After a break of about three years or so, I figured I should dust this blog off again.
According to Google, there have been 2,102 pageviews of this blog, one as recently as October 11, my birthday. I wonder what that person--who MAY have been from Russia, according to Google's tracking page--was reading? What did they think about my observations, certainly long outdated, about the world situation?
Last thing I ranted about was the unfortunate business in Libya, resulting in the destruction of a consulate and the deaths of four Americans, including our Ambassador. Now, I was probably quite mistaken in that rant, since I was blaming the idiot preacher out of Gainesville, who decided he just HAD to burn a Koran, despite the many warnings that other deeply religious folks MIGHT take offense. Seems now that the best information is that it was probably some of the usual terrorist-types in the area who took advantage of the situation to put a hurting on us. Of course, we're still talking about Libya, because the House Committee, taking longer to investigate that mess than the Watergate Committee took to take down Nixon, is still not done (though seven other committees have looked into it and released their reports). Now they've decided that the e-mails of former Secretary of State Clinton have something to do with a bunch of terrorists attacking our consulate; I guess the theory is that Hillary, using her private e-mail server, tipped off the fanatics and told them about our Ambassador being there and being vulnerable to attack, since she'd already called off any attempt to send troops there.
We're back in an election with multitudes of GOP candidates (more than four years ago, some of the same faces, some new) all trying to outdo themselves in pandering to the Religious Right, the NRA/Gun-Worshippers/2nd Amendment crazies and the 2% or so who control most of the wealth of this country. The Democrats are trying to figure out how to keep from offending just about everyone except the same ones the GOP folks are pandering to. Trump is trying to (and massively succeeding) in offending everyone and may possibly win the GOP nomination. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Now, I've turned 60. I know, I know, it's not exactly an earth-shaking event. But, it does mean I'm less than two years away from retiring and that's a bit scary, since my job has become part of my identity. You also get into a weird pattern of trying to bet on when you're going to kick the bucket, since that's what the guys and gals in the insurance business are laying bets on as well.
Well, maybe I'll remember my password for a while this time (or put it where I can find it) and will rant a bit more.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Libya
The events of the last 24 hours show us how dangerous the world is; the U.S. Ambassador to Libya and three Embassy staffers were killed during a "demonstration" or "riot" over a video posted to YouTube by a small group of fanatics in the U.S. that apparently denigrated the Prophet Mohammed. That one of the nutcases reported as helping to prepare the video is the crazy preacher out of Gainesville, FL who finally got around to burning a copy of the Koran and instigating massive riots in Afghanistan and other places where Americans are based, resulting in a number of American deaths, doesn't particularly surprise me.
Why? Because innate stupidity rarely goes away, no matter what the cause.
The dummies who started this with the video, one an Israeli living in the States and at least the aforementioned preacher/fanatic, had to have known it would cause a backlash. I suspect they were counting on it, because these kind of people live for it. They revel in the knowledge that something, anything they did, caused violence. Folks like this used to be called agents provocateurs and they've been around longer than we'd like to think, stirring up problems for some agenda only they can truly understand.
Does this excuse the monsters who caused the deaths of our Embassy staff in Libya? Of course not and if the cobbled-together government there cannot bring the offenders to justice, we'll have to pull some resources off the on-going efforts against terrorism in other places to track them down and make sure everyone out there knows such acts do not go unpunished.
The trouble though, is that we're in the middle of an election campaign and Mitt Romney has just shoved his handmade shoe and foot into his mouth by attacking the Obama Administration, claiming that they issued "mixed messages" to the rioters and "apologizing" for the YouTube video before talking about the death of our Ambassador. The problem is that the apology came from a staffer in the Embassy in Cairo BEFORE the Libyan incident and was not authorized by the Administration, but those kind of small details don't seem to matter to Mr. Romney and his handlers, who have famously said that they aren't going to let their campaign be "dictated by fact-checkers".
What Romney SHOULD have done was issue a short statement condemning the attackers and supporting the President as our LEADER in making sure justice is done and our other embassies across the world remain safe and secure. But no, while that would have been the honorable thing to do, the right-wingers MUST have their say, MUST attack the President because they themselves have no honor and no sense of unity. They've proven it time and again over the last four years by blocking the President at every turn, even over issues that they originally supported but abandoned once the President agreed to them.
Had Obama been a Republican President, rather than a Democrat, I'm pretty sure the Right would have been falling over itself to demand Democrats support whatever actions he decided to take in defense of American interests, just like they did when George W. Bush was President after 9/11. Many of us who did NOT vote for Bush and who questioned the results of the election of 2000 still proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans and the Administration in seeking justice, particularly when we attacked the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that had welcomed Bin Laden and his cronies. We lost faith in Bush's policies when he shifted over to a made-up and unncessary war in Iraq, taking necessary troops and equipment from Afghanistan and allowing the Taliban to regroup and justified torture as a means of obtaining information.
I'm hoping calmer heads will prevail in the GOP, but after the path they've been taking over the last decade or so, I'm not going to hold my breath for any glimpse of sanity and reason.
Why? Because innate stupidity rarely goes away, no matter what the cause.
The dummies who started this with the video, one an Israeli living in the States and at least the aforementioned preacher/fanatic, had to have known it would cause a backlash. I suspect they were counting on it, because these kind of people live for it. They revel in the knowledge that something, anything they did, caused violence. Folks like this used to be called agents provocateurs and they've been around longer than we'd like to think, stirring up problems for some agenda only they can truly understand.
Does this excuse the monsters who caused the deaths of our Embassy staff in Libya? Of course not and if the cobbled-together government there cannot bring the offenders to justice, we'll have to pull some resources off the on-going efforts against terrorism in other places to track them down and make sure everyone out there knows such acts do not go unpunished.
The trouble though, is that we're in the middle of an election campaign and Mitt Romney has just shoved his handmade shoe and foot into his mouth by attacking the Obama Administration, claiming that they issued "mixed messages" to the rioters and "apologizing" for the YouTube video before talking about the death of our Ambassador. The problem is that the apology came from a staffer in the Embassy in Cairo BEFORE the Libyan incident and was not authorized by the Administration, but those kind of small details don't seem to matter to Mr. Romney and his handlers, who have famously said that they aren't going to let their campaign be "dictated by fact-checkers".
What Romney SHOULD have done was issue a short statement condemning the attackers and supporting the President as our LEADER in making sure justice is done and our other embassies across the world remain safe and secure. But no, while that would have been the honorable thing to do, the right-wingers MUST have their say, MUST attack the President because they themselves have no honor and no sense of unity. They've proven it time and again over the last four years by blocking the President at every turn, even over issues that they originally supported but abandoned once the President agreed to them.
Had Obama been a Republican President, rather than a Democrat, I'm pretty sure the Right would have been falling over itself to demand Democrats support whatever actions he decided to take in defense of American interests, just like they did when George W. Bush was President after 9/11. Many of us who did NOT vote for Bush and who questioned the results of the election of 2000 still proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with our fellow Americans and the Administration in seeking justice, particularly when we attacked the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that had welcomed Bin Laden and his cronies. We lost faith in Bush's policies when he shifted over to a made-up and unncessary war in Iraq, taking necessary troops and equipment from Afghanistan and allowing the Taliban to regroup and justified torture as a means of obtaining information.
I'm hoping calmer heads will prevail in the GOP, but after the path they've been taking over the last decade or so, I'm not going to hold my breath for any glimpse of sanity and reason.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Back Again, Again
How time flies when you're having fun.
Another five months have flown by since the last post and, depending on how things go, it may be another five months (or more) before I remember to update this blog again.
Why do I keep forgetting? Because no one reads it? Maybe; when no one bothers to give you feedback, you start thinking about the absurdity of writing something that others don't see. However, that's NEVER stopped me before, so why should it now?
Not a lot has changed over the last few months, except that our oldest nephew had a terrible horse-riding accident in North Dakota a few weeks back and suffered a spinal cord injury. How permanent or how encompassing it yet to be determined; he's currently in a rehab facility in Atlanta that specializes in such injuries and he has made some progress, but he's not out of the woods yet. Thank God he had insurance, because the alternative would have made a terrible example of why we need the Affordable Care Act (perjoriously known as "Obamacare").
Mrs. Blue and I returned from a trip out to the Oklahoma City area to visit littlest Blue and her honey. We managed to pick the week the backdoor to Hell was left open by someone, since the daytime temperatures averaged 104 or so, even in the shade. We did manage to enjoy ourselves, eating good food and seeing the sights (well, as much as you can see when everything is fairly flat). We did see the Oklahoma City Memorial, which was well designed and touching, even in the heat.
