but I'm running low on emotional endurance. Part of it is the physical tiredness; it makes my available emotional energy lower than standard anyway - but the rest is emotional fallout.
I really appreciate all the work that Kaye & Joan put into cleaning out our old place and setting up the garage sale. However, I think I now know where Megan gets her "let's throw everything away!" impulses. It amazes me, because Kaye told me how glad she was that I rescued the first baby blanket that she made for her first grandchild, when Megan threw it out on the street... here's some of the things I found in the trash:
more than $80 worth of cut, polished, loose opals
our wedding certificate
my bankruptcy paperwork
some divorce paperwork
random pieces of childrens toys (large lego pieces, little people, a miniature toy tea set, etc.)
5-10 books, notebooks, 3 ring binders, legal pads, etc.
several pairs of jeans, some t-shirts, a bunch of my underwear, the tops of two of my pajama sets, a silk dressing gown...
the leather lederhosen Justin wore as a child that we're passing on to Christian
aforementioned Capital Children's Chorus tape
the red & white knit footie outfit from Germany that J wore as an infant that we're passing on
one of my silver eeyore earrings (I hope the other one is in the house somewhere... *sigh*)
some diary pages
some photographs
lots of plug covers and other random items
Okay, so YOU tell ME - wouldn't you be pissed? Out of a pile of garbage bigger than our Ford Explorer, there were maybe THREE BAGS that did NOT have something in it that I wanted to keep.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I see Kaye tomorrow when I drop off Moira at school. I didn't say anything this morning, because I could understand how a folded up marriage certificate and a cassette tape could get thrown out in a mad rush... but the sheer number of things thrown away has just blown my mind. I'm afraid if I try to get into a conversation with her I'll just totally lose it and say something like "what the hell?! Thanks for all your incredibly hard work, but F*&#!!! ALL I asked of you was that you ASK ME FIRST. How would you like it if I went through YOUR stuff and started throwing away stuff??!!" AAAAAARRRRRGH
Okay, gotta go pick up J from work - we're going to Patrick's house for dinner & the Scorcese special about Bob Dylan. WOOHOO!
Monday, September 26, 2005
Sunday, September 25, 2005
OMG
I'm thirty, I have two kids, a wonderful partner, and we're homeowners.
When the hell did I grow up? Unreal.
I survived the whirlwind garage sale yesterday. Got rid of a bunch of stuff - what didn't sell got immediately carted off to Goodwill. I managed not to kill anybody, altho I'm still really freakin pissed about a few things. The only bad thing about having people "help" you with a moving/garage sale is when they get it into their heads that THEY'RE allowed to decide what gets sold or thrown away. This resulted in me finding my marriage certificate, some photographs, and a recording of Capital Children's Chorus (that J & I were in together as children) - amongst other things - in the trash. I'm hoping that I didn't lose anything precious in the stuff carted to Goodwill. *sigh*
When the hell did I grow up? Unreal.
I survived the whirlwind garage sale yesterday. Got rid of a bunch of stuff - what didn't sell got immediately carted off to Goodwill. I managed not to kill anybody, altho I'm still really freakin pissed about a few things. The only bad thing about having people "help" you with a moving/garage sale is when they get it into their heads that THEY'RE allowed to decide what gets sold or thrown away. This resulted in me finding my marriage certificate, some photographs, and a recording of Capital Children's Chorus (that J & I were in together as children) - amongst other things - in the trash. I'm hoping that I didn't lose anything precious in the stuff carted to Goodwill. *sigh*
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Save the aardvarks!
Okay, this is driving me crazy. Somebody wanna go here and tell me what the heck is going on?
I'm going to go back and attempt not to die. Wish me luck!
I'm going to go back and attempt not to die. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
I need five of me
I
am
going
to
fucking
lose
it
any
minute
now
The cluster of ant bites I just got isn't improving my mood at all.
am
going
to
fucking
lose
it
any
minute
now
The cluster of ant bites I just got isn't improving my mood at all.
Monday, September 19, 2005
It still hasn't sunk in yet...
We're homeowners. If I want to paint the front door purple, I can. If I want to rip out the carpet and put down tile, I can. I can plant anything I want to in the front and back yard. I'm so excited, it's a good thing I'm so #*&$ exhausted or I wouldn't be able to sleep.
Joan has been having a blast picking out colors and painting - I have yet to be able to help paint, unfortunately. I've still got to clean up the old house, finish moving, get ready for the garage sale, and go up to Havana to get the last of the things from there that I want before it's sold.
There aren't enough hours in the day. Anybody want to come play with my kid(s) while I work?
Joan has been having a blast picking out colors and painting - I have yet to be able to help paint, unfortunately. I've still got to clean up the old house, finish moving, get ready for the garage sale, and go up to Havana to get the last of the things from there that I want before it's sold.
There aren't enough hours in the day. Anybody want to come play with my kid(s) while I work?
Friday, September 16, 2005
amazing, astonishing, awe-inspiring, awesome, exciting, hair-raising, heart-stirring, impressive, magnificent, moving, overwhelming, spine-tingling...
WE'RE HOMEOWNERS!!!!
As I sit here, in OUR VERY OWN HOUSE, on a wireless network (yes, J works fast) I have yet to wrap my head around it totally.
I'm going to go take measurements of everything so we can get all geeky with SketchUp later. :D
As I sit here, in OUR VERY OWN HOUSE, on a wireless network (yes, J works fast) I have yet to wrap my head around it totally.
I'm going to go take measurements of everything so we can get all geeky with SketchUp later. :D
Happy Birthday, BB King!
He's EIGHTY today. Wow. And still touring! I hope I've got that kind of energy when I'm 80.
Five hours. And then we'll be homeowners.
We're looking forward to having Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Everybody can come to us for a change!
Five hours. And then we'll be homeowners.
We're looking forward to having Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Everybody can come to us for a change!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
interesting!
Some random things that may or may not be of interest to anybody.
J's was creepily accurate too.
THIS is AWESOME. Anybody wanna come play a game with J & I?
Okay, am going to stop doing silly blogthings.
| Your Personality Profile |
 You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming! |
J's was creepily accurate too.
THIS is AWESOME. Anybody wanna come play a game with J & I?
Your Hidden Talent |
 You have the power to persuade and influence others. You're the type of person who can turn a whole room around. The potential for great leadership is there, as long as you don't abuse it. Always remember, you have a lot more power over people than you might think! |
| Your Birthdate: August 15 |
 With a birthday on the 15th of any month, you are apt to have really strong attachments to home, family and domestic scene. The 1 and 5 equaling 6, provide the sort of energy that makes you an excellent parent or teacher. You are very responsible and capable. This is an attractive and an attracting influence. You like harmony in your environment and strive to maintain it. You tend to learn by observation rather than study and research. You may like to cook, but you probably don't follow recipes. This number shows artistic leanings and would certainly support an talents that may be otherwise in your makeup. You're a very generous and giving person, but perhaps a bit stubborn in ways. |
Okay, am going to stop doing silly blogthings.
I keep forgetting to mention
How utterly neato I think my hubby is. Aside from all the wonderful things he does, he reads random Wikipedia entries. He frequently shares the weirder and/or more interesting ones with me. For example, we were reading about grues last night.
What is it with us going to bed and feeling more tired when we get up than we did when we laid down?
Closing at 4pm tomorrow - hard to believe, you know? I can't wait to hook up with Joan for the garage sale of the century! And then decorating... I've coined a new home decorating style: "Tornado Victorian" - eclectic, cluttered, messy, but comfy.
Oy! Gotta look up our utility account #!
What is it with us going to bed and feeling more tired when we get up than we did when we laid down?
Closing at 4pm tomorrow - hard to believe, you know? I can't wait to hook up with Joan for the garage sale of the century! And then decorating... I've coined a new home decorating style: "Tornado Victorian" - eclectic, cluttered, messy, but comfy.
Oy! Gotta look up our utility account #!
Well POO
Frankspace is no more! :( And just when I was getting to know him, too. Maybe cyborgirl or clichemonster will know how to get in touch with him - I wanna have him over for dinner or something! So Frank, if you're reading this, email me!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
I wish we had more statesmen like Jimmy Carter...
Arctic Folly
By Jimmy Carter
Tuesday, September 13, 2005; Page A27 Washington Post
Congress is about to make one of those big decisions that marks an era. Unless wiser heads prevail, it may do it badly -- making the wrong decision in the wrong way and about the wrong place. At stake is America's greatest wildlife sanctuary, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To dissuade Congress from this environmental tragedy, Americans must rally, and quickly.
Congress had its Pyrrhic energy victory this summer, with a new energy policy that ignores much-needed conservation measures and gives the oil industry large new tax breaks regardless of where it drills and pumps. Surely Congress has done more than enough to increase the profits of the oil industry.
Yet now, in a separate decision, the White House and Big Oil are pressuring Congress to allow drilling rigs to rip into the ecological heart of America's preeminent wildlife sanctuary. We must not confuse this with Prudhoe Bay, which lies west of the Arctic refuge and is already an industrial landscape resembling Houston more than Yellowstone.
