him a suit of chain-mail made out of pop (soda for the regionally disabled) can tabs. It was of substantial weight, but he wore it proudly for most of the day. He reported receiving many compliments from strangers.

But he also received a great gift from a man. The Fuskers™ asked some guy, who was with his family, where he had gotten the cloak he was wearing. Well, after a bit of a discussion, the man gave The Fuskers™ the cloak. Our Fuskers™ even attempted to give him $20, but the man told him to pay it forward. So, The Fuskers™ is now thinking on how he will do just that.

After that, The GirlFriend™ bought him a ride on a horse (technically called war horses, but they were so old, they were damn near blind) and The GirlFriend™'s daughter took a picture. Hopefully I can get that picture from her and we will have some pictures to follow.

Okay. We are finally all settled in at the new apartment. However, now comes the unpacking. Thankfully, there is not a dead line by which we need to be unpacked. Still, our bedroom is full of boxes, as too the room's closet. The Fuskers™ room is almost to his liking; there are still posters that need to be displayed on the walls.

Meanwhile, I continue to work two jobs, accumulating just over 40 hours a week. They are, for the most part, 8 hour days, except for Thursdays, which are my double days; working both jobs - Wenden in the morning to do the weekly paperwork, Unity Hospital at night. Otherwise, it is Unity on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; Wenden on Wednesday and Thursday.

I have to be honest, unlike other bloggers, I find blogging to be more of a chore than a relief. That is why I do not post much during hectic, chaotic times; it just adds to my exhaustion. Now that things are starting to settle into a new routine, I hope to resume regular postings. Although, to be honest, I do not think I have ever posted regularly.

This was an enjoyable game simply because I was allowed to dance my Knights around the middle of the board against my opponent's King.

Sometimes you just get to brag.

Now I am going to bed.

Sorry about the lack of posts, but I have been busy moving. Oh, and working. It has been a tiring week and a half. But, we are moved in. Now I am trying to get caught up on my emails. I have been without internet access since the 11th. Tomorrow Comcast will be stopping by the apartment to get us hooked up.

Right now I am at the Dunn Bros. Coffee on University and Osborne, just a few blocks from one of my jobs.

Anyway, just wanted to drop a quick post. More information later.

Honestly, people are so quick to pass judgment on situations that have yet to play out completely.

So now Beck has his scalp and our effort to generate green jobs during a recession will be just a little less effective.  Lovely.

Wish I could agree with Kevin. But I can not. The loss of Van Jones, while regrettable, is just not that devastating. Sensible, managerial knowledge is based on the fact that people may not be replaceable, but there are still able, competent people who can step into the position. So it takes a bit to recover from the resignation. Life goes on.

Even digby gets into shrill mode. Granted, with heavy doses of sarcasm.

I would hope that these leftist extremists like Color of Change will think twice before they go after an upstanding company like FOX News because the lesson here is that somebody is going to pay a big price for doing it. In fact, it probably would pay to keep a close eye on the FOX gasbags from now on to get an idea of which groups or individuals have offended the network and get rid of them before anyone has a chance to make a public stink. It would save everyone a lot of time and trouble.

Chances are, Beck's show is dying financially. He is loosing the battle. So he got in one blow. It landed in an area that is not currently a focus of the administration. Health care reform is the focus. Van Jones was environment. It hurt, but only mildly.

Seriously, our side needs to live with a few blows now and then. This just is not all that big a deal.

The way some people are acting, you would think we lost the election in 2008. How about we show some intestinal fortitude and project a sense of confidence and assurance.

This is what the conservatives have done for decades; they spoke their mind, regardless of it's political correctness. Hell, they did not even care if it was based on facts, or simply ignorant opinion, they said whatever they damn well pleased. Nice to see someone follow the conservative's playbook.

Novotny: John, what about this controversy over opposition to Obama's speech to school children?

Harwood: I've got to tell you Monica, I've been watching politics for a long time and this is, this one is really over the top. What it shows you is there are a lot of cynical people who try to fan controversy and let's face it, in a country of three hundred million people there are a lot of stupid people too, because if you believe that's it's somehow unhealthy for kids for the President to say work hard and stay in school, you're stupid.

Novotny: Ouch.