The political scene, post-Conventions, has returned to the usual carping about minor issues, though I've got to say that it is gotten practically surreal on the GOP side. Apparently, because of a floor fight at the Democratic Convention over the use of "God" in the platform, Romney started saying that Obama and the Dems were going to take "In God We Trust" off the currency, prompting an immediate response from the Dems of "What in the hell are you talking about?". Geez, Teddy Roosevelt started talking about that during his Presidency and my great-great grandfather issued the Christian Church equivalent of a fatwa against him (well, maybe not quite THAT extreme, but you get the idea).
Never underestimate the power of well-funded stupidity.
Another five months have flown by since the last post and, depending on how things go, it may be another five months (or more) before I remember to update this blog again.
Why do I keep forgetting? Because no one reads it? Maybe; when no one bothers to give you feedback, you start thinking about the absurdity of writing something that others don't see. However, that's NEVER stopped me before, so why should it now?
Not a lot has changed over the last few months, except that our oldest nephew had a terrible horse-riding accident in North Dakota a few weeks back and suffered a spinal cord injury. How permanent or how encompassing it yet to be determined; he's currently in a rehab facility in Atlanta that specializes in such injuries and he has made some progress, but he's not out of the woods yet. Thank God he had insurance, because the alternative would have made a terrible example of why we need the Affordable Care Act (perjoriously known as "Obamacare").
Mrs. Blue and I returned from a trip out to the Oklahoma City area to visit littlest Blue and her honey. We managed to pick the week the backdoor to Hell was left open by someone, since the daytime temperatures averaged 104 or so, even in the shade. We did manage to enjoy ourselves, eating good food and seeing the sights (well, as much as you can see when everything is fairly flat). We did see the Oklahoma City Memorial, which was well designed and touching, even in the heat.
The political scene, post-Conventions, has returned to the usual carping about minor issues, though I've got to say that it is gotten practically surreal on the GOP side. Apparently, because of a floor fight at the Democratic Convention over the use of "God" in the platform, Romney started saying that Obama and the Dems were going to take "In God We Trust" off the currency, prompting an immediate response from the Dems of "What in the hell are you talking about?". Geez, Teddy Roosevelt started talking about that during his Presidency and my great-great grandfather issued the Christian Church equivalent of a fatwa against him (well, maybe not quite THAT extreme, but you get the idea).
Never underestimate the power of well-funded stupidity.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Back again, again.
Been quite a while since I've posted, probably because I've been rather busy with this, that and, of course, the other thing, and we all know how bad that can be.
Depressingly, however, it doesn't look like much has changed in the world since my last post. We've suffered through a much too long GOP primary season with its "front-runner of the week" which seems to now have finally closed out with the most boring, scripted and well-coiffed candidate, Mitt Romney, essentially the winner. Now Romney and his well-paid campaign staff can start shredding and deleting all the extremely-Right-Wing-nutcasey stuff he was saying to beat up on the the other candidates who were also saying extremely-Right-Wing-nutcasey things to appeal to the (what else?) extreme right wing of the GOP and the Tea Party types who vote in those things out in the wilds of Iowa and such places. His staff better be paid a lot, because they'll have their hands full trying to convince everyone with access to a computer and YouTube that he NEVER really liked the Arizona "Show Us Your Papers" law, that he really likes gays (not THAT way, of course) and that he's just an average Joe who really doesn't have buddies who are NASCAR owners or football team owners. Oh yeah, and he REALLY likes "cheesy grits".
Now we get the start the all-too-long-and-drawn-out Presidential election season. I will say one of the things I like about France is that their elections last about six weeks from start to finish with no ads clogging up the airways. Why can't we do that? Probably because the lobbyists for all the ad agencies would see themselves out of business if they weren't getting money from PACs and SuperPACs.
Oh well; at least old Blue's old house finally sold a couple of weeks ago and he's back to paying one utility bill a month and one property tax a year (unlike Mittens Romney, of course...). Ah, to be among the 1%, even if only vicariously through my taxes.
Depressingly, however, it doesn't look like much has changed in the world since my last post. We've suffered through a much too long GOP primary season with its "front-runner of the week" which seems to now have finally closed out with the most boring, scripted and well-coiffed candidate, Mitt Romney, essentially the winner. Now Romney and his well-paid campaign staff can start shredding and deleting all the extremely-Right-Wing-nutcasey stuff he was saying to beat up on the the other candidates who were also saying extremely-Right-Wing-nutcasey things to appeal to the (what else?) extreme right wing of the GOP and the Tea Party types who vote in those things out in the wilds of Iowa and such places. His staff better be paid a lot, because they'll have their hands full trying to convince everyone with access to a computer and YouTube that he NEVER really liked the Arizona "Show Us Your Papers" law, that he really likes gays (not THAT way, of course) and that he's just an average Joe who really doesn't have buddies who are NASCAR owners or football team owners. Oh yeah, and he REALLY likes "cheesy grits".
Now we get the start the all-too-long-and-drawn-out Presidential election season. I will say one of the things I like about France is that their elections last about six weeks from start to finish with no ads clogging up the airways. Why can't we do that? Probably because the lobbyists for all the ad agencies would see themselves out of business if they weren't getting money from PACs and SuperPACs.
Oh well; at least old Blue's old house finally sold a couple of weeks ago and he's back to paying one utility bill a month and one property tax a year (unlike Mittens Romney, of course...). Ah, to be among the 1%, even if only vicariously through my taxes.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Back Again
Well, it's August, 2011 and another seven months or so have flown by without a rant; does that mean nothing have happened that is "rantable"? Oh my, of course not.
Let's see, I guess there's the little matter of the Tea Party and its minions (i.e., the rest of the GOP that has decided it has to follow the lunatic fringe down the path to eventual laughingstock status) bringing the USA to the front door step of financial ruin by whining about the debt ceiling and, at the same time, refusing to consider any kind of "revenue enhancement" (i.e., taxing the upper 2% of the populace that controls a hugely disproportionate chunk of the wealth and power and who can certainly afford it). Last I heard, the White House and the Democrats gave into the fringers some more in the Great Compromise by agreeing to budget cuts without any real hope of ever getting any tax revenue in exchange. Nice; while our infrastructure collapses around about us, I'll be sitting at my desk secure in the knowledge that Sarah Palin, Glen Beck and Sean Hannity WON'T have to be paying more in taxes because, well, they shouldn't have to.
Then there's the issue of our Governor and Legislative leaders climbing on the Tea Party bandwagon (well, that's not really true; they've BEEN on it for a while now) and indicating that IF and WHEN a "Balanced Budget Amendment" hits the States for ratification, good old Florida would be the FIRST to ratify. Not that they have to actually ASK the electorate whether or not a majority really thinks it's a good idea to tie the Federal Government's hands in financial perpetuity, since they are the "peoples' representatives" (hack, hack) and think that they don't have to ask us in advance. Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed and the BBA didn't make it out of the House Bill.
I could go on and on, but it's simply too depressing to do so. An earlier post to this blog was that we've become a "Nation of Idjits" and I'm all too much in agreement with that sentiment. Are we ever going to learn? Can we be just that stupid and throw away this great land and the potential that we still have as a country?
Maybe my mood will be different tomorrow. Ask me then.
Let's see, I guess there's the little matter of the Tea Party and its minions (i.e., the rest of the GOP that has decided it has to follow the lunatic fringe down the path to eventual laughingstock status) bringing the USA to the front door step of financial ruin by whining about the debt ceiling and, at the same time, refusing to consider any kind of "revenue enhancement" (i.e., taxing the upper 2% of the populace that controls a hugely disproportionate chunk of the wealth and power and who can certainly afford it). Last I heard, the White House and the Democrats gave into the fringers some more in the Great Compromise by agreeing to budget cuts without any real hope of ever getting any tax revenue in exchange. Nice; while our infrastructure collapses around about us, I'll be sitting at my desk secure in the knowledge that Sarah Palin, Glen Beck and Sean Hannity WON'T have to be paying more in taxes because, well, they shouldn't have to.
Then there's the issue of our Governor and Legislative leaders climbing on the Tea Party bandwagon (well, that's not really true; they've BEEN on it for a while now) and indicating that IF and WHEN a "Balanced Budget Amendment" hits the States for ratification, good old Florida would be the FIRST to ratify. Not that they have to actually ASK the electorate whether or not a majority really thinks it's a good idea to tie the Federal Government's hands in financial perpetuity, since they are the "peoples' representatives" (hack, hack) and think that they don't have to ask us in advance. Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed and the BBA didn't make it out of the House Bill.