With increasing gasoline prices bringing economic hardship and concern to many Americans, we must not be misled by oil lobbyists who are trying to convince us that our energy security is singularly dependent on sacrificing the Arctic refuge. They promote the false premise that development will touch just a few thousand acres when, in fact, it would introduce roads and pipelines spider-webbing across hundreds of thousands of acres on the fragile coastal plain.
We cannot drill our way to energy security or lower gasoline prices as long as our nation sits on just 3 percent of world oil reserves yet accounts for 25 percent of all oil consumption. An obvious answer is to increase the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles, at least to the level we set more than a quarter-century ago.
Instead, the administration recently proposed a tiny increase in gas mileage for SUVs, minivans and pickups. Not effective until the 2011 models, this would save about one month's current consumption of fuel over the next 20 years -- far less than will be saved in just one state by a new California law. The new ruling offers automobile makers an opportunity to avoid the reductions by modifying the size of various models as they persist in manufacturing gas guzzlers. It is not a coincidence that Moody's has just downgraded the debt of General Motors and Ford to junk status, while makers of efficient vehicles prosper.
I have been to the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to study the wilderness wildlife. Far from being the frozen "desert" some suggest, this is a rich, Serengeti-like haven of life: nursery for caribou, polar bears, walruses and millions of shorebirds and waterfowl that migrate annually to the Lower 48. To sit, as Rosalynn and I did, watching a herd of musk oxen circle-up to defend their young and then to find yourself literally in the midst of thousands of caribou streaming by is to touch in a fundamental way God's glorious ark of teeming wildlife.
We Americans use a lot of energy, and millions of us want to do so in a more efficient way that also allows us to cherish our disappearing wilderness heritage. In the Arctic refuge we cannot have it both ways. In the next few months Americans could lose this special and amazing place through a backdoor legislative maneuver.
Each fall Congress endeavors to combine budgetary directives covering the nation's $2.5 trillion dollar annual budget in a single "reconciliation" decision. In a tricky ploy to avoid full debate, drilling advocates have buried their despoil-the-Arctic goal in this mammoth measure. So, conservation-minded Americans must ask our elected representatives to vote down any final budget reconciliation bill that would allow the sacrifice of our Arctic sanctuary.
Now is the time to speak up for the ecological integrity of this unsurpassed 18-million-acre wilderness. Many Americans will be in Washington on Sept. 20 for the Arctic Refuge Action Day rally on the Mall and to contact congressional representatives personally.
If we are not wise enough to protect the Arctic refuge, future generations will condemn us for needlessly sacrificing the wilderness of their world to feed our profligate, short-term and shortsighted energy habit. The pathway to a better, more sustainable energy future does not wind through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Former President Carter is the founder of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
By Jimmy Carter
Tuesday, September 13, 2005; Page A27 Washington Post
Congress is about to make one of those big decisions that marks an era. Unless wiser heads prevail, it may do it badly -- making the wrong decision in the wrong way and about the wrong place. At stake is America's greatest wildlife sanctuary, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To dissuade Congress from this environmental tragedy, Americans must rally, and quickly.
Congress had its Pyrrhic energy victory this summer, with a new energy policy that ignores much-needed conservation measures and gives the oil industry large new tax breaks regardless of where it drills and pumps. Surely Congress has done more than enough to increase the profits of the oil industry.
Yet now, in a separate decision, the White House and Big Oil are pressuring Congress to allow drilling rigs to rip into the ecological heart of America's preeminent wildlife sanctuary. We must not confuse this with Prudhoe Bay, which lies west of the Arctic refuge and is already an industrial landscape resembling Houston more than Yellowstone.
With increasing gasoline prices bringing economic hardship and concern to many Americans, we must not be misled by oil lobbyists who are trying to convince us that our energy security is singularly dependent on sacrificing the Arctic refuge. They promote the false premise that development will touch just a few thousand acres when, in fact, it would introduce roads and pipelines spider-webbing across hundreds of thousands of acres on the fragile coastal plain.
We cannot drill our way to energy security or lower gasoline prices as long as our nation sits on just 3 percent of world oil reserves yet accounts for 25 percent of all oil consumption. An obvious answer is to increase the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles, at least to the level we set more than a quarter-century ago.
Instead, the administration recently proposed a tiny increase in gas mileage for SUVs, minivans and pickups. Not effective until the 2011 models, this would save about one month's current consumption of fuel over the next 20 years -- far less than will be saved in just one state by a new California law. The new ruling offers automobile makers an opportunity to avoid the reductions by modifying the size of various models as they persist in manufacturing gas guzzlers. It is not a coincidence that Moody's has just downgraded the debt of General Motors and Ford to junk status, while makers of efficient vehicles prosper.
I have been to the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to study the wilderness wildlife. Far from being the frozen "desert" some suggest, this is a rich, Serengeti-like haven of life: nursery for caribou, polar bears, walruses and millions of shorebirds and waterfowl that migrate annually to the Lower 48. To sit, as Rosalynn and I did, watching a herd of musk oxen circle-up to defend their young and then to find yourself literally in the midst of thousands of caribou streaming by is to touch in a fundamental way God's glorious ark of teeming wildlife.
We Americans use a lot of energy, and millions of us want to do so in a more efficient way that also allows us to cherish our disappearing wilderness heritage. In the Arctic refuge we cannot have it both ways. In the next few months Americans could lose this special and amazing place through a backdoor legislative maneuver.
Each fall Congress endeavors to combine budgetary directives covering the nation's $2.5 trillion dollar annual budget in a single "reconciliation" decision. In a tricky ploy to avoid full debate, drilling advocates have buried their despoil-the-Arctic goal in this mammoth measure. So, conservation-minded Americans must ask our elected representatives to vote down any final budget reconciliation bill that would allow the sacrifice of our Arctic sanctuary.
Now is the time to speak up for the ecological integrity of this unsurpassed 18-million-acre wilderness. Many Americans will be in Washington on Sept. 20 for the Arctic Refuge Action Day rally on the Mall and to contact congressional representatives personally.
If we are not wise enough to protect the Arctic refuge, future generations will condemn us for needlessly sacrificing the wilderness of their world to feed our profligate, short-term and shortsighted energy habit. The pathway to a better, more sustainable energy future does not wind through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Former President Carter is the founder of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
Monday, September 12, 2005
I sit here...
entering grades into the gradebook program for mom.
These kids suck.
We close on Friday.
Dad was having trouble breathing today. Hope it's not something serious.
I need to clone myself. Soooooooo much to do.
going home. yay
These kids suck.
We close on Friday.
Dad was having trouble breathing today. Hope it's not something serious.
I need to clone myself. Soooooooo much to do.
going home. yay
Friday, September 09, 2005
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Interesting
I feel like I've set down a large, heavy burden. I don't necessarily feel lighter, or relieved, but I do feel a sense of closure. Not sure why. Perhaps I've finally come to the emotional realization (my emotional realizations frequently come slower than my intellectual ones) that she was just a stupid kid. It wasn't personal, there was no deep meaning behind any of it - it's just one of those crappy things that happens in a world that doesn't have a discernable plan. I no longer wonder why people that are friends with her are still friends with her - their choice, and it doesn't affect me one way or the other. I don't hang out with them anyway. It doesn't mean I want to spend time with her or anything, but I think I'm finally not actively angry anymore.
That's good - 'cause goodness knows I have enough other things to spend mental energy on.
We're moving! We just bought a house! WOOHOO!!!
Now if I could just shake this cold/fever. Ugh.
That's good - 'cause goodness knows I have enough other things to spend mental energy on.
We're moving! We just bought a house! WOOHOO!!!
Now if I could just shake this cold/fever. Ugh.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
First cold of the school year...
Ah, the joys of virus swapping. Could be worse, tho. Just got out of a nice long hot shower, got both kids asleep (they're tired and sick too, C got up to 102.3 today...) Woohoo! We have Alka-Seltzer plus Cold.
Drat - spoke too soon. C kinda woke up; let's see if he'll go back down quietly.
Mamaw is okay - J was right, she was irritated at everybody making a fuss over her. (I personally think Papaw was perfectly justified in being worried; I'd have taken her to the ER too.) They think she might have a blood clot in her lungs - we'll see what the tests show. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers handy, y'all.
It appears Mr. Cox (of well drilling fame) has screwed us over. The well IS collapsed, evidently, and after replacing wiring and a pump for almost $1300, he's not returning our calls. *sigh* Having now talked to the prospective buyers, however, I like them - we'll probably end up reducing the price to compensate, if we can't get the well working.
Went and looked at the WDO repairs & new roof on our house (our house... wow, that's kinda mind-boggling to write) yesterday - I think there are a few things left to do, but so far it looks great. I've been having fun mentally decorating and furnishing the house when I have down time - something that I usually have because I'm putting off doing something. J found a GORGEOUS platform bed online for not much money that we might eventually get.
Weirdness abounds. My aunt Pat, whom I'm not sure I've ever met (maybe as a baby) and I are talking on IM (I went thru a burst of attempting to reconnect with family many months ago, and actually CALLED them in California - we've chatted occasionally since) - evidently my cousin Cheryl is on her way back home (things didn't work out for her here in Florida) and is going to call me tomorrow maybe. She's evidently in the area. I've nto seen her since she was 15 and I was 8 or 9, I think... she was a very troubled youth, and unfortunately for her, I don't think her adult life has been much less rocky. It'll be interesting to see/talk with her now.
