Barackalypse vs. Bushwhacked: half a dozen of one, 6 of the other…

I am soooo tired of the anti-Obama “jokes”; it’s over people so I think you should get over it, but if you insist then I too, am having a bit of a rant.

I don't believe that "But Bush did it too!" is a valid defense of anything. I do, however, believe that it's a perfectly valid response to people whose perception of reality is completely skewed.

Look, I get that you don't like taxes. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of them either; I think they’re too high, but I also think spending is too high. I understand that you oppose many of Obama's proposals. I don’t agree with everything the guy says either so I can empathize to a certain extent; however, I am baffled that you could go through the past 8 years completely care-free, not the least bit worried about the exorbitant deficit spending and obscene expansion of state power going on until now. I suppose that contrary to what I said in my last blog, color does matter. There are some people that only seem to care if there’s a boot squashing a face if it comes in blue instead of red.

So yes, Bush cut your taxes. He did, however, raise the taxes that your children (someone’s children) will pay. In general people claim to care about children, and I’d go so far as to say that given the pro-life stance of the people I am referring to (not that I think there’s anything wrong with that) I’d think you should care about children a lot. Surely you must oppose any policy that basically guarantees that your kids will pay massive taxes to some Chinese creditors, yes?

A tiny recap on the things you either missed while blinking or that simply didn’t faze you enough to even solicit a blink. The Bush administration:

- Borrowed an obscene amount of money to start a war that will bite us and future generations in the ass. (Please note that I retain the utmost respect for members of the armed forces and am grateful for their service).
- Borrowed vast sums for insane domestic security policies.
- Openly instituted a policy of torture, detention without trial and warrantless surveillance.
- Consolidated federal power over public schools.
- Instituted a massive and expensive program of free pills for the elderly.
- Borrowed another ridiculous sum to bail out Wall Street.
- Acquired equity stakes in various banks, basically nationalizing a key industry, the sort of thing that would cause you to pack your bags and move to Argentina if Obama did it.

None of that scared you in the least. You even voted repeatedly for the party doing these things.

You're only scared NOW? Really? Does anyone else recall the Chicken Littleing of Newt Gingrinch in the early 90s? His nonsense is one of the first things I can really remember from the contemporary political sector (admittedly, it was his name that drew my attention). The man said there would be soup kitchen lines, and then we had the longest peacetime economic expansion in our history.

Yes, I am hopeful for a better future, but I am also a bit cynical on it all so that should give you haters hope. I'm predicting that many of Obama's proposals will come to naught, and we'll basically get the status quo that didn't cause you to so much as bat an eyelash anyway.

Oh, except that the bill for this status quo might be paid by you instead of by future voters. The change I wanted never came to fruition either; that’s life.

*sigh* I feel better now. I was just getting so irritated that I had to rant a bit.

Idiocracy: Cinematic suggestion for all, especially the boy w/the AuH20esque profile name

So Saturday night I sat next to a pregnant girl drinking Mountain Dew like it was about to be discontinued but could grant an easier labor and delivery if she sucked down enough it before it was gone. She was so busy spewing forth racist "jokes" and completely asinine "political" commentary I am surprised she was able to get three big glasses down; nevertheless she did. Wait...did I just judge her based on her beverage consumption? Oh, not really; it's just that it's a little difficult for me not to question your intelligence if you are sucking down Mountain Dew well into your pregnancy while you make insulting remarks toward a specific race or the future president...sorry.

Anyone that knows me even a little bit can tell you that I have zero tolerance for derogatory remarks with regard to a person's race, ethnicity, cultural practices, sexual-orientation, religion, class, etc. I am not going to travel off on some long tangent to that effect as I already did that once here. I am not going to claim that I am superior and free of any presuppositions of people, but I like to think that I try to separate myself from them as much as possible. Admittedly, the first thing that came to mind as I listened to this girl blathering racist nonsense was, "Fantastic; she is reproducing...the future of America is going to look like that." I know it's terrible to think that way, and I hope that it doesn't happen.

Unlike Dew's claims that most black people are the same (her ideas: lazy and jobless), I am going to believe that not all people of whatever her classification is are destined to be the same. While I think it's extremely difficult for a child spoon-fed racism that is chased down with Kool-Aid (insert other sugary beverage...Mountain Dew?) to come out of the household unscathed, free from those bigot-ridden thought processes, I don't think it's impossible. I have hope in the school systems, in the other adults that racist's baby will encounter, in the majority of our society that the child will grow up to be a more loving and accepting individual than his/her parent(s).

Anyway, the whole thing reminded me of a movie that was fairly entertaining so I offer you a clip mash-up here and suggest checking it out. I didn't mention it at the time because I was trying to be nice and not imply that Dew was an idiot directly to her face. I am sure that aside from the racism and bigotry that she is a lovely person and an otherwise good mama.

I don't expect rainbows and unicorns and 100% peace and love in the world, but I do expect people with any sort of education to know that you can not assume things based solely on a person's race, ethnicity, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, it is time for me to get to work. Here's hoping for a smarter tomorrow, not one reminiscent of a scene from Idiocracy.

Ouch

Inhale: the pain can be no worse;
I sink into nothing but spirit.
I breathe the pain inside out,
the colors subside into gray.

Exhale: the pain will be worse still-there's no scale
of one to ten or one million-

Blah, blah, blah...I'm just sayin'. Decent day w/my boys and awesome Old 97s concert tonight but still hurting :-(

Hare I go, hare I go, hare I go again...

Sorry, you’ll see what prompted it in a second (you know beside my obvious love for Salt-N-Peppa since my Blacks’ Magic cassette circa ‘93).