I could go on and on, but it's simply too depressing to do so. An earlier post to this blog was that we've become a "Nation of Idjits" and I'm all too much in agreement with that sentiment. Are we ever going to learn? Can we be just that stupid and throw away this great land and the potential that we still have as a country?
Maybe my mood will be different tomorrow. Ask me then.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Back Again
Did you miss me? Probably not, which is OK. That's what Old Blue gets for not writing daily or posting porn.
Lots has happened over the last thirteen months or so. Bought a new house, haven't been able to sell the old one; had to put my border collie to sleep because of advanced canine leukemia and have seen Youngest Blue graduate with honors from the local university, only to see her head off to the icy confines of Iowa for an eleven month stint in Americorps.
Oh, did I mention that our fair State elected a far-Right bunch in practically every open seat in the last election? That our new Governor, who used all of his own money to run (notice I was nice and didn't say he "bought" the election) is the 21st-Century version of a carpetbagger, since he's a Yankee who didn't live here until moving to Naples eight years ago in disgrace after his multi-billion dollar health services corporation was found to have engaged in massive fraud of Medicare funds? That he took the Fifth on seventy-five occasions during a civil deposition? That he basically wants to gut the State Pension System?
Ah, life goes on and on. I'll really miss my dog and my youngest one; everything else, not so much.
Lots has happened over the last thirteen months or so. Bought a new house, haven't been able to sell the old one; had to put my border collie to sleep because of advanced canine leukemia and have seen Youngest Blue graduate with honors from the local university, only to see her head off to the icy confines of Iowa for an eleven month stint in Americorps.
Oh, did I mention that our fair State elected a far-Right bunch in practically every open seat in the last election? That our new Governor, who used all of his own money to run (notice I was nice and didn't say he "bought" the election) is the 21st-Century version of a carpetbagger, since he's a Yankee who didn't live here until moving to Naples eight years ago in disgrace after his multi-billion dollar health services corporation was found to have engaged in massive fraud of Medicare funds? That he took the Fifth on seventy-five occasions during a civil deposition? That he basically wants to gut the State Pension System?
Ah, life goes on and on. I'll really miss my dog and my youngest one; everything else, not so much.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Guy Next Door
Well, Old Blue has turned all of 54 within the last couple of weeks and his thoughts have begun to turn ever more inward, looking to cement his legacy in the world.
Who am I kidding? My chances of having a long-term legacy in this mess are about the same as Dick Cheney's of being remembered as a kindly, beloved leader. Lots of people think I share DNA with Scrooge; I'm the bad guy who messed up their life, caused them to have trouble getting jobs, embarrassed them publicly and the like (despite the fact that it was THEIR actions that got them there; I just helped make it official).
I remember some of our neighbors, folks whose legacy in this world isn't much more than a tombstone in my hometown, but they had an impact on me as a child. I "ran away" one time when probably about 5 years old, putting some stuff in a hobo-like bandanna on a stick and going next door to live with the neighbors who always let me have a Dr. Pepper when I visited. They were nice folks (despite ratting me out to my parents), but I suspect no one in my hometown or the neighborhood would know who they were nowadays. That's too bad.
Me? I'll keep grinding away at my job for another slightly less than seven years, retire, and maybe, just maybe, write a book. Or, maybe I'll just start giving Dr. Peppers away to neighborhood kids.
Who am I kidding? My chances of having a long-term legacy in this mess are about the same as Dick Cheney's of being remembered as a kindly, beloved leader. Lots of people think I share DNA with Scrooge; I'm the bad guy who messed up their life, caused them to have trouble getting jobs, embarrassed them publicly and the like (despite the fact that it was THEIR actions that got them there; I just helped make it official).
I remember some of our neighbors, folks whose legacy in this world isn't much more than a tombstone in my hometown, but they had an impact on me as a child. I "ran away" one time when probably about 5 years old, putting some stuff in a hobo-like bandanna on a stick and going next door to live with the neighbors who always let me have a Dr. Pepper when I visited. They were nice folks (despite ratting me out to my parents), but I suspect no one in my hometown or the neighborhood would know who they were nowadays. That's too bad.
Me? I'll keep grinding away at my job for another slightly less than seven years, retire, and maybe, just maybe, write a book. Or, maybe I'll just start giving Dr. Peppers away to neighborhood kids.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
The Prez
I'm sitting here listening to the Current Occupant speaking to the Joint Session; so far, it's a pretty decent speech. Of course, the only big handclap he got from the Big Elephants is when he started talking about tort reform...sorta kinda.
It has been interesting to watch the proceedings, like when the Prez mentioned the "single-payer" system in Canada, and a few in the chamber applauded and when he said something else that someone didn't agree with, someone actually booed or something similar. Meanwhile, the Republicans are mainly sitting on their side, stony-faced, particularly when the President has called them out on some of the more ridiculous misrepresentations (like the infamous "death panels", brought up again by the recently unemployed ex-Gov. Palin). It's fun to see them silently planning the President's "Waterloo" (as said by one of their more prominent Senators) and trying to come up with a good sound bite for the good folks at Fox News in the coming days.
I'm hoping that something can be worked out, since there's still an awfully lot to do in a lot of things. Too bad the Right is letting itself get caught up in the moronic whining of the Becks, Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world.
It has been interesting to watch the proceedings, like when the Prez mentioned the "single-payer" system in Canada, and a few in the chamber applauded and when he said something else that someone didn't agree with, someone actually booed or something similar. Meanwhile, the Republicans are mainly sitting on their side, stony-faced, particularly when the President has called them out on some of the more ridiculous misrepresentations (like the infamous "death panels", brought up again by the recently unemployed ex-Gov. Palin). It's fun to see them silently planning the President's "Waterloo" (as said by one of their more prominent Senators) and trying to come up with a good sound bite for the good folks at Fox News in the coming days.
I'm hoping that something can be worked out, since there's still an awfully lot to do in a lot of things. Too bad the Right is letting itself get caught up in the moronic whining of the Becks, Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Idjits-R-Us
It's official. We are a country of idjits.
I got up this morning to the disturbing concept of Mrs. Blue staring at me sleeping for the last half-hour (she said I was peaceful, yet I was dreaming of Littlest Blue being a vampire, while I was trying to get my new cordless weedwhacker to work), had to get up to the creaking of my increasingly creaky bones and joints to let our dog out and get the newspaper; upon opening to the front page, I read about the local controversy over the Current Occupant's plan to address school students via television. A local "parent" indicated that he'll not be letting HIS kids watch the Prez because they are "not a socialist family". I repeat, they are NOT a "socialist family". I repeat again, they are not a "SOCIALIST FAMILY". Does that sound as stupid as it is, repeated three times in a row? I mean, do they really think President Obama is going to tell little Jimmy and little Jane to make sure and read "Das Kapital" by Marx and use a highlighter to remember the good points?
What in literally God's name has happened to our beloved country? Did the collective IQ of our people drop suddenly? I realize that there's a lot of frustration over the economy and that not everyone agrees with the Administration's views and proposals, but there's something more at work here, because the vehemence and bitterness isn't explained by simple intellectual disagreement. When you see older folks at Town Hall meetings saying that they don't want the "Gummint" fooling around with "their" Medicare, obviously forgetting that Medicare IS a government program (and a successful one at that), it's pretty evident that some of the ancient distrust of anyone telling you what to do, while at the same time taking money from them, is at work. These folks would rather a large, for profit, corporate entity make decisions about their health care than their duly elected government; they'd rather a corporate CEO, paid in salary and compensation that would make the average #1 NFL draftpick envious, tell them what to think than have the guy who one the clear majority in the election last year advise their children to stay in school and study hard in a television show during 1st period.
Nope, someone once said that you cannot go broke overestimating the intelligence of the average American and I'm afraid they were right. A lot of these Average Joes are letting Hannity, Limbaugh and, heaven forbid, Glenn Beck do their "thinking" for them, or just reading a one-second blurb in a blog from a rabid right-winger who, once he/she logs off, probably is thinking about the power they feel knowing someone, actually a LOT of someones, read their dribble and really think it's true.
Now, some would read this and say, "Man, that Blue is an elitist!"; maybe I am, because I expect the best of our people, not the worst, but I'm afraid that recent events prove beyond all doubt that we're a county of sheep, following the loudest voices instead of looking around to see that most of them are wolves.
I got up this morning to the disturbing concept of Mrs. Blue staring at me sleeping for the last half-hour (she said I was peaceful, yet I was dreaming of Littlest Blue being a vampire, while I was trying to get my new cordless weedwhacker to work), had to get up to the creaking of my increasingly creaky bones and joints to let our dog out and get the newspaper; upon opening to the front page, I read about the local controversy over the Current Occupant's plan to address school students via television. A local "parent" indicated that he'll not be letting HIS kids watch the Prez because they are "not a socialist family". I repeat, they are NOT a "socialist family". I repeat again, they are not a "SOCIALIST FAMILY". Does that sound as stupid as it is, repeated three times in a row? I mean, do they really think President Obama is going to tell little Jimmy and little Jane to make sure and read "Das Kapital" by Marx and use a highlighter to remember the good points?