I must be sick - I actually read through my entire online comic list just now. And my daily reading list (friends & family blogs, Felber, etc...)
A coherent thought on the New Orleans mess - there is plenty of blame to go around. From the top of the federal government down to the city leaders themselves, there are mistakes and oversights galore to bemoan. What this disaster shows me, however, is that it is not possible for the two different kinds of US citizens to co-exist in the same country. Those citizens who feel that government really should only be used for defense and a few other minor interstate legal areas, and those who believe in a bigger government that helps the poor, etc.
I used to label myself a libertarian. Some days lately I feel like a socialist. I can see both sides, honestly - I just don't see a resolution. Any ideas?
It's midnight and I'm falling asleep. I'm going to hope the rest tonight will mean I feel muuuuuuch better in the morning.
Drat - spoke too soon. C kinda woke up; let's see if he'll go back down quietly.
Mamaw is okay - J was right, she was irritated at everybody making a fuss over her. (I personally think Papaw was perfectly justified in being worried; I'd have taken her to the ER too.) They think she might have a blood clot in her lungs - we'll see what the tests show. Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers handy, y'all.
It appears Mr. Cox (of well drilling fame) has screwed us over. The well IS collapsed, evidently, and after replacing wiring and a pump for almost $1300, he's not returning our calls. *sigh* Having now talked to the prospective buyers, however, I like them - we'll probably end up reducing the price to compensate, if we can't get the well working.
Went and looked at the WDO repairs & new roof on our house (our house... wow, that's kinda mind-boggling to write) yesterday - I think there are a few things left to do, but so far it looks great. I've been having fun mentally decorating and furnishing the house when I have down time - something that I usually have because I'm putting off doing something. J found a GORGEOUS platform bed online for not much money that we might eventually get.
Weirdness abounds. My aunt Pat, whom I'm not sure I've ever met (maybe as a baby) and I are talking on IM (I went thru a burst of attempting to reconnect with family many months ago, and actually CALLED them in California - we've chatted occasionally since) - evidently my cousin Cheryl is on her way back home (things didn't work out for her here in Florida) and is going to call me tomorrow maybe. She's evidently in the area. I've nto seen her since she was 15 and I was 8 or 9, I think... she was a very troubled youth, and unfortunately for her, I don't think her adult life has been much less rocky. It'll be interesting to see/talk with her now.
I must be sick - I actually read through my entire online comic list just now. And my daily reading list (friends & family blogs, Felber, etc...)
A coherent thought on the New Orleans mess - there is plenty of blame to go around. From the top of the federal government down to the city leaders themselves, there are mistakes and oversights galore to bemoan. What this disaster shows me, however, is that it is not possible for the two different kinds of US citizens to co-exist in the same country. Those citizens who feel that government really should only be used for defense and a few other minor interstate legal areas, and those who believe in a bigger government that helps the poor, etc.
I used to label myself a libertarian. Some days lately I feel like a socialist. I can see both sides, honestly - I just don't see a resolution. Any ideas?
It's midnight and I'm falling asleep. I'm going to hope the rest tonight will mean I feel muuuuuuch better in the morning.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
***SWOON***
Wow.
I'm going to be sore tomorrow.
But it was soooooooo worth it!
I swear, this should be a weekly thing for everybody... the entire world would feel so much better!
I'm going to be sore tomorrow.
But it was soooooooo worth it!
I swear, this should be a weekly thing for everybody... the entire world would feel so much better!
In the same vein...
Wednesday, August 31 2005 @ 11:21 AM PDT
When the levee breaks
by William Bunch
"It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."
-- Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.
This picture is an aerial view of New Orleans today, more than 14 months later. Even though Hurricane Katrina has moved well north of the city and the sun is out, the waters continue to rise in New Orleans as we write this. That's because Lake Pontchartrain continues to pour through a two-block-long break in the main levee, near the city's 17th Street Canal. With much of the Crescent City some 10 feet below sea level, the rising tide may not stop until until it's level with the massive lake.
There have been numerous reports of bodies floating in the poorest neighborhoods of this poverty-plagued city, but the truth is that the death toll may not be known for days, because the conditions continue to frustrate rescue efforts.
New Orleans had long known it was highly vulnerable to flooding and a direct hit from a hurricane. In fact, the federal government has been working with state and local officials in the region since the late 1960s on major hurricane and flood relief efforts. When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.
Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside.
Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars. (Much of the research here is from Nexis, which is why some articles aren't linked.)
In early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared, President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to this Feb. 16, 2004, article, in New Orleans CityBusiness:
The $750 million Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection project is another major Corps project, which remains about 20% incomplete due to lack of funds, said Al Naomi, project manager. That project consists of building up levees and protection for pumping stations on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes.
The Lake Pontchartrain project is slated to receive $3.9 million in the president's 2005 budget. Naomi said about $20 million is needed.
"The longer we wait without funding, the more we sink," he said. "I've got at least six levee construction contracts that need to be done to raise the levee protection back to where it should be (because of settling). Right now I owe my contractors about $5 million. And we're going to have to pay them interest."
That June, with the 2004 hurricane seasion starting, the Corps' Naomi went before a local agency, the East Jefferson Levee Authority, and essentially begged for $2 million for urgent work that Washington was now unable to pay for. From the June 18, 2004 Times-Picayune:
"The system is in great shape, but the levees are sinking. Everything is sinking, and if we don’t get the money fast enough to raise them, then we can’t stay ahead of the settlement," he said. "The problem that we have isn’t that the levee is low, but that the federal funds have dried up so that we can’t raise them."
The panel authorized that money, and on July 1, 2004, it had to pony up another $250,000 when it learned that stretches of the levee in Metairie had sunk by four feet. The agency had to pay for the work with higher property taxes. The levee board noted in October 2004 that the feds were also now not paying for a hoped-for $15 million project to better shore up the banks of Lake Pontchartrain.
The 2004 hurricane season, as you probably recall, was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back this spring with the steepest reduction in hurricane- and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Corps office there imposed a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA project -- $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million -- was not enough to start any new jobs. According to New Orleans CityBusiness this June 5:
The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7 million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay salaries but little else.
"We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the field, and that's the problem," Naomi said.
There was, at the same time, a growing recognition that more research was needed to see what New Orleans must do to protect itself from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. But once again, the money was not there. As the Times-Picayune reported last Sept. 22:
That second study would take about four years to complete and would cost about $4 million, said Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al Naomi. About $300,000 in federal money was proposed for the 2005 fiscal-year budget, and the state had agreed to match that amount.
But the cost of the Iraq war forced the Bush administration to order the New Orleans district office not to begin any new studies, and the 2005 budget no longer includes the needed money, he said.
The Senate was seeking to restore some of the SELA funding cuts for 2006. But now it's too late. One project that a contractor had been racing to finish this summer was a bridge and levee job right at the 17th Street Canal, site of the main breach. The levee failure appears to be causing a human tragedy of epic proportions:
"We probably have 80 percent of our city under water; with some sections of our city the water is as deep as 20 feet. Both airports are underwater," Mayor Ray Nagin told a radio interviewer.
Washington knew that this day could come at any time, and it knew the things that needed to be done to protect the citizens of New Orleans. But in the tradition of the riverboat gambler, the Bush administration decided to roll the dice on its fool's errand in Iraq, and on a tax cut that mainly benefitted the rich.
And now Bush has lost that gamble, big time. We hope that Congress will investigate what went wrong here.
The president told us that we needed to fight in Iraq to save lives here at home, and yet -- after moving billions of domestic dollars to the Persian Gulf -- there are bodies floating through the streets of Louisiana. What does George W. Bush have to say for himself now?
When the levee breaks
by William Bunch
"It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."
-- Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.
This picture is an aerial view of New Orleans today, more than 14 months later. Even though Hurricane Katrina has moved well north of the city and the sun is out, the waters continue to rise in New Orleans as we write this. That's because Lake Pontchartrain continues to pour through a two-block-long break in the main levee, near the city's 17th Street Canal. With much of the Crescent City some 10 feet below sea level, the rising tide may not stop until until it's level with the massive lake.
There have been numerous reports of bodies floating in the poorest neighborhoods of this poverty-plagued city, but the truth is that the death toll may not be known for days, because the conditions continue to frustrate rescue efforts.
New Orleans had long known it was highly vulnerable to flooding and a direct hit from a hurricane. In fact, the federal government has been working with state and local officials in the region since the late 1960s on major hurricane and flood relief efforts. When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.
Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside.
Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars. (Much of the research here is from Nexis, which is why some articles aren't linked.)
In early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared, President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to this Feb. 16, 2004, article, in New Orleans CityBusiness:
The $750 million Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection project is another major Corps project, which remains about 20% incomplete due to lack of funds, said Al Naomi, project manager. That project consists of building up levees and protection for pumping stations on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes.
The Lake Pontchartrain project is slated to receive $3.9 million in the president's 2005 budget. Naomi said about $20 million is needed.
"The longer we wait without funding, the more we sink," he said. "I've got at least six levee construction contracts that need to be done to raise the levee protection back to where it should be (because of settling). Right now I owe my contractors about $5 million. And we're going to have to pay them interest."