It’s Columbus Day, an almost over Columbus Day, but I am just now getting around to posting. I thought maybe I’d get all tangential about the number of government employees that were comfortably lounging today while I sat utterly annoyed in my office and read more about our (insert sarcasm now) flourishing economy – how ‘bout that Dow today? – I know I’m convinced that all is well now! Then I thought: why bother? Why begrudge them their paid holiday? Am I not elated when Labor Day and Memorial Day roll round?

Instead I starting thinking about how when you’re in grade school you’re force-fed some historical nonsense as to why you will have Monday off just prior to being reminded that you should use that time wisely to work on whatever your big project is for the semester. With Columbus Day, in particular (yes, my Catholic grade school was closed), I can recall a cheesy Bugs Bunny cartoon (that I probably saw 10+ times thanks to my paternal grandfather’s love of Bugs) helping to form some of my ideas on Christopher Columbus’ historic role. Of course, the older I got, the less credence I gave to cartoons as historic references (wink), but just for the sake of discussion I think it’s a bit crazy that I ever allowed it into my psyche at all. That’s what we do though right? Form a popular consciousness with regard to historical events via a pervasive cultural layer that's been added like that of Bugs and Chris?

The cartoon delivers that same ol’ story of Chris attempting rather unsuccessfully to convince potential financiers of his voyage that the world is round, etc. Historians know very well that in addition to a majority of well-traveled sailors, most educated people in early modern Europe were perfectly aware that the world was not flat. If anything, Columbus was kind of deluded, just not about the shape of the world, but its size. He thought it was much smaller than it actually was.

When you ask why people have heard otherwise, you can’t really zero in on any single text or source that is responsible for creating an alternative folk knowledge about Columbus and medieval European knowledge. Even when you can find a source like that housed within a Looney Tunes there’s often so much whimsy or simplicity, something intended for children, that is maybe infused with a sense of reference to common sense knowledge about past events, are we really getting anything historically accurate? It’s not that the cartoon teaches you about Columbus, or even that it purports to; it’s more like it’s human capability at work. Together we strive, whether consciously or sub-consciously to innovate, to accumulate and to diffuse culture. While there is of course, always going to be someone trying to write and teach history to his/her advantage or protection (see Lies My Teacher Told Me for some examples), there are also cases like that of Bugs; there’s no malicious agenda in the cartoon to rewrite history, at least I don’t think.

Crap! I'm not going to do it, but the whole thought processes for tonight have ended me at memetics...ugh, another time perhaps. I am tired and extend my apologies for messy though without any fun or informative hyperlinks; what can I say?...I suck tonight. Only blogging to distract myself from familial drama.

Just coming up for air

I have been a naughty blogger and promise to try to whip something thoughtful up this week. Debate was entertaining, yes? Anyway...

You contained me in your universe,
fed me, educated me, bedded me in slippery

sheets, removed my blankets as I slept.
I needed not to leave you except to star gaze.

You were red, and crushed apples along
a stream frozen save for bursting rocks.

Stealing me away from I, we spoke,
listened, lingered over other.

A pearl is round and smooth and lustrous,
Yet your floors slant and porously grit.

You slam doors and disturb dreams,
enter without knocking, give me no key to lock

Your slide-shows warmed the cold church,
And articulated metaphor, design, and thought.

De Bait! De Bait!

Wow, a few months ago I was completely jaded and had completely lost all interest in this presidential election; my how the tides have turned! First, there were the VP picks; both of which piqued my interest and renewed some faith in the whole process for me. Now, we have the seasoned Senator actually calling to cancel…er, ahem, I mean, postpone the first of three presidential debates (not to mention the canceling of the VP debate altogether, but I’m not even touching that mess). It’s all crazy right?

Well, I don’t know. In my humble opinion, it might just be genius. Really, if McCain can convince the American public that he is genuinely taking an “above politics” approach then he might just reel in a new crop of supporters; I’m just not sure how many Americans are biting on this tactic. I fear for the old man, that many will view it with complete derision. It’s a lovely sentiment and whatnot, but really I think the majority of Americans want a President that is capable of a little multi-tasking.

Anyway, I know I’ve been a negligent blogger, and I have so much more churning on this one as well as the bailout / economic situation disaster that we’re in; however, I’ve just too much to do in too little of time these days. Ugh, okay, I can’t sign off without saying a little more…It’s unlikely that the calamitous state of our economy is going to improve through hurried legislation. This bailout biz is a train wreck for the general public. Actually, perhaps there’s an even more applicable analogy; it’s a band-aid for a situation that needs a far more in-depth treatment plan. I don’t know about the rest of you (I certainly welcome your thoughts on it all), but I don’t trust such an exorbitant amount of money in so few hands.

I implore everyone to be actively involved in your political choices though. Read the news. Watch the debates (when they happen). Etc. With regard to the bailout I urge you to read a little something from the Campaign for Liberty peeps.

On a friendly note, I also wish you all a fantastic weekend!

Hot

She was a golden flame that night,
Red as the fire upon a hearth on a cold night.
All was still when she began to dance,
As the licking flame dances.
Slowly at first she twisted her body, as though hungry,
Just as the growing flames twist and lick outwardly
and hungrily.
Her body was a living pillar of fire
Covered with the flowering glitter of a million sparks,
Turning, twisting, tossing,
As if in agony, and yet, caressing.
From the flaming red you were changed to a
sinister green,
A flame of poison, of treachery and of lust;
A flame one might expect to find
Creeping among the forest giants
to kill them while they slept;
A poison as choking as the gas from which you spring;
And the lust call dripping from every movement of
your lithe body.
And then to the silver flame,
A flame when only the moon is high in the heavens
A sparkling, gleaming flame, reaching upward,
While silver glitterings fall at your feet;
Then suddenly to turn and play with them,
Lightly, laughingly,
Until the shining call of the moon beckons,
And you seek to answer
With all the power of your silvery form.