What in literally God's name has happened to our beloved country? Did the collective IQ of our people drop suddenly? I realize that there's a lot of frustration over the economy and that not everyone agrees with the Administration's views and proposals, but there's something more at work here, because the vehemence and bitterness isn't explained by simple intellectual disagreement. When you see older folks at Town Hall meetings saying that they don't want the "Gummint" fooling around with "their" Medicare, obviously forgetting that Medicare IS a government program (and a successful one at that), it's pretty evident that some of the ancient distrust of anyone telling you what to do, while at the same time taking money from them, is at work. These folks would rather a large, for profit, corporate entity make decisions about their health care than their duly elected government; they'd rather a corporate CEO, paid in salary and compensation that would make the average #1 NFL draftpick envious, tell them what to think than have the guy who one the clear majority in the election last year advise their children to stay in school and study hard in a television show during 1st period.
Nope, someone once said that you cannot go broke overestimating the intelligence of the average American and I'm afraid they were right. A lot of these Average Joes are letting Hannity, Limbaugh and, heaven forbid, Glenn Beck do their "thinking" for them, or just reading a one-second blurb in a blog from a rabid right-winger who, once he/she logs off, probably is thinking about the power they feel knowing someone, actually a LOT of someones, read their dribble and really think it's true.
Now, some would read this and say, "Man, that Blue is an elitist!"; maybe I am, because I expect the best of our people, not the worst, but I'm afraid that recent events prove beyond all doubt that we're a county of sheep, following the loudest voices instead of looking around to see that most of them are wolves.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Twenty-Five Years? Only Feels Like Yesterday...
Well, another two or three week gap, but I'm back again. This time I'm waiting around until the monthy office birthday party (with cake, no less, from Costco) so that I can receive my 25-year service pin from the Boss.
I actually hit the 25-year mark last month, but because of my vacation in New England, I wasn't able to be here to take advantage of it. Now there are three others scheduled to get pins who actually have been here longer, if you can believe it, so some of the bloom, as they say, is off the rose.
Still, 25 years is a long time to be working in the same place. Even longer when you've been doing what I do, day in and day out, same old, same old, just about every minute of it. Most folks probably would have slit their wrists by now, left for greener pastures or have been found by the janitorial staff one night stiff with rigor mortis. I still basically enjoy what I do, with some exceptions, but I'm mainly staying because of (a) the paycheck, (b) the health insurance and (c) the retirement package.
Every once in a while you read something in a magazine or a newspaper about someone who swears up and down with a straight face that their work IS their passion and "Going to work just doesn't seem like work" to them. Now, IF I had one of those jolly souls in front of me, I'd probably kick 'em where it hurts, since they've managed to depress a lot of folks who are probably playing the lottery every week just hoping to win big and tell the Big Boss where he can put that low-paying, soul-sucking job. That's the wonder of our American Dream: Yes, you TOO can work at a job you hate while others brag about a job that they just absolutely love to get up in the morning and drive through Rush Hour traffic to get to.
Now my father-in-law has put it all into perspective for me, as he's been telling me the last few years since he's retired that the last few years of MY job will seem like going down a slope on a Teflon-coated pair of skis. Unfortunately, so far it feels more like I've been Super Glued to the floor of Death Valley.
I actually hit the 25-year mark last month, but because of my vacation in New England, I wasn't able to be here to take advantage of it. Now there are three others scheduled to get pins who actually have been here longer, if you can believe it, so some of the bloom, as they say, is off the rose.
Still, 25 years is a long time to be working in the same place. Even longer when you've been doing what I do, day in and day out, same old, same old, just about every minute of it. Most folks probably would have slit their wrists by now, left for greener pastures or have been found by the janitorial staff one night stiff with rigor mortis. I still basically enjoy what I do, with some exceptions, but I'm mainly staying because of (a) the paycheck, (b) the health insurance and (c) the retirement package.
Every once in a while you read something in a magazine or a newspaper about someone who swears up and down with a straight face that their work IS their passion and "Going to work just doesn't seem like work" to them. Now, IF I had one of those jolly souls in front of me, I'd probably kick 'em where it hurts, since they've managed to depress a lot of folks who are probably playing the lottery every week just hoping to win big and tell the Big Boss where he can put that low-paying, soul-sucking job. That's the wonder of our American Dream: Yes, you TOO can work at a job you hate while others brag about a job that they just absolutely love to get up in the morning and drive through Rush Hour traffic to get to.
Now my father-in-law has put it all into perspective for me, as he's been telling me the last few years since he's retired that the last few years of MY job will seem like going down a slope on a Teflon-coated pair of skis. Unfortunately, so far it feels more like I've been Super Glued to the floor of Death Valley.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Welcome Back
It never fails that, whenever I've been on vacation and really enjoyed myself, coming back is a colossal pain in the neck (among other body parts).
The piles of work I left on my desk and in various other places around my office were still there, some even a bit larger than when I left. Where, oh where, is the pack of elves or faries or whatnot that are supposed to come around when I'm asleep or away to do the work for me because I'm such a kindly old gentleman?
Then the actual court sessions were long and aggravating, without even the random Tasering to make it bearable. One guy plead "straight up" (i.e., without a recommendation as to possible sentence) because he wanted less time than I was offering. My Judge sentenced the bozo to even less time than his lawyer offered--that really hurt, because the next moron on the bench decided HE could get a better deal too, but we put him off a couple of weeks and I slashed and hacked the previous options up so they won't be there next time. That'll show 'em.
Over the weekend I got two new tires put on my car and the next day the battery died. I spent good money and time putting a new battery in, only to find that the battery terminals are rather corroded and probably need to be replaced. Since old Blue's track record on car repair success hasn't exactly been 100% lately, I'm thinking of taking it in to let someone else do it so I can't screw it up.
Mrs. Blue and yours truly helped Littlest Blue move stuff into her cell...I mean room at her residence hall at the local university, then bought all sorts of food for her to shoehorn into the nooks and crannies. She's still coming down from the European trip--possibly detoxing, since she told us about her just about daily beer drinking ("But it was cheaper than soda!") and her consumption of a hash brownie in Amsterdam (oh, those crazy Dutchmen!). Well, at least she can't have beer for breakfast anymore.
Bigger Blue and I went to see "District 9" over the weekend and really enjoyed it. There's just something about a low-budget film where the director really has to work at it that seems to make them better than the big budget messes that Hollywood likes to throw at us like so much red meat at a pack of howling wolves. On the other hand, I watched an execrable mess from Israel in 1971 on cable on Saturday that was called "Hot Bubblegum"; simply an excuse for the director of that dreck to have young women take off their clothes and for pimply-faced young men to plot how to bed 'em and leave 'em. The so-called "hero" would be pilloried these days for his two-timing, but I guess the director/writer must have seen "Porky's" and left the theatre inspired. Oh, those wacky Israelis!
Anyway, we're dodging tropical depressions and storms again. So much for a "quiet" Hurricane season.
The piles of work I left on my desk and in various other places around my office were still there, some even a bit larger than when I left. Where, oh where, is the pack of elves or faries or whatnot that are supposed to come around when I'm asleep or away to do the work for me because I'm such a kindly old gentleman?
Then the actual court sessions were long and aggravating, without even the random Tasering to make it bearable. One guy plead "straight up" (i.e., without a recommendation as to possible sentence) because he wanted less time than I was offering. My Judge sentenced the bozo to even less time than his lawyer offered--that really hurt, because the next moron on the bench decided HE could get a better deal too, but we put him off a couple of weeks and I slashed and hacked the previous options up so they won't be there next time. That'll show 'em.
Over the weekend I got two new tires put on my car and the next day the battery died. I spent good money and time putting a new battery in, only to find that the battery terminals are rather corroded and probably need to be replaced. Since old Blue's track record on car repair success hasn't exactly been 100% lately, I'm thinking of taking it in to let someone else do it so I can't screw it up.
Mrs. Blue and yours truly helped Littlest Blue move stuff into her cell...I mean room at her residence hall at the local university, then bought all sorts of food for her to shoehorn into the nooks and crannies. She's still coming down from the European trip--possibly detoxing, since she told us about her just about daily beer drinking ("But it was cheaper than soda!") and her consumption of a hash brownie in Amsterdam (oh, those crazy Dutchmen!). Well, at least she can't have beer for breakfast anymore.