That June, with the 2004 hurricane seasion starting, the Corps' Naomi went before a local agency, the East Jefferson Levee Authority, and essentially begged for $2 million for urgent work that Washington was now unable to pay for. From the June 18, 2004 Times-Picayune:
"The system is in great shape, but the levees are sinking. Everything is sinking, and if we don’t get the money fast enough to raise them, then we can’t stay ahead of the settlement," he said. "The problem that we have isn’t that the levee is low, but that the federal funds have dried up so that we can’t raise them."
The panel authorized that money, and on July 1, 2004, it had to pony up another $250,000 when it learned that stretches of the levee in Metairie had sunk by four feet. The agency had to pay for the work with higher property taxes. The levee board noted in October 2004 that the feds were also now not paying for a hoped-for $15 million project to better shore up the banks of Lake Pontchartrain.
The 2004 hurricane season, as you probably recall, was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back this spring with the steepest reduction in hurricane- and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Corps office there imposed a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA project -- $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million -- was not enough to start any new jobs. According to New Orleans CityBusiness this June 5:
The district has identified $35 million in projects to build and improve levees, floodwalls and pumping stations in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes. Those projects are included in a Corps line item called Lake Pontchartrain, where funding is scheduled to be cut from $5.7 million this year to $2.9 million in 2006. Naomi said it's enough to pay salaries but little else.
"We'll do some design work. We'll design the contracts and get them ready to go if we get the money. But we don't have the money to put the work in the field, and that's the problem," Naomi said.
There was, at the same time, a growing recognition that more research was needed to see what New Orleans must do to protect itself from a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. But once again, the money was not there. As the Times-Picayune reported last Sept. 22:
That second study would take about four years to complete and would cost about $4 million, said Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al Naomi. About $300,000 in federal money was proposed for the 2005 fiscal-year budget, and the state had agreed to match that amount.
But the cost of the Iraq war forced the Bush administration to order the New Orleans district office not to begin any new studies, and the 2005 budget no longer includes the needed money, he said.
The Senate was seeking to restore some of the SELA funding cuts for 2006. But now it's too late. One project that a contractor had been racing to finish this summer was a bridge and levee job right at the 17th Street Canal, site of the main breach. The levee failure appears to be causing a human tragedy of epic proportions:
"We probably have 80 percent of our city under water; with some sections of our city the water is as deep as 20 feet. Both airports are underwater," Mayor Ray Nagin told a radio interviewer.
Washington knew that this day could come at any time, and it knew the things that needed to be done to protect the citizens of New Orleans. But in the tradition of the riverboat gambler, the Bush administration decided to roll the dice on its fool's errand in Iraq, and on a tax cut that mainly benefitted the rich.
And now Bush has lost that gamble, big time. We hope that Congress will investigate what went wrong here.
The president told us that we needed to fight in Iraq to save lives here at home, and yet -- after moving billions of domestic dollars to the Persian Gulf -- there are bodies floating through the streets of Louisiana. What does George W. Bush have to say for himself now?
Read this and tell me it doesn't PISS YOU OFF TOO
August 31, 2005
"No One Can Say they Didn't See it Coming"
By Sidney Blumenthal
In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war.
Biblical in its uncontrolled rage and scope, Hurricane Katrina has left millions of Americans to scavenge for food and shelter and hundreds to thousands reportedly dead. With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico. But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature.
A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. After a flood killed six people in 1995, Congress created the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, in which the Corps of Engineers strengthened and renovated levees and pumping stations. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S., including a terrorist attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year (for a total reduction in funding of 44.2 percent since 2001) forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze. The Senate had debated adding funds for fixing New Orleans' levees, but it was too late.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which before the hurricane published a series on the federal funding problem, and whose presses are now underwater, reported online: "No one can say they didn't see it coming ... Now in the wake of one of the worst storms ever, serious questions are being asked about the lack of preparation."
The Bush administration's policy of turning over wetlands to developers almost certainly also contributed to the heightened level of the storm surge. In 1990, a federal task force began restoring lost wetlands surrounding New Orleans. Every two miles of wetland between the Crescent City and the Gulf reduces a surge by half a foot. Bush had promised "no net loss" of wetlands, a policy launched by his father's administration and bolstered by President Clinton. But he reversed his approach in 2003, unleashing the developers. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency then announced they could no longer protect wetlands unless they were somehow related to interstate commerce.
In response to this potential crisis, four leading environmental groups conducted a joint expert study, concluding in 2004 that without wetlands protection New Orleans could be devastated by an ordinary, much less a Category 4 or 5, hurricane. "There's no way to describe how mindless a policy that is when it comes to wetlands protection," said one of the report's authors. The chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality dismissed the study as "highly questionable," and boasted, "Everybody loves what we're doing."
"My administration's climate change policy will be science based," President Bush declared in June 2001. But in 2002, when the Environmental Protection Agency submitted a study on global warming to the United Nations reflecting its expert research, Bush derided it as "a report put out by a bureaucracy," and excised the climate change assessment from the agency's annual report. The next year, when the EPA issued its first comprehensive "Report on the Environment," stating, "Climate change has global consequences for human health and the environment," the White House simply demanded removal of the line and all similar conclusions. At the G-8 meeting in Scotland this year, Bush successfully stymied any common action on global warming. Scientists, meanwhile, have continued to accumulate impressive data on the rising temperature of the oceans, which has produced more severe hurricanes.
In February 2004, 60 of the nation's leading scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, warned in a statement, "Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking": "Successful application of science has played a large part in the policies that have made the United States of America the world's most powerful nation and its citizens increasingly prosperous and healthy ... Indeed, this principle has long been adhered to by presidents and administrations of both parties in forming and implementing policies. The administration of George W. Bush has, however, disregarded this principle ... The distortion of scientific knowledge for partisan political ends must cease." Bush completely ignored this statement.
In the two weeks preceding the storm in the Gulf, the trumping of science by ideology and expertise by special interests accelerated. The Federal Drug Administration announced that it was postponing sale of the morning-after contraceptive pill, despite overwhelming scientific evidence of its safety and its approval by the FDA's scientific advisory board. The United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa accused the Bush administration of responsibility for a condom shortage in Uganda -- the result of the administration's evangelical Christian agenda of "abstinence." When the chief of the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the Justice Department was ordered by the White House to delete its study that African-Americans and other minorities are subject to racial profiling in police traffic stops and he refused to buckle under, he was forced out of his job. When the Army Corps of Engineers' chief contracting oversight analyst objected to a $7 billion no-bid contract awarded for work in Iraq to Halliburton (the firm at which Vice President Cheney was formerly CEO), she was demoted despite her superior professional ratings. At the National Park Service, a former Cheney aide, a political appointee lacking professional background, drew up a plan to overturn past environmental practices and prohibit any mention of evolution while allowing sale of religious materials through the Park Service.
On the day the levees burst in New Orleans, Bush delivered a speech in Colorado comparing the Iraq war to World War II and himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt: "And he knew that the best way to bring peace and stability to the region was by bringing freedom to Japan." Bush had boarded his very own "Streetcar Named Desire."
Sidney Blumenthal, a former assistant and senior advisor to President Clinton and the author of "The Clinton Wars," is writing a column for Salon and the Guardian of London.
"No One Can Say they Didn't See it Coming"
By Sidney Blumenthal
In 2001, FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war.
Biblical in its uncontrolled rage and scope, Hurricane Katrina has left millions of Americans to scavenge for food and shelter and hundreds to thousands reportedly dead. With its main levee broken, the evacuated city of New Orleans has become part of the Gulf of Mexico. But the damage wrought by the hurricane may not entirely be the result of an act of nature.
A year ago the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to study how New Orleans could be protected from a catastrophic hurricane, but the Bush administration ordered that the research not be undertaken. After a flood killed six people in 1995, Congress created the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, in which the Corps of Engineers strengthened and renovated levees and pumping stations. In early 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a report stating that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S., including a terrorist attack on New York City. But by 2003 the federal funding for the flood control project essentially dried up as it was drained into the Iraq war. In 2004, the Bush administration cut funding requested by the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for holding back the waters of Lake Pontchartrain by more than 80 percent. Additional cuts at the beginning of this year (for a total reduction in funding of 44.2 percent since 2001) forced the New Orleans district of the Corps to impose a hiring freeze. The Senate had debated adding funds for fixing New Orleans' levees, but it was too late.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune, which before the hurricane published a series on the federal funding problem, and whose presses are now underwater, reported online: "No one can say they didn't see it coming ... Now in the wake of one of the worst storms ever, serious questions are being asked about the lack of preparation."
The Bush administration's policy of turning over wetlands to developers almost certainly also contributed to the heightened level of the storm surge. In 1990, a federal task force began restoring lost wetlands surrounding New Orleans. Every two miles of wetland between the Crescent City and the Gulf reduces a surge by half a foot. Bush had promised "no net loss" of wetlands, a policy launched by his father's administration and bolstered by President Clinton. But he reversed his approach in 2003, unleashing the developers. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency then announced they could no longer protect wetlands unless they were somehow related to interstate commerce.