Harwood: In fact, I'm worried for some of those kids, I'm worried for some of those kids of those parents who are upset. I'm not sure they're smart enough to raise those kids.

More of this please. Seriously, we need more people from the progressive side of the isle speaking their mind. Honestly, no matter what, the rabid, right-wing conservatives are going to screech, whine, and basically holler, whatever the subject or issue. So, call them out on their ignorance, their stupidity, and their hypocrisy. The conservatives have shown quite some time ago that they are simply not interested in a civil, rational, educated debate. They are all about being the squeaky wheel looking to get the grease. So, let us simply squeak louder.

Friday Blogaround

The start of September, the end of summer in some places.... Here's how the LC sees it.

- A Blog Around The Clock
- All Facts and Opinions: prairie climate change.
- archy: a smackdown between two bloggers.
- Bark Bark Woof Woof: Floriduh.
- Bloggg: great images...
- Dohiyi Mir: concerning the Senate.
- Echidne Of The Snakes: what does healthcare reform mean without the public option?
- Florida Progressive Coalition Blog: frustrations.
- ...I Am A Tree is off to Colorado for music and fun.
- Iddybud Journal: Did the state of Texas execute an innocent man?
- Left Is Right found a progressive with a spine.
- Musing's musings: one of these things is not like the other.
- Pen-Elayne on the Web: a tree grows on Broadway.
- Rook's Rant: Joe McCarthy had an excuse.
- rubber hose: as seen on TV.
- Scrutiny Hooligans: the real death panel.
- Speedkill: secularism.
- Steve Bates, The Yellow Doggerel Democrat, on the CIA IG's report.
- Stupid Enough Unexplanation: the risk of infection.
- The Invisible Library: Disney and Marvel.
- WTF Is It Now?? Hitler is pissed.

If we get the day off, why do they call it Labor Day?

Is it not the day when all the women in the world start to give birth?

Oh, okay. Yes, that was bad. I will go to my corner now, where all bad Rooks belong.

And it is not who you would think.

(TPM) In a set of bullet points listed under a heading, "Extension of the Speech," one of the points used to say: "Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. [highlighted by me] These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals."

However, that bullet point now reads as follows: "Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short‐term and long‐term education goals. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals."

I understand the speech is targeted at adolescents. However, whoever wrote the bullet point on the website with the phrase "help the president" is the idiot. Maybe in some alternate reality, or a return to yesteryear, one could think about writing a phrase in such a manner. But in today's reality, it was an obvious open door for the bat-shit crazies to walk through. And walk through they did. What the hell did the White House expect?

So, in this one situation, I really can not get worked up over the lather now foaming on the mouths of various right wing politicians and pundits. Like a dog who always drools, foaming is the natural state for bat-shit crazy right wing fanatics. It is what they do, after all.

Look, in Blogstonia we know not to feed the trolls. It is obvious the White House failed to remember that particular lesson.

Honestly, though, how could they forget their opponents are more immature than adolescents?

Hat tip P⁶

It is good to see the White House starting to call a spade a spade.

It turned out he was a drunk who eventually went psychotic. So, what is Bachmann's excuse for saying crazy shit.

"This cannot pass. What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists, be blood brothers on this thing. This will not pass. We will do whatever it takes to make sure this doesn't pass."

For a supposedly Christian woman, she sure is talking like a witch. Covenant? Blood brothers? Yeah, sounds pagan to me.

My apologies to pagans for insultingly insinuating a woman like Bachmann would be of your fold.

Oh, you know the scene. It is the one where Luke gets the living shit beat out of him in the boxing match. It is so bad, even the hardest of inmates turn away. Of course, in the end it earned Luke the respect of the crew. Unfortunately, Joe Klein is not Cool Hand Luke. Nor is he going to earn any respect after having the living shit kicked out of him by Glenn Greenwald.

I would link to the first time I referred to Cool Hand Luke, but that particular post is in the Lost Archives, yet to be restored.

Update: I honestly did not think it could get any bloodier. Man, was I wrong. In my day and age, before I became OLD, there would have been snickers and whispers of "He got his ass kicked by a girl!" Well, allow me this one brief regression. He got his ass kicked by a woman. It is a beauty to behold.

Update II: Man, it just is not stopping.