Bigger Blue and I went to see "District 9" over the weekend and really enjoyed it. There's just something about a low-budget film where the director really has to work at it that seems to make them better than the big budget messes that Hollywood likes to throw at us like so much red meat at a pack of howling wolves. On the other hand, I watched an execrable mess from Israel in 1971 on cable on Saturday that was called "Hot Bubblegum"; simply an excuse for the director of that dreck to have young women take off their clothes and for pimply-faced young men to plot how to bed 'em and leave 'em. The so-called "hero" would be pilloried these days for his two-timing, but I guess the director/writer must have seen "Porky's" and left the theatre inspired. Oh, those wacky Israelis!
Anyway, we're dodging tropical depressions and storms again. So much for a "quiet" Hurricane season.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Long, Long, Long Day
Why today seems to be more draggy than yesterday escapes me. I actually had less sleep Monday night because of the trip to pick up Littlest Blue from her Most Excellent Adventure, but I woke up this morning feeling drugged out, but, I swear, I don't touch the stuff.
Maybe it's the weather or the inexorable count of the days, minutes and seconds that go by until I can walk out of here into the misty world of retirement. Beats me and scares me at the same time, since I tend to look at retirement as going over the top of the hill and skidding downhill into oblivion. Who actually does MORE constructive stuff when retired? Maybe folks do--my in-laws certainly keep busy, God bless 'em--I just keep thinking about the various things I've been wanting to do all these years and wondering if retirement is really an off-ramp to them or dropping dead when I get my first pension check in hand?
Yeah, I know, not exactly happy thoughts today, but that's just the way it is sometimes. Heck, I COULD be traipsing around the country, screaming my lungs out at various Democratic Congresspersons at their Town Hall meetings about health care and other stuff during the Summer Break for fun and profit like a lot of the Astro-Turfers are these days, except I happen to agree with the President on the idea of some sort of medical safety net for all those poor devils who don't have any. In fact, I find it incredibly odd that most of these so-called protesters, who don't generally look all that prosperous, are yelling about this at all, since they are the ones who'd probably benefit from most of the proposals, assuming they've bothered to listen at all over the last couple of months.
Nope, most of the yellers and screamers are too busy worrying about the Current Resident stalking their dearly beloved Gramma and Gramps, waiting to inject them with some of Dr. Kevorkian's finest and put them out of our misery and thereby generating all those savings in Medicare that's supposed to help pay for the less-fortunate (and not so old) to get health care.
Oh well, enough happy thoughts for today. Gotta go out and see if the torrent has stopped long enough for me to head out to the grocery store and get something to eat for my family so that we don't have to think about butchering the dog.
Maybe it's the weather or the inexorable count of the days, minutes and seconds that go by until I can walk out of here into the misty world of retirement. Beats me and scares me at the same time, since I tend to look at retirement as going over the top of the hill and skidding downhill into oblivion. Who actually does MORE constructive stuff when retired? Maybe folks do--my in-laws certainly keep busy, God bless 'em--I just keep thinking about the various things I've been wanting to do all these years and wondering if retirement is really an off-ramp to them or dropping dead when I get my first pension check in hand?
Yeah, I know, not exactly happy thoughts today, but that's just the way it is sometimes. Heck, I COULD be traipsing around the country, screaming my lungs out at various Democratic Congresspersons at their Town Hall meetings about health care and other stuff during the Summer Break for fun and profit like a lot of the Astro-Turfers are these days, except I happen to agree with the President on the idea of some sort of medical safety net for all those poor devils who don't have any. In fact, I find it incredibly odd that most of these so-called protesters, who don't generally look all that prosperous, are yelling about this at all, since they are the ones who'd probably benefit from most of the proposals, assuming they've bothered to listen at all over the last couple of months.
Nope, most of the yellers and screamers are too busy worrying about the Current Resident stalking their dearly beloved Gramma and Gramps, waiting to inject them with some of Dr. Kevorkian's finest and put them out of our misery and thereby generating all those savings in Medicare that's supposed to help pay for the less-fortunate (and not so old) to get health care.
Oh well, enough happy thoughts for today. Gotta go out and see if the torrent has stopped long enough for me to head out to the grocery store and get something to eat for my family so that we don't have to think about butchering the dog.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Back in Siberia
Well, as the drunken ex-fighter pilot said at the end of "Independance Day" as he kamakazied the giant alien ship, "IIII'MMMMM BAAAACCCCCKKKK!".
At work, anyway. I had to drive over to Jacksonville to pick up Littlest Blue yesterday from her European vacation, figuring that we'd be back in the old home town by 8 PM tops, only to find out that her London-Houston connection started out two and a half hours late, making her miss her connection by a couple of minutes and not allowing us home until 1:30 AM, meaning that just about everyone in the Blue household is tired.
But, it was back to the old salt mines today. My staff was glad to see me (well, at least I think so; more so after I shared genuine Vermont honey in tiny little jars and Maine Lottery scratch-off tickets with them) and I've been wading through the morass all day today, further reminding me why I keep a countdown clock until my retirement.
Littlest Blue regaled me all the way back last night with tales of the wild and woolly Old Europe (as Rummy called it in the Prior Occupant's administration), particularly how she HAD to drink beer just about everywhere because it was SO much cheaper than soda or water with ice in it. Not that I'm doubting her, of course, since I've heard that before, but not out of the mouth of my youngest, who cannot drink legally here. She doesn't seem to have destroyed too many of her brain cells in the process, but now she's got to buckle down and go through a couple of weeks of training at her job herding freshman girls at our local university and then ratchet things up for school, which starts all too soon.
Bigger Blue managed an "A" in her one class at the local Community College this semester, of which we are all happy for her. Now if we could only get her to pick up her clothes in the bathroom...
Our cat is getting older and having a difficult time remembering where to take a whiz. Sorta like yours truly, but I'm not nearly as old as she is comparatively, so I really don't have as good as an excuse. She managed to put a big stain in our newly installed wood floor and now is convinced that the same spot is the place to go from now on. She's also remembered to wake me up in the middle of the night for wet food, so I know it isn't the kitty-kat version of Alzheimer's. It'll be a sad day when our cat is gone; she's been a good one, if you don't count the shedding, the countless allergy attacks and the constant screaming for food. That's what make us love them, I suppose.
At work, anyway. I had to drive over to Jacksonville to pick up Littlest Blue yesterday from her European vacation, figuring that we'd be back in the old home town by 8 PM tops, only to find out that her London-Houston connection started out two and a half hours late, making her miss her connection by a couple of minutes and not allowing us home until 1:30 AM, meaning that just about everyone in the Blue household is tired.
But, it was back to the old salt mines today. My staff was glad to see me (well, at least I think so; more so after I shared genuine Vermont honey in tiny little jars and Maine Lottery scratch-off tickets with them) and I've been wading through the morass all day today, further reminding me why I keep a countdown clock until my retirement.
Littlest Blue regaled me all the way back last night with tales of the wild and woolly Old Europe (as Rummy called it in the Prior Occupant's administration), particularly how she HAD to drink beer just about everywhere because it was SO much cheaper than soda or water with ice in it. Not that I'm doubting her, of course, since I've heard that before, but not out of the mouth of my youngest, who cannot drink legally here. She doesn't seem to have destroyed too many of her brain cells in the process, but now she's got to buckle down and go through a couple of weeks of training at her job herding freshman girls at our local university and then ratchet things up for school, which starts all too soon.
Bigger Blue managed an "A" in her one class at the local Community College this semester, of which we are all happy for her. Now if we could only get her to pick up her clothes in the bathroom...
Our cat is getting older and having a difficult time remembering where to take a whiz. Sorta like yours truly, but I'm not nearly as old as she is comparatively, so I really don't have as good as an excuse. She managed to put a big stain in our newly installed wood floor and now is convinced that the same spot is the place to go from now on. She's also remembered to wake me up in the middle of the night for wet food, so I know it isn't the kitty-kat version of Alzheimer's. It'll be a sad day when our cat is gone; she's been a good one, if you don't count the shedding, the countless allergy attacks and the constant screaming for food. That's what make us love them, I suppose.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Did you miss me?
It's been a while, I know, but I've been on vacation for the last couple of weeks.
Mrs. Blue and I went off to the wilds of New England, Vermont, New Hampshire, the greater Boston area and Maine. We really enjoyed ourselves, as one of the nice things about New England is that you can get around most of it without driving for hours and hours, like you do in our home peninsula.