In response to this potential crisis, four leading environmental groups conducted a joint expert study, concluding in 2004 that without wetlands protection New Orleans could be devastated by an ordinary, much less a Category 4 or 5, hurricane. "There's no way to describe how mindless a policy that is when it comes to wetlands protection," said one of the report's authors. The chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality dismissed the study as "highly questionable," and boasted, "Everybody loves what we're doing."
"My administration's climate change policy will be science based," President Bush declared in June 2001. But in 2002, when the Environmental Protection Agency submitted a study on global warming to the United Nations reflecting its expert research, Bush derided it as "a report put out by a bureaucracy," and excised the climate change assessment from the agency's annual report. The next year, when the EPA issued its first comprehensive "Report on the Environment," stating, "Climate change has global consequences for human health and the environment," the White House simply demanded removal of the line and all similar conclusions. At the G-8 meeting in Scotland this year, Bush successfully stymied any common action on global warming. Scientists, meanwhile, have continued to accumulate impressive data on the rising temperature of the oceans, which has produced more severe hurricanes.
In February 2004, 60 of the nation's leading scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, warned in a statement, "Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking": "Successful application of science has played a large part in the policies that have made the United States of America the world's most powerful nation and its citizens increasingly prosperous and healthy ... Indeed, this principle has long been adhered to by presidents and administrations of both parties in forming and implementing policies. The administration of George W. Bush has, however, disregarded this principle ... The distortion of scientific knowledge for partisan political ends must cease." Bush completely ignored this statement.
In the two weeks preceding the storm in the Gulf, the trumping of science by ideology and expertise by special interests accelerated. The Federal Drug Administration announced that it was postponing sale of the morning-after contraceptive pill, despite overwhelming scientific evidence of its safety and its approval by the FDA's scientific advisory board. The United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa accused the Bush administration of responsibility for a condom shortage in Uganda -- the result of the administration's evangelical Christian agenda of "abstinence." When the chief of the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the Justice Department was ordered by the White House to delete its study that African-Americans and other minorities are subject to racial profiling in police traffic stops and he refused to buckle under, he was forced out of his job. When the Army Corps of Engineers' chief contracting oversight analyst objected to a $7 billion no-bid contract awarded for work in Iraq to Halliburton (the firm at which Vice President Cheney was formerly CEO), she was demoted despite her superior professional ratings. At the National Park Service, a former Cheney aide, a political appointee lacking professional background, drew up a plan to overturn past environmental practices and prohibit any mention of evolution while allowing sale of religious materials through the Park Service.
On the day the levees burst in New Orleans, Bush delivered a speech in Colorado comparing the Iraq war to World War II and himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt: "And he knew that the best way to bring peace and stability to the region was by bringing freedom to Japan." Bush had boarded his very own "Streetcar Named Desire."
Sidney Blumenthal, a former assistant and senior advisor to President Clinton and the author of "The Clinton Wars," is writing a column for Salon and the Guardian of London.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
avoiding the news and my budget sheet
I've been paranoid for the last several years that a big crash was coming. I've had a little voice in the back of my head saying "you should really get a garden going... can vegetables... learn to hunt and dress different animals..." Basically preparing for the collapse of civilization. Having not done any of that, I console myself with the thought that if civilization collapses, the resulting anarchy would probably result in our deaths anyway - look at the bloodshed already taking place in New Orleans.
So I'm lying here, listening to my "calm & soothing" playlist on iTunes, and seeing how many things I can find in Graeme Base's Animalia. My old friend Rebecca introduced me to him with his Eleventh Hour mystery book, which I absolutely adored. I was going to get all geeky and start a list, but I'm falling asleep, so I think I'm going to get some rest. Good night, all.
So I'm lying here, listening to my "calm & soothing" playlist on iTunes, and seeing how many things I can find in Graeme Base's Animalia. My old friend Rebecca introduced me to him with his Eleventh Hour mystery book, which I absolutely adored. I was going to get all geeky and start a list, but I'm falling asleep, so I think I'm going to get some rest. Good night, all.
Hrm, this should be interesting...
Have been at Uncle Khang's house since noon, making a lane cake. I'd not heard of it before he asked me if I could make him one, but the recipe looks pretty good. I gotta say, tho, it's damn near impossible to find candied cherries in this town in August. *sigh* Hopefully it'll work the way we've done it.
The kids have relaxed enough to run amok, which is good, I guess. ;) Right now we're watching the DVDs of The Muppet Show - childhood memories!! It's time to start the music....
We close on the house in two weeks. I'm trying not to think about it, honestly.
Back to baking...
The kids have relaxed enough to run amok, which is good, I guess. ;) Right now we're watching the DVDs of The Muppet Show - childhood memories!! It's time to start the music....
We close on the house in two weeks. I'm trying not to think about it, honestly.
Back to baking...
I'm just full of great ideas...
To fix the hole in the levy at New Orleans - string two relatively fine mesh nets across the hole on both sides, extending plenty far on either side of the hole. Then dump a whole hell of a lot of that stuff that turns into a gel when mixed with water. That should hopefully slow the water down enough for them to get a functioning fix.
To fix both our dependence on foreign oil for energy, the obesity problem, and increase the number of jobs in our country - start building large rooms full of stationary bicycles that are attached to generators. Make time on the bicycle something that every american HAS to do, like paying taxes (without all the loopholes) - but like jury duty, you get paid some for the time. People who want to spend more than their mandated time on the bike are more than welcome to. Schoolchildren, who will be attending year round school, will have shorter days, and will get some daily exercise in not only their Phys Ed classes, but on stationary bike rooms set up in the schools - they will help power their own school. People who want to create some sort of power generating thing in their own house - whether it be a stationary bike, solar panels, or a waterwheel from a nearby stream (or maybe built in waterwheels that are turned by sewage flushing into the system...) would be given tax breaks to encourage such things, and any power that they created over and above what was needed for their own homes would be fed back to the grid. We know more about building green, energy efficient homes, with lots of recycled materials, that are safer to live in than standard construction - let's make the building codes a lot stronger, and if you want to build a standard construction home, then you'll have to pay more in insurance, energy costs, etc. We need to change our power structure - rather than having AC power, consider DC power and more local power generating places; that eliminates the energy wasted in transforming DC to AC (or do I have that backwards? Argh. Gotta check that.)
If 293,027,571 people spend ten hours a week on a bicycle that creates 150 to 200 watts at 12 to 20 volts DC an hour, that's 439,541,356,500 watts of power a week. (That's 439541357 kilowatts.) An average US household uses about 10000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year (or 192kWh a week). (A kWh is the expenditure of one kilowatt of power for one hour. A toaster running for an hour will use about this much energy.) So, I THINK (altho it's been a long time since I've tried to do these kind of conversions in my head) that the entire population of the US could create enough power for 84,527,184,038 households? That can't be right. I'm running late, however, and have to run get in the shower. I have a cheesecake to buy & deliver and a cake to bake & ice & a kid to pick up and it's already almost 11.
To fix both our dependence on foreign oil for energy, the obesity problem, and increase the number of jobs in our country - start building large rooms full of stationary bicycles that are attached to generators. Make time on the bicycle something that every american HAS to do, like paying taxes (without all the loopholes) - but like jury duty, you get paid some for the time. People who want to spend more than their mandated time on the bike are more than welcome to. Schoolchildren, who will be attending year round school, will have shorter days, and will get some daily exercise in not only their Phys Ed classes, but on stationary bike rooms set up in the schools - they will help power their own school. People who want to create some sort of power generating thing in their own house - whether it be a stationary bike, solar panels, or a waterwheel from a nearby stream (or maybe built in waterwheels that are turned by sewage flushing into the system...) would be given tax breaks to encourage such things, and any power that they created over and above what was needed for their own homes would be fed back to the grid. We know more about building green, energy efficient homes, with lots of recycled materials, that are safer to live in than standard construction - let's make the building codes a lot stronger, and if you want to build a standard construction home, then you'll have to pay more in insurance, energy costs, etc. We need to change our power structure - rather than having AC power, consider DC power and more local power generating places; that eliminates the energy wasted in transforming DC to AC (or do I have that backwards? Argh. Gotta check that.)
If 293,027,571 people spend ten hours a week on a bicycle that creates 150 to 200 watts at 12 to 20 volts DC an hour, that's 439,541,356,500 watts of power a week. (That's 439541357 kilowatts.) An average US household uses about 10000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year (or 192kWh a week). (A kWh is the expenditure of one kilowatt of power for one hour. A toaster running for an hour will use about this much energy.) So, I THINK (altho it's been a long time since I've tried to do these kind of conversions in my head) that the entire population of the US could create enough power for 84,527,184,038 households? That can't be right. I'm running late, however, and have to run get in the shower. I have a cheesecake to buy & deliver and a cake to bake & ice & a kid to pick up and it's already almost 11.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
About gas...
Let's get a little perspective here, shall we?
Yes, we're going to try to sell our Ford Explorer. We bought it when we thought we were going to be travelling a dirt road daily - but we're not, and the gas mileage sucks. I would love to own an electric car, or a hybrid, or a diesel that has been converted to burn vegetable oil. (As public transportation in this city was the pits last time I checked - I'll look again, but I hold out little hope. However, I'm not going to school and work full time anymore, so my schedule is much less tight - so I could probably deal with a less than abundant bus schedule...)
That being said, I read an article in the Washington Post that brings up an excellent point.
Gas - currently about $3/gallon in the states (has been higher elsewhere for a while, people, and for a good discussion of prices elsewhere, go here.)
Average prices of other popular liquids:
Coca-Cola $1.87
Milk $3.00
Evian water $4.52
Orange juice $5.98
Snapple $6.36
Perrier sparkling water $7.83
Lemon oil $9.31
Crisco oil $10.36
Scope mouthwash $19.98
Sunflower oil $23.12
Olive oil $31.53
Real maple syrup $42.56
Sesame oil $60.37
Jack Daniel’s bourbon $98.41
Visine eye drops $766.72
Flonase prescription nasal spray $5,669.84
(Now, I can't imagine buying Flonase by the gallon, but you see my point here.)
That being said, gasoline is a different animal. When you add in the cost (to people in the United States) of the oil subsidies to Iraq, the war in Iraq, the original Gulf War, etc... we're paying a hell of a lot more for gasoline than the price we see at the pump. If anybody can track down how much of our tax dollars goes to subsidize petroleum in some form, I'd be thrilled. I'll update this post if I can find any info myself.
Yes, we're going to try to sell our Ford Explorer. We bought it when we thought we were going to be travelling a dirt road daily - but we're not, and the gas mileage sucks. I would love to own an electric car, or a hybrid, or a diesel that has been converted to burn vegetable oil. (As public transportation in this city was the pits last time I checked - I'll look again, but I hold out little hope. However, I'm not going to school and work full time anymore, so my schedule is much less tight - so I could probably deal with a less than abundant bus schedule...)
That being said, I read an article in the Washington Post that brings up an excellent point.
Gas - currently about $3/gallon in the states (has been higher elsewhere for a while, people, and for a good discussion of prices elsewhere, go here.)
Average prices of other popular liquids:
Coca-Cola $1.87
Milk $3.00
Evian water $4.52
Orange juice $5.98
Snapple $6.36
Perrier sparkling water $7.83
Lemon oil $9.31
Crisco oil $10.36
Scope mouthwash $19.98
Sunflower oil $23.12
Olive oil $31.53
Real maple syrup $42.56
Sesame oil $60.37
Jack Daniel’s bourbon $98.41
Visine eye drops $766.72
Flonase prescription nasal spray $5,669.84
(Now, I can't imagine buying Flonase by the gallon, but you see my point here.)
That being said, gasoline is a different animal. When you add in the cost (to people in the United States) of the oil subsidies to Iraq, the war in Iraq, the original Gulf War, etc... we're paying a hell of a lot more for gasoline than the price we see at the pump. If anybody can track down how much of our tax dollars goes to subsidize petroleum in some form, I'd be thrilled. I'll update this post if I can find any info myself.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Dante's Inferno needs updating
What circle of hell do spammers go to?
Word verification comment posting now activated.
Wonder how long it will be before they figure out a way around that?
Word verification comment posting now activated.
Wonder how long it will be before they figure out a way around that?
a few memes for fun
More Emotional
You have:
70% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and
77% EMOTIONAL INTUITION The graph represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored well above average on emotional intuition and above average on scientific intuition. Your emotional intuition is stronger than your scientific intuition.
Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake.
Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences.
Try my other test!
The 3 Variable Funny Test
It rules.
My test tracked 2 variables. How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 71% on Scientific
You scored higher than 80% on Interpersonal
The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman
Yeah, I know I'm very intelligent and very empathetic. I've gotten less empathetic over the last few years because I was so empathetic I was having trouble functioning. I kinda wish when the test was finished they'd have shown us what the correct answers were, though - I'm curious. The other thing that occurs to me is this: does anybody that takes this test and gets a result somewhere in the "stupid" circle actually post their results?
Test Results
Extroversion |||||||||||||| 56%
Emotional Stability |||||| 30%
Orderliness |||||||||| 33%
Accommodation |||||||||||||||| 63%
Inquisitiveness |||||||||||||||||| 73%
Your sloan type is SLUAI
Your primary type is Inquisitive
You are moderately social, moody, unstructured, accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.
The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: New Orleans, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Greensboro, Memphis, Providence, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Portland/Salem, St. Louis and these international countries/regions Puerto Rico, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Turkey, Ireland, Ukraine, England, South Africa, Greece, Wales, Brazil, Switzerland, South Korea
Well, New Orleans may be wiped off the face of the map after this hurricane. I had wished that J & I had had time to go back there again, so we had more happy memories of the place - but in looking through our pictures last night, I realized that there were a lot of happy memories to be had, and that they were only tainted if my memory let them be - so I'll erase that picture of a hummingbird I took for her while we were there, and in time my memory will probably only cover what the photographs cover, which will be nice.
J's dad just called - he's been holding off on our birthday presents to see if we got the house, and now that everything is official, he's going to get J a lawnmower (how sexist!) and me one of those big portable gazebo things that are screened in, so the kids & I can play outside without getting eaten alive. Eeeeeeeee! I'm so excited! Joan is going to help us decorate and paint and everything - I can't wait; I finally get to say "you know, I think I'd like this room to be green" and I CAN DO IT! WOOHOO!!
Okay, must stay focused. Lot of packing and sorting still to do. J & I spent many hours in the garage yesterday, sorting out keep/trash/garage sale, but there's still a lot to do. Dad brought down a bag full of newspaper, so I'm starting to pack the china and crystal. Mom has more boxes for me to pick up at school today. M woke up eeeaaaarly this morning, and was very excited about going to school, and C is in a GREAT mood, I keep playing kissy monster with him because he's so adorable and cheerful I just want to eat him up! He did the COOLEST thing last night. I was on the bed reading, and he came and laid down next to me on his stomach, and looked into my face, and put his hand back to touch his bottom and said "di?" Sure enough, he needed a clean diaper! How I managed to get such amazingly awesome kids I still don't know, but they're a blast.
Off to pack and clean and do laundry and play with C until it's time to go pick up big sister - I hope everybody's summer is going as well as ours is right now!
You have:
70% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and
77% EMOTIONAL INTUITION The graph represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored well above average on emotional intuition and above average on scientific intuition. Your emotional intuition is stronger than your scientific intuition.
Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake.
Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences.
The 3 Variable Funny Test
It rules.
My test tracked 2 variables. How you compared to other people your age and gender:
You scored higher than 71% on Scientific
You scored higher than 80% on Interpersonal
The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman
Yeah, I know I'm very intelligent and very empathetic. I've gotten less empathetic over the last few years because I was so empathetic I was having trouble functioning. I kinda wish when the test was finished they'd have shown us what the correct answers were, though - I'm curious. The other thing that occurs to me is this: does anybody that takes this test and gets a result somewhere in the "stupid" circle actually post their results?
Test Results
Extroversion |||||||||||||| 56%
Emotional Stability |||||| 30%
Orderliness |||||||||| 33%
Accommodation |||||||||||||||| 63%
Inquisitiveness |||||||||||||||||| 73%
Your sloan type is SLUAI
Your primary type is Inquisitive
You are moderately social, moody, unstructured, accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.
The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: New Orleans, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Greensboro, Memphis, Providence, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Portland/Salem, St. Louis and these international countries/regions Puerto Rico, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Turkey, Ireland, Ukraine, England, South Africa, Greece, Wales, Brazil, Switzerland, South Korea
Well, New Orleans may be wiped off the face of the map after this hurricane. I had wished that J & I had had time to go back there again, so we had more happy memories of the place - but in looking through our pictures last night, I realized that there were a lot of happy memories to be had, and that they were only tainted if my memory let them be - so I'll erase that picture of a hummingbird I took for her while we were there, and in time my memory will probably only cover what the photographs cover, which will be nice.
J's dad just called - he's been holding off on our birthday presents to see if we got the house, and now that everything is official, he's going to get J a lawnmower (how sexist!) and me one of those big portable gazebo things that are screened in, so the kids & I can play outside without getting eaten alive. Eeeeeeeee! I'm so excited! Joan is going to help us decorate and paint and everything - I can't wait; I finally get to say "you know, I think I'd like this room to be green" and I CAN DO IT! WOOHOO!!
Okay, must stay focused. Lot of packing and sorting still to do. J & I spent many hours in the garage yesterday, sorting out keep/trash/garage sale, but there's still a lot to do. Dad brought down a bag full of newspaper, so I'm starting to pack the china and crystal. Mom has more boxes for me to pick up at school today. M woke up eeeaaaarly this morning, and was very excited about going to school, and C is in a GREAT mood, I keep playing kissy monster with him because he's so adorable and cheerful I just want to eat him up! He did the COOLEST thing last night. I was on the bed reading, and he came and laid down next to me on his stomach, and looked into my face, and put his hand back to touch his bottom and said "di?" Sure enough, he needed a clean diaper! How I managed to get such amazingly awesome kids I still don't know, but they're a blast.
Off to pack and clean and do laundry and play with C until it's time to go pick up big sister - I hope everybody's summer is going as well as ours is right now!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Man, some people are such LIARS!
Okay, so my parents and I decided to sell the four acres I grew up on that we've held on to all these years. For years I'd planned on at some point moving back there and building a house... but my life is totally different now, and my desires are different. It's not that I don't still love the land - I do, ticks, giant spiders and all... but I'm not particularly fond of the neighbors.