We flew to Burlington, VT for a few days, hitting some places we went to a couple of summers ago and new ones as well. We ate at Bove's Italian Restaurant, where I had their famous lasagna; a couple of days later we ate at the Alchemist Brewpub in Waterbury. We drove our rented Volvo S80 across Lake Champlain at Crown Point and into upper New York to visit Mount Whiteface and take the skylift up to the top, returning to Vermont on the ferry. We drove over the Quechee George in Quechee, VT and had a wonderful lunch at the Simon Pearce store and restaurant in nearby Woodstock.
After Quechee, we drove to Norwich, where we ate lunch and shopped at the King Arthur Flour store, then drove to North Conway, NH to take the Cog Railway up to the summit of Mount Washington. We were mooned by some hikers (apparently a tradition of sorts) and enjoyed the overcast weather at the top. North Conway is a big tourist trap, but at least it's a clean and fairly neat one, with many tourists wandering around.
After North Conway, we drove to Boston, staying for six nights at a Marriott in one of the western suburbs. Unfortunately, the higher-end Marriotts, unlike their cheaper Fairfield cousins, don't offer complementary Wi-Fi, so I was out of touch with things except for a liberal use of my Blackberry. We did manage to navigate the"T" as they call the metro in Boston without any real problems, seeing the Liberty Trail, the U.S.S. Constitution and the North End, among others. While I was in the North End, I got to see a religious street festival that was a slightly-updated version of the one in "Godfather, Part II", complete with ribbons of dollar bills over a statue of a saint. I had dinner at one of the Italian places there and got some canoli to go. Mrs. Blue and I made a point of hitting various museums and taking the Sam Adams Brewery tour, where everyone in our group was awfully friendly by the end of the tasting session.
One day was taken up with a trip to Plymouth to see where one of my ancestors came to these shores, but I was sorely disappointed. There's still a bit of history there, but it is all but drowned out by the shouting of crass commercialism. I half expected to find a "Pilgrim XXX Video Gallery" around every corner. Of course, the fact that the day we went was probably the first dry, sunny Saturday New England had had all summer may have had something to do with the crowds of tourists, some in cars, some on motorcycles, packed like sardines on the street.
Our last few days were in Maine, staying in Portland, but driving around to see things up and down the coast. We had a good time there, enjoying the scenery and the local brewpubs as much as anything. We did discover mustard pickles on this trip (made by a local place south of Rockland) and vowed to order some one day, since no one here in North Florida seems to eat them.
Of course, now it's about time to hit the saltmines again. Mrs. Blue goes back tomorrow, while I have to drive over to one of our bigger airports to pick up Littlest Blue, coming back from her whirlwind European tour. She says she's gained a lot of weight from both the food and the beer, particularly in Berlin. It'll be good to see her in any case.
We went to see "Julie and Julia" today, which will probably make every part-time blogger (like yours truly) start finding something substantial to blog about in order to hit the big time like Julie Powell did. I'm not jealous of her, since my sense is that she started the blog for her own sanity and just got lucky (and fortunately noticed) in the meanwhile. I write this because I just like to write, whether someone reads it or (more likely) not.
Mrs. Blue and I went off to the wilds of New England, Vermont, New Hampshire, the greater Boston area and Maine. We really enjoyed ourselves, as one of the nice things about New England is that you can get around most of it without driving for hours and hours, like you do in our home peninsula.
We flew to Burlington, VT for a few days, hitting some places we went to a couple of summers ago and new ones as well. We ate at Bove's Italian Restaurant, where I had their famous lasagna; a couple of days later we ate at the Alchemist Brewpub in Waterbury. We drove our rented Volvo S80 across Lake Champlain at Crown Point and into upper New York to visit Mount Whiteface and take the skylift up to the top, returning to Vermont on the ferry. We drove over the Quechee George in Quechee, VT and had a wonderful lunch at the Simon Pearce store and restaurant in nearby Woodstock.
After Quechee, we drove to Norwich, where we ate lunch and shopped at the King Arthur Flour store, then drove to North Conway, NH to take the Cog Railway up to the summit of Mount Washington. We were mooned by some hikers (apparently a tradition of sorts) and enjoyed the overcast weather at the top. North Conway is a big tourist trap, but at least it's a clean and fairly neat one, with many tourists wandering around.
After North Conway, we drove to Boston, staying for six nights at a Marriott in one of the western suburbs. Unfortunately, the higher-end Marriotts, unlike their cheaper Fairfield cousins, don't offer complementary Wi-Fi, so I was out of touch with things except for a liberal use of my Blackberry. We did manage to navigate the"T" as they call the metro in Boston without any real problems, seeing the Liberty Trail, the U.S.S. Constitution and the North End, among others. While I was in the North End, I got to see a religious street festival that was a slightly-updated version of the one in "Godfather, Part II", complete with ribbons of dollar bills over a statue of a saint. I had dinner at one of the Italian places there and got some canoli to go. Mrs. Blue and I made a point of hitting various museums and taking the Sam Adams Brewery tour, where everyone in our group was awfully friendly by the end of the tasting session.
One day was taken up with a trip to Plymouth to see where one of my ancestors came to these shores, but I was sorely disappointed. There's still a bit of history there, but it is all but drowned out by the shouting of crass commercialism. I half expected to find a "Pilgrim XXX Video Gallery" around every corner. Of course, the fact that the day we went was probably the first dry, sunny Saturday New England had had all summer may have had something to do with the crowds of tourists, some in cars, some on motorcycles, packed like sardines on the street.
Our last few days were in Maine, staying in Portland, but driving around to see things up and down the coast. We had a good time there, enjoying the scenery and the local brewpubs as much as anything. We did discover mustard pickles on this trip (made by a local place south of Rockland) and vowed to order some one day, since no one here in North Florida seems to eat them.
Of course, now it's about time to hit the saltmines again. Mrs. Blue goes back tomorrow, while I have to drive over to one of our bigger airports to pick up Littlest Blue, coming back from her whirlwind European tour. She says she's gained a lot of weight from both the food and the beer, particularly in Berlin. It'll be good to see her in any case.
We went to see "Julie and Julia" today, which will probably make every part-time blogger (like yours truly) start finding something substantial to blog about in order to hit the big time like Julie Powell did. I'm not jealous of her, since my sense is that she started the blog for her own sanity and just got lucky (and fortunately noticed) in the meanwhile. I write this because I just like to write, whether someone reads it or (more likely) not.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Happy 4th of July
It's very, very hot here, typical for our fair city this time of year, just not terribly bearable except for Dr. Gorey's invention of air conditioning back in the early 19th century. It's been a bit of a quiet 4th of July here for us Blues. Mrs. Blue took off for South Georgia to spend time with her middle sister, Bigger Blue met up with folks in a group project at the local public library, while Littlest Blue and I sat around and watched "The Fifth Element". Later, I went shopping a got the fixin's for Pork Carnitas and we enjoyed them greatly.
It is strange to think that, back in the Civil War, Vicksburg fell to the Union forces under Grant and Gettysburg was soon to finish up its three days of hell. Americans in all sorts of places over the centuries have been fighting somewhere, surviving, sometimes maimed, others dying on July 4. It's a hard thing to think about, especially since my family has been luckier than most over the last few generations with no one being killed or wounded in the nation's defense. My grandfather didn't have to serve in WWI, my dad served a rough couple of years in North Africa and Italy as a groundscrewman in a B-24 unit during WWII (and did get shot at a few times, thank you very much), my brother was in the Air Force during Vietnam doing computer work for NORAD and I was too young for Vietnam, too old for everything else since. I still count myself lucky and fortunate to live here, even with all our troubles, since it is still freer than a lot of places and we haven't been in the business of shooting our political opponents, at least lately.
That's why I get so tired of reading blogs and posts by the "super-patriots", who either think that if YOU haven't served in the military, YOU cannot understand freedom OR that their political opinion should somehow count for more than yours. Having quite a few veterans in the family over the years and having studied most of our wars over the years has given me a great deal of respect for the military and for those who've sacrificed for our liberty, but I don't think that necessarily makes them more qualified to speak about political matters than me OR means that they love this country more than me or even more than the latest immigrant off the boat.
Garrison Keillor, host of "A Prarie Home Companion" recently said during a PBS show I saw following him around for a year with his show and daily life in New York City, that he's seen a lot of kindness in America during his travels and that that kindness has done more for us than the angry voices out there. I agree with him; I'm tired of the yelling, the hatred, the not-so-veiled disgust that many seem to have nowadays just about everything. Civility just isn't the accepted norm anymore and, unfortunately, there's too many ways for the venom to get our and about with the Internet and now stuff like Twitter.
I know I'm being a bit naive about this, since our history has been replete with harsh and nasty comments about everything, but some politeness and consideration would be rather nice right about now. The government isn't shooting those who disagree with it and our military isn't inclined to overthrow the legally elected authority, even if they don't agree with them all the time. Thank goodness for small favors.