Anyway, so, love my parents though I do, they're not very good at breaking personal inertia (I can sympathize) so I introduced them to my realtor (If anybody wants to buy or sell a house around here, I gotta say Kathy Reardon has MORE than earned her commission with the house we're buying - she's a great sweetie) and basically held their hands through most of the proceedings... and there were interested buyers willing to pay full price. Woohoo! So they had an inspector go up to check on the well and septic tank that's already out there.
Let me tell you the history on this well. When my parents first moved to this land, they couldn't afford to have a well drilled. Mom was 7 months pregnant at the time. Their neighbors said that when THEY moved in, they had a similar problem, and THEIR neighbors let them run a hose to the house until they could save up to dig their own well, and that they were willing to pass it forward, so to speak. My parents very gratefully said thank you, and took them up on their offer. However, when I was about 4 months old, right before christmas, the water suddenly stopped. When dad went over to check to see what was wrong, he discovered that the couple had evidently been having marital problems, and one or the other or both of them had left, and nobody had paid the electricity bill for a while - so, no power, no water from an electric well. So I'm 4 months old; mom's doing cloth diapers, it's almost Christmas, and they have no water - she starts going down the list of well drillers in the phone book. Everybody says "Sure, we can do it.. in six months." When mom calls Mr. Cox, he took pity on her, and said that they were planning on taking christmas week off, but that they could come out and get a well drilled for my parents. He and his 19 year old son came out during their vacation... so dad cashed in his army life insurance policy, and the family had a well. (Best tasting water ever, too. I miss that water.)
So this well was put in 30 years ago this Christmas. After hurricane Kate knocked 3 trees down on the trailer up there in 85, we moved into town, and the place has been vacant ever since. J & I had been up a few times, and we'd checked the well - still worked, amazingly enough. Well, whomever the buyers had go out there to look at the well said that it had collapsed in, and quoted them $10,500 to take off the old tank & pump and get them a new well. So I called Mr. Cox's son, who was now running his father's business (his father having passed away). Not only did he remember us, he said he'd be more than happy to come out the next day and take a look at it. He explained that the reason for the high estimate was because to close up the old well, they'd have to pull out the pump, and then pump concrete down the hole to seal it off, etc (new regulation) and that most well drillers now use a rotary drill, like they do for oil drilling, only slightly modified. They charge a flat rate down to 150 ft or so, and then $12 each additional foot. Because oil drills were designed to seal off surface water above oil pockets, rotary drills for water frequently don't register any shallow water that they find, and frequently have to go as deep as 350 ft. He said they go fast; they can do that much in a day, but the way he does wells - by punching - that distance would take him 4 or 5 days. However, because of the way he punches wells, he's aware of what's happening inch by inch, and frequently doesn't have to go as deep. My parents' well was only 165 ft deep, for example.
This morning we met Mr. Cox out at the property. I think it was kind of an emotional reunion for mom, so I was glad she was there. I wish dad hadn't been feeling so poorly, I think it would have made his day too. Mr. Cox fiddled with the wires a bit, and within about 5 minutes had water gushing out. (Caved in well my aunt patootie.) He said that the wiring needed to be redone, and that the pump MIGHT need to be replaced, particularly with a slightly more powerful one, but that the well looked fine otherwise. WOOHOO! I can't wait to send his written report to the guy that the buyers had run out there & check - I think his name is Mills. He's either incompetent or dishonest - he said that he'd checked this well 4 years ago. I told the realtor that the guy was on crack or the wrong road, because nobody's been living there for forever, and certainly nobody asked to have the well checked 4 years ago! Mom joked that we should tell them if they actually WERE out there checking the well 4 years ago that she'll have them arrested for trespassing.
Anyway, so, love my parents though I do, they're not very good at breaking personal inertia (I can sympathize) so I introduced them to my realtor (If anybody wants to buy or sell a house around here, I gotta say Kathy Reardon has MORE than earned her commission with the house we're buying - she's a great sweetie) and basically held their hands through most of the proceedings... and there were interested buyers willing to pay full price. Woohoo! So they had an inspector go up to check on the well and septic tank that's already out there.
Let me tell you the history on this well. When my parents first moved to this land, they couldn't afford to have a well drilled. Mom was 7 months pregnant at the time. Their neighbors said that when THEY moved in, they had a similar problem, and THEIR neighbors let them run a hose to the house until they could save up to dig their own well, and that they were willing to pass it forward, so to speak. My parents very gratefully said thank you, and took them up on their offer. However, when I was about 4 months old, right before christmas, the water suddenly stopped. When dad went over to check to see what was wrong, he discovered that the couple had evidently been having marital problems, and one or the other or both of them had left, and nobody had paid the electricity bill for a while - so, no power, no water from an electric well. So I'm 4 months old; mom's doing cloth diapers, it's almost Christmas, and they have no water - she starts going down the list of well drillers in the phone book. Everybody says "Sure, we can do it.. in six months." When mom calls Mr. Cox, he took pity on her, and said that they were planning on taking christmas week off, but that they could come out and get a well drilled for my parents. He and his 19 year old son came out during their vacation... so dad cashed in his army life insurance policy, and the family had a well. (Best tasting water ever, too. I miss that water.)
So this well was put in 30 years ago this Christmas. After hurricane Kate knocked 3 trees down on the trailer up there in 85, we moved into town, and the place has been vacant ever since. J & I had been up a few times, and we'd checked the well - still worked, amazingly enough. Well, whomever the buyers had go out there to look at the well said that it had collapsed in, and quoted them $10,500 to take off the old tank & pump and get them a new well. So I called Mr. Cox's son, who was now running his father's business (his father having passed away). Not only did he remember us, he said he'd be more than happy to come out the next day and take a look at it. He explained that the reason for the high estimate was because to close up the old well, they'd have to pull out the pump, and then pump concrete down the hole to seal it off, etc (new regulation) and that most well drillers now use a rotary drill, like they do for oil drilling, only slightly modified. They charge a flat rate down to 150 ft or so, and then $12 each additional foot. Because oil drills were designed to seal off surface water above oil pockets, rotary drills for water frequently don't register any shallow water that they find, and frequently have to go as deep as 350 ft. He said they go fast; they can do that much in a day, but the way he does wells - by punching - that distance would take him 4 or 5 days. However, because of the way he punches wells, he's aware of what's happening inch by inch, and frequently doesn't have to go as deep. My parents' well was only 165 ft deep, for example.
This morning we met Mr. Cox out at the property. I think it was kind of an emotional reunion for mom, so I was glad she was there. I wish dad hadn't been feeling so poorly, I think it would have made his day too. Mr. Cox fiddled with the wires a bit, and within about 5 minutes had water gushing out. (Caved in well my aunt patootie.) He said that the wiring needed to be redone, and that the pump MIGHT need to be replaced, particularly with a slightly more powerful one, but that the well looked fine otherwise. WOOHOO! I can't wait to send his written report to the guy that the buyers had run out there & check - I think his name is Mills. He's either incompetent or dishonest - he said that he'd checked this well 4 years ago. I told the realtor that the guy was on crack or the wrong road, because nobody's been living there for forever, and certainly nobody asked to have the well checked 4 years ago! Mom joked that we should tell them if they actually WERE out there checking the well 4 years ago that she'll have them arrested for trespassing.
Friday, August 26, 2005
I'M SO GLAD IT'S FRIDAY!!!
{bounces about happily}
This has been one of the longest two weeks of my life - but it's actually been wonderful, and just about everything is looking up! I've felt so close to J lately; even through all the stress - it's been really great to have my best friend, my partner, right here. We even came up with the same idea for dinner independently yesterday, which was kinda creepy but cool at the same time. (And it was REALLY yummy.)
Gotta go - it hasn't slowed down yet.
This has been one of the longest two weeks of my life - but it's actually been wonderful, and just about everything is looking up! I've felt so close to J lately; even through all the stress - it's been really great to have my best friend, my partner, right here. We even came up with the same idea for dinner independently yesterday, which was kinda creepy but cool at the same time. (And it was REALLY yummy.)
Gotta go - it hasn't slowed down yet.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Who Will Say 'No More'?
By Gary Hart
Wednesday, August 24, 2005; Page A15
"Waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool said to push on," warned an anti-Vietnam war song those many years ago. The McGovern presidential campaign, in those days, which I know something about, is widely viewed as a cause for the decline of the Democratic Party, a gateway through which a new conservative era entered.
Like the cat that jumped on a hot stove and thereafter wouldn't jump on any stove, hot or cold, today's Democratic leaders didn't want to make that mistake again. Many supported the Iraq war resolution and -- as the Big Muddy is rising yet again -- now find themselves tongue-tied or trying to trump a war president by calling for deployment of more troops. Thus does good money follow bad and bad politics get even worse.
History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.
But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on? My generation of Democrats jumped on the hot stove of Vietnam and now, with its members in positions of responsibility, it is afraid of jumping on any political stove. In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."
To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly. In 2008 I want a leader who is willing now to say: "I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."