It is strange to think that, back in the Civil War, Vicksburg fell to the Union forces under Grant and Gettysburg was soon to finish up its three days of hell. Americans in all sorts of places over the centuries have been fighting somewhere, surviving, sometimes maimed, others dying on July 4. It's a hard thing to think about, especially since my family has been luckier than most over the last few generations with no one being killed or wounded in the nation's defense. My grandfather didn't have to serve in WWI, my dad served a rough couple of years in North Africa and Italy as a groundscrewman in a B-24 unit during WWII (and did get shot at a few times, thank you very much), my brother was in the Air Force during Vietnam doing computer work for NORAD and I was too young for Vietnam, too old for everything else since. I still count myself lucky and fortunate to live here, even with all our troubles, since it is still freer than a lot of places and we haven't been in the business of shooting our political opponents, at least lately.
That's why I get so tired of reading blogs and posts by the "super-patriots", who either think that if YOU haven't served in the military, YOU cannot understand freedom OR that their political opinion should somehow count for more than yours. Having quite a few veterans in the family over the years and having studied most of our wars over the years has given me a great deal of respect for the military and for those who've sacrificed for our liberty, but I don't think that necessarily makes them more qualified to speak about political matters than me OR means that they love this country more than me or even more than the latest immigrant off the boat.
Garrison Keillor, host of "A Prarie Home Companion" recently said during a PBS show I saw following him around for a year with his show and daily life in New York City, that he's seen a lot of kindness in America during his travels and that that kindness has done more for us than the angry voices out there. I agree with him; I'm tired of the yelling, the hatred, the not-so-veiled disgust that many seem to have nowadays just about everything. Civility just isn't the accepted norm anymore and, unfortunately, there's too many ways for the venom to get our and about with the Internet and now stuff like Twitter.
I know I'm being a bit naive about this, since our history has been replete with harsh and nasty comments about everything, but some politeness and consideration would be rather nice right about now. The government isn't shooting those who disagree with it and our military isn't inclined to overthrow the legally elected authority, even if they don't agree with them all the time. Thank goodness for small favors.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Whadya Mean I'm Irrelevant?
In reading the excellent Whatever blog of John Scalzi, one of my favorite S/F writers, I find myself on the defensive. He blogged on 6/7/09 about a NY Times article referring to bloggers and the problems they have with quitting when they realize that, well, no one is bothering to read the blogs that they have dutifully put out into the blogosphere 'lo these many years...
Well, me anyway. I haven't quit, but I sure have a lot of the same symptoms the NY Times and Scalzi refer to--long times between posts (guilty) and the nagging "whattsa matter with ME?" attitude when no one bothers to read or at least post replies, good, bad or indifferent (or even insulting!).
Scalzi's right--a blog worth reading IS a lot of work. I certainly haven't bothered to post every day or multiple times a day (Jeez, I DO have a life and career, you know) and haven't gone to the trouble of learning the niceties of web or site design, downloaded pictures or other bright, shiny things from other websites to sweeten the deal for you prospective readers out there. Of course, it would matter if I really gave a hoot one way or the other.
Of COURSE I give a hoot one way or the other! Why the heck would I be posting anyway? I do see this as something of a public version of a diary, but on the other hand, I just saw the trailer for the new movie coming out with Meryl Streep as Julia Child and the young woman who decided to post a blog about cooking every recipe in Child's cookbook over the next 365 days of her life, a blog first published as a book, now turned into a movie. THAT'S what all us frustrated bloggers are hoping for--the publishing rights and the possibility that someone from Hollywood will end up portraying a much prettier or handsomer version of ourselves when the movie comes out.
I think Daniel Craig would be able to crank out my slighly Midwest-tinged Southern accent, don't you?
Well, me anyway. I haven't quit, but I sure have a lot of the same symptoms the NY Times and Scalzi refer to--long times between posts (guilty) and the nagging "whattsa matter with ME?" attitude when no one bothers to read or at least post replies, good, bad or indifferent (or even insulting!).
Scalzi's right--a blog worth reading IS a lot of work. I certainly haven't bothered to post every day or multiple times a day (Jeez, I DO have a life and career, you know) and haven't gone to the trouble of learning the niceties of web or site design, downloaded pictures or other bright, shiny things from other websites to sweeten the deal for you prospective readers out there. Of course, it would matter if I really gave a hoot one way or the other.
Of COURSE I give a hoot one way or the other! Why the heck would I be posting anyway? I do see this as something of a public version of a diary, but on the other hand, I just saw the trailer for the new movie coming out with Meryl Streep as Julia Child and the young woman who decided to post a blog about cooking every recipe in Child's cookbook over the next 365 days of her life, a blog first published as a book, now turned into a movie. THAT'S what all us frustrated bloggers are hoping for--the publishing rights and the possibility that someone from Hollywood will end up portraying a much prettier or handsomer version of ourselves when the movie comes out.
I think Daniel Craig would be able to crank out my slighly Midwest-tinged Southern accent, don't you?
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Stuff
I've not posted for a while (not that anyone seems to notice), mainly because I've been pretty busy with work and other stuff for a while.
We've completed some more work on our house, which is still a work in progress, inside and out. It's not quite "The Money Pit", but it does seem that way sometimes, especially when we keep looking at other houses.
Just got back from the Memorial Day weekend and the annual Family Reunion of Mrs. Blue's mother's side of the family. It rained pretty much all weekend , off and on, we were in a cabin a ways away from the rest of the bunch because of some issues with the cabin we were going to be in, saw a cute little mouse in the kitchen the first night, had to basically balance myself on the edge of the bed because it was a double and enjoyed ourselves. I finished reading Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" up there--a great piece of military SF.
We're still awaiting our Governor's action towards a bill that would cut the salary of some State Employees (myself included) by 2%, effective July 1. I'm not holding my breath for a veto, given the current times.
One of my nieces is currently driving out to Truckee, CA to live for at least a few months. I worry about her trip (that's a LONG way to drive!), though not as much as if it were either Bigger Blue or Littlest Blue, since neither one likes driving on Interstates. I know she's wanted to strike out on her own, but the older relatives are hoping nothing bad happens, while I think the younger generation is excited for her. That's the difference, I suppose; us oldies look at all the possible problems, the younger folks look at all the possibilities.
The North Koreans have detonated a Hiroshima-sized nuke underground. Don't quite know what the Current Occupant needs to do this time--at least even their erstwhile allies, and even the IRANIANS, are appalled (at least publically). It'd probably be relatively easy to set up a big airstrike to take out most of their facilities and leadership, but Soeul would proably be a big smoking hole before it was over with.
We've completed some more work on our house, which is still a work in progress, inside and out. It's not quite "The Money Pit", but it does seem that way sometimes, especially when we keep looking at other houses.
Just got back from the Memorial Day weekend and the annual Family Reunion of Mrs. Blue's mother's side of the family. It rained pretty much all weekend , off and on, we were in a cabin a ways away from the rest of the bunch because of some issues with the cabin we were going to be in, saw a cute little mouse in the kitchen the first night, had to basically balance myself on the edge of the bed because it was a double and enjoyed ourselves. I finished reading Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" up there--a great piece of military SF.
We're still awaiting our Governor's action towards a bill that would cut the salary of some State Employees (myself included) by 2%, effective July 1. I'm not holding my breath for a veto, given the current times.
One of my nieces is currently driving out to Truckee, CA to live for at least a few months. I worry about her trip (that's a LONG way to drive!), though not as much as if it were either Bigger Blue or Littlest Blue, since neither one likes driving on Interstates. I know she's wanted to strike out on her own, but the older relatives are hoping nothing bad happens, while I think the younger generation is excited for her. That's the difference, I suppose; us oldies look at all the possible problems, the younger folks look at all the possibilities.
The North Koreans have detonated a Hiroshima-sized nuke underground. Don't quite know what the Current Occupant needs to do this time--at least even their erstwhile allies, and even the IRANIANS, are appalled (at least publically). It'd probably be relatively easy to set up a big airstrike to take out most of their facilities and leadership, but Soeul would proably be a big smoking hole before it was over with.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
ARRRRGH! The President's Plane! The President's Plane!
Apparently some numskull in the FAA decided that it was a good idea to have a massive 747, painted in the colors of Air Force One, fly around lower Manhattan for a photo op, followed by an Air Force F-16, somehow forgetting that Manhattanites are terrified by the sight of ANY airliner flying relatively close to the ground these days, thinking of 9/11. People left their jobs, panicking as they wandered the streets, using their cellphone cameras and videos to get a shot of the next terrorist target being impacted.