Further, this leader should say: "I am now going to give a series of speeches across the country documenting how the administration did not tell the American people the truth, why this war is making our country more vulnerable and less secure, how we can drive a wedge between Iraqi insurgents and outside jihadists and leave Iraq for the Iraqis to govern, how we can repair the damage done to our military, what we and our allies can do to dry up the jihadists' swamp, and what dramatic steps we must take to become energy-secure and prevent Gulf Wars III, IV and so on."
At stake is not just the leadership of the Democratic Party and the nation but our nation's honor, our nobility and our principles. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a national community based on social justice. Harry Truman created international networks that repaired the damage of World War II and defeated communism. John F. Kennedy recaptured the ideal of the republic and the sense of civic duty. To expect to enter this pantheon, the next Democratic leader must now undertake all three tasks.
But this cannot be done while the water is rising in the Big Muddy of the Middle East. No Democrat, especially one now silent, should expect election by default. The public trust must be earned, and speaking clearly, candidly and forcefully now about the mess in Iraq is the place to begin.
The real defeatists today are not those protesting the war. The real defeatists are those in power and their silent supporters in the opposition party who are reduced to repeating "Stay the course" even when the course, whatever it now is, is light years away from the one originally undertaken. The truth is we're way off course. We've stumbled into a hornet's nest. We've weakened ourselves at home and in the world. We are less secure today than before this war began.
Who now has the courage to say this?
The writer is a former Democratic senator from Colorado.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005; Page A15
"Waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool said to push on," warned an anti-Vietnam war song those many years ago. The McGovern presidential campaign, in those days, which I know something about, is widely viewed as a cause for the decline of the Democratic Party, a gateway through which a new conservative era entered.
Like the cat that jumped on a hot stove and thereafter wouldn't jump on any stove, hot or cold, today's Democratic leaders didn't want to make that mistake again. Many supported the Iraq war resolution and -- as the Big Muddy is rising yet again -- now find themselves tongue-tied or trying to trump a war president by calling for deployment of more troops. Thus does good money follow bad and bad politics get even worse.
History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.
But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on? My generation of Democrats jumped on the hot stove of Vietnam and now, with its members in positions of responsibility, it is afraid of jumping on any political stove. In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."
To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly. In 2008 I want a leader who is willing now to say: "I made a mistake, and for my mistake I am going to Iraq and accompanying the next planeload of flag-draped coffins back to Dover Air Force Base. And I am going to ask forgiveness for my mistake from every parent who will talk to me."
Further, this leader should say: "I am now going to give a series of speeches across the country documenting how the administration did not tell the American people the truth, why this war is making our country more vulnerable and less secure, how we can drive a wedge between Iraqi insurgents and outside jihadists and leave Iraq for the Iraqis to govern, how we can repair the damage done to our military, what we and our allies can do to dry up the jihadists' swamp, and what dramatic steps we must take to become energy-secure and prevent Gulf Wars III, IV and so on."
At stake is not just the leadership of the Democratic Party and the nation but our nation's honor, our nobility and our principles. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a national community based on social justice. Harry Truman created international networks that repaired the damage of World War II and defeated communism. John F. Kennedy recaptured the ideal of the republic and the sense of civic duty. To expect to enter this pantheon, the next Democratic leader must now undertake all three tasks.
But this cannot be done while the water is rising in the Big Muddy of the Middle East. No Democrat, especially one now silent, should expect election by default. The public trust must be earned, and speaking clearly, candidly and forcefully now about the mess in Iraq is the place to begin.
The real defeatists today are not those protesting the war. The real defeatists are those in power and their silent supporters in the opposition party who are reduced to repeating "Stay the course" even when the course, whatever it now is, is light years away from the one originally undertaken. The truth is we're way off course. We've stumbled into a hornet's nest. We've weakened ourselves at home and in the world. We are less secure today than before this war began.
Who now has the courage to say this?
The writer is a former Democratic senator from Colorado.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
I hate summer
I've never dealt well with heat. Today the heat index was up to 105 - and we went downtown to see the caribbean festival. I wonder how many people got medical attention for heat stroke... needless to say, we didn't stay very long. I've been feeling weird for a week or two now anyway - J thinks I've developed IBS from the stress. I think I'm hormonal. Or something. It's weird, I have days (or parts of days) where I'm on top of everything; organized, with it, on time - and then days like today when my brain just doesn't seem quite connected to the rest of the planet, and my emotions are either absent or very well buried.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Happy Birthday to us!
For our birthdays this year, J & I decided to give each other a house.
Not too shabby, eh? So we're moving again. But probably for the last time in a loooong time.
Not too shabby, eh? So we're moving again. But probably for the last time in a loooong time.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Haupt, casero, Ă la maison, domestico, 家, ê°€́ •, 家åº, fĂ rdach, dachaidh, oayll, thie
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like it, no matter what you call it.
WOOHOO!
WOOHOO!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
What a day
I have to agree with Khang, I think I like this one best as well. Having a kick-ass camera pays off!
I love The Straight Dope. Threadspotting is always good, and this thread sounds like a conversation my friends and I would have. Or have had, come to think of it. I remember J & Bill comparing the Hundred Acre Woods characters to WWII countries/leaders. Very entertaining; it's things like that that make me miss Bill. I have an anniversary card to send him - they got married sometime in August, I don't know when. I'll have to do that tomorrow.
Uncle Patrick took both J & I out to dinner tonight - we had a WONDERFUL time. The food at Clusters & Hops is divine - I'd never eaten there before; had always just bought cheese or wine or somesuch. Mom watched the kids for us, which was really nice of her, especially since it had just been the first day of school and she was tired. I'm not going to tell her that I'm planning on going to Mass this weekend; I don't feel like getting into an involved conversation with her right now.
We put the contract in on the house today. Our realtor called us an hour or so later and said "You won't believe this... somebody put in a contract on the house last night." Months of no action, then bam! out of the blue. So, we're hoping that they decide they don't want it, but we know the likelihood is slim and are continuing to look for a house to buy. All the ones I've seen so far & called about have been "sale pending."
Today was the orientation at Moira's school - I think she's going to really enjoy it. Miss Elizabeth, her teacher, seems really sweet.
And I am really tired and am going to go to sleep.
I love The Straight Dope. Threadspotting is always good, and this thread sounds like a conversation my friends and I would have. Or have had, come to think of it. I remember J & Bill comparing the Hundred Acre Woods characters to WWII countries/leaders. Very entertaining; it's things like that that make me miss Bill. I have an anniversary card to send him - they got married sometime in August, I don't know when. I'll have to do that tomorrow.
Uncle Patrick took both J & I out to dinner tonight - we had a WONDERFUL time. The food at Clusters & Hops is divine - I'd never eaten there before; had always just bought cheese or wine or somesuch. Mom watched the kids for us, which was really nice of her, especially since it had just been the first day of school and she was tired. I'm not going to tell her that I'm planning on going to Mass this weekend; I don't feel like getting into an involved conversation with her right now.
We put the contract in on the house today. Our realtor called us an hour or so later and said "You won't believe this... somebody put in a contract on the house last night." Months of no action, then bam! out of the blue. So, we're hoping that they decide they don't want it, but we know the likelihood is slim and are continuing to look for a house to buy. All the ones I've seen so far & called about have been "sale pending."
Today was the orientation at Moira's school - I think she's going to really enjoy it. Miss Elizabeth, her teacher, seems really sweet.
And I am really tired and am going to go to sleep.
Friday, August 12, 2005
wow I'm tired
We didn't get back from Tampa until 3am - but Tori was wonderful. I got to hear Hey Jupiter live, and during her "Tori's Piano Bar" time (where she plays requests people have sent in to the website) she played Burning Ring of Fire - I couldn't stop laughing, but it was really well done. Then she played I'm On Fire (by Springsteen) and I cracked up again. Khang got some really good pictures, it looked like (we've got our sneaking-the-camera-routine down pat now. heehee) and I can't wait to see them. I've gotta lose some weight; I was looking at what she was wearing and thinking "hrm, that looks comfy and like something I'd like to wear...' but if I tried to wear it now, I'd look like a lumpy pillow that got caught in a wheat thresher.
We were behind the cutest gay couple (actually, we were pretty much surrounded by gay couples); these two guys were really sweet. Khang & I skipped the opening acts to have dinner - thai food! Yummm. He was nice enough to help me look up Alessi bakery - my mom grew up in Tampa and said their cuban bread was amazing - but they were already closed, so I couldn't bring her back a loaf.
Logan was sweet enough to watch the kids for me from 3 until J got off work yesterday; we made really good time on the trip down, thank goodness.
We were behind the cutest gay couple (actually, we were pretty much surrounded by gay couples); these two guys were really sweet. Khang & I skipped the opening acts to have dinner - thai food! Yummm. He was nice enough to help me look up Alessi bakery - my mom grew up in Tampa and said their cuban bread was amazing - but they were already closed, so I couldn't bring her back a loaf.
Logan was sweet enough to watch the kids for me from 3 until J got off work yesterday; we made really good time on the trip down, thank goodness.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
I forgot my mantra
Hopefully it'll come to me.
WTF is up with MSN's popup ad thing blocking what I'm trying to read about the Today show? No, I'm not going to download your stinking MSN popup blocking toolbar crap; I don't have Windoze and I don't use that POS Internet Explorer... once I've clicked on it once, you should darn well remove the stupid thing! {grumble grumble} I wonder if firefox would do