The usual recriminations are going on and someone at the FAA will probably lose their head over it. Of course, this whole mess begs more than a few questions, like:
1. Why didn't someone simply make an announcement to the various media in NYC telling them about the photo op well in advance and make it sound like a good time to be had by all instead of saying "Surprise!"? They might as well have painted Osama Bin Laden's picture on the side of the 747 with the words "You're Next!" for all the good it did.
2. I get that New Yorkers are a bit on the sensitive side about the appearance of an airliner flying around their burg seemingly being chased by a fighter but, on the other hand, it WAS Air Force One (well, a look-alike, anyway) after all. You think they'd have looked just a LITTLE closer to figure that one out.
A few years ago one of the Space Shuttles was returning from a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on the back of a NASA 747 and arrangements were made for it to use up a bit of avgas by flying over our fair city. I was coming home from work and saw folks pulling over on an Interstate overpass and realized what was coming, so I pulled over and gazed at the massive beast (which does look rather like something prehistoric mating in mid-air) and really wished I'd remembered to bring my camera that day.
It's too bad such a sight has become something so fearful instead of something wonderous.
The usual recriminations are going on and someone at the FAA will probably lose their head over it. Of course, this whole mess begs more than a few questions, like:
1. Why didn't someone simply make an announcement to the various media in NYC telling them about the photo op well in advance and make it sound like a good time to be had by all instead of saying "Surprise!"? They might as well have painted Osama Bin Laden's picture on the side of the 747 with the words "You're Next!" for all the good it did.
2. I get that New Yorkers are a bit on the sensitive side about the appearance of an airliner flying around their burg seemingly being chased by a fighter but, on the other hand, it WAS Air Force One (well, a look-alike, anyway) after all. You think they'd have looked just a LITTLE closer to figure that one out.
A few years ago one of the Space Shuttles was returning from a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on the back of a NASA 747 and arrangements were made for it to use up a bit of avgas by flying over our fair city. I was coming home from work and saw folks pulling over on an Interstate overpass and realized what was coming, so I pulled over and gazed at the massive beast (which does look rather like something prehistoric mating in mid-air) and really wished I'd remembered to bring my camera that day.
It's too bad such a sight has become something so fearful instead of something wonderous.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Not That Anyone Asked Me, But...
1. Since I live in the Republican wet dream of a "low tax" state, one that Sean Hannity has praised as just an absolutely wonderful place to live, I'll try to remember that when our Legislature has gotten done with its Neo-Con cum Libertarian/Grover Norquist-aping stupidity that masquerades as an excuse for law-making which will probably gut our universities and other public schools, when all us sorry-excuses for "public servants" have to PAY the State to work instead of the other way around, make all of us swim in the next good-sized oil spill on our formerly pristine beaches because one of the Big Elephant mucky-mucks slipped in a "Drill, Baby, Drill" proposal to put oil wells three miles off the coast AND when we all start driving on the hundreds of thousands of miles of new toll roads once those morons have decided to privitize EVERYTHING in the name of "no new taxes". Sheesh. When are they going to remember that they work for the PEOPLE, not for their ideology?
2. I was fascinated to read about one of those poor families making OVER $250,000 a year, the parental units of which claimed that they'd be HARD-PRESSED to pay the little bit extra that the Obama Administration will make them pay in income taxes next year. Yup, they might have to forego that couple of weeks a year they spend in the extended family beach condo, cut back on their subscription to The NRA Today, or whatever that rag is called and, heaven forbid, maybe even cut back on their $13,000.00 a year contribution to their church. Wow. The President is SO unfair.
3. Speaking of Sean Hannity, I'd probably pay good money to see him waterboarded. He apparently claimed in some spot last week that he'd volunteer to be waterboarded for charity to show how "harmless" it really was to be strapped to a wooden board, blindfolded, have a wet rag put over your nose and mouth and have water poured over your face to realistically simulate drowning. I'm surprised that all of the interrogators at Guantanamo and the terrorists being questioned weren't just falling all over themselves laughing every session. Keith Olbermann has offered to pay a charity $1,000.00 for every MINUTE Hannity, assuming he ever gets around to putting his smirking face where his mouth offered to put it, lasts under the tortu...wait, FUN of being waterboarded. Another website apparently gives us average folks the opportunity to donate another $1.00 a minute OR, even better, ups the ante by offering to pay only IF Hannity is denied sleep for 48 hours beforehand AND/OR is slapped around AND/OR has to stand in the same position for hours AND/OR is naked when it is administered (well, I might have made up the last one). Yup, I'd be willing to have it televised, maybe even pay-per-view. It would certainly beat any WCW Westlemania event.
2. I was fascinated to read about one of those poor families making OVER $250,000 a year, the parental units of which claimed that they'd be HARD-PRESSED to pay the little bit extra that the Obama Administration will make them pay in income taxes next year. Yup, they might have to forego that couple of weeks a year they spend in the extended family beach condo, cut back on their subscription to The NRA Today, or whatever that rag is called and, heaven forbid, maybe even cut back on their $13,000.00 a year contribution to their church. Wow. The President is SO unfair.
3. Speaking of Sean Hannity, I'd probably pay good money to see him waterboarded. He apparently claimed in some spot last week that he'd volunteer to be waterboarded for charity to show how "harmless" it really was to be strapped to a wooden board, blindfolded, have a wet rag put over your nose and mouth and have water poured over your face to realistically simulate drowning. I'm surprised that all of the interrogators at Guantanamo and the terrorists being questioned weren't just falling all over themselves laughing every session. Keith Olbermann has offered to pay a charity $1,000.00 for every MINUTE Hannity, assuming he ever gets around to putting his smirking face where his mouth offered to put it, lasts under the tortu...wait, FUN of being waterboarded. Another website apparently gives us average folks the opportunity to donate another $1.00 a minute OR, even better, ups the ante by offering to pay only IF Hannity is denied sleep for 48 hours beforehand AND/OR is slapped around AND/OR has to stand in the same position for hours AND/OR is naked when it is administered (well, I might have made up the last one). Yup, I'd be willing to have it televised, maybe even pay-per-view. It would certainly beat any WCW Westlemania event.
Monday, April 20, 2009
On Being An Old Fart
It's official: I'm an Old Fart.
I'm finding myself more and more thinking and talking out loud about "the good old days", the days when "things were done right" and when lamebrains didn't walk the earth in the massive numbers that they seem to presently. I'm probably going to start wearing Burmuda shorts and flip-flops with black socks.
Well, maybe not that far. But I've been doing what I do for nearly twenty-five years now and I'm driven crazy by others who can't be bothered to follow law and procedures that have been in place for many years, by those in authority who use it to feather their own nests instead of the common good and the seeming inability of elected officials on the State level to realize that those of us who work for the People need a proper salary to live on as well instead of being treated like slave labor.
Of course, I realize that every generation, growing long in the tooth, has said exactly the same thing, particularly about the next generation whom they look at as being mouth-breathing morons, unable to maintain the wealth and safety of the nation. Yet, every generation seems to get by and succeed, despite the whining of their elders. It isn't that I don't think that the next generation won't be able to keep things at the high level we've come to expect from Americans--rather, I think that it's MY generation that's doing its dead-level best to screw things up and leave little for our kids to enjoy.
Oh well, maybe the Republicans will put us back in the Fifties when it was safe to be white, privileged and elite, putting all those minorities (racial, sexual and economic) back in their place. Lord knows they're trying hard enough to.
I'm finding myself more and more thinking and talking out loud about "the good old days", the days when "things were done right" and when lamebrains didn't walk the earth in the massive numbers that they seem to presently. I'm probably going to start wearing Burmuda shorts and flip-flops with black socks.
Well, maybe not that far. But I've been doing what I do for nearly twenty-five years now and I'm driven crazy by others who can't be bothered to follow law and procedures that have been in place for many years, by those in authority who use it to feather their own nests instead of the common good and the seeming inability of elected officials on the State level to realize that those of us who work for the People need a proper salary to live on as well instead of being treated like slave labor.
Of course, I realize that every generation, growing long in the tooth, has said exactly the same thing, particularly about the next generation whom they look at as being mouth-breathing morons, unable to maintain the wealth and safety of the nation. Yet, every generation seems to get by and succeed, despite the whining of their elders. It isn't that I don't think that the next generation won't be able to keep things at the high level we've come to expect from Americans--rather, I think that it's MY generation that's doing its dead-level best to screw things up and leave little for our kids to enjoy.
Oh well, maybe the Republicans will put us back in the Fifties when it was safe to be white, privileged and elite, putting all those minorities (racial, sexual and economic) back in their place. Lord knows they're trying hard enough to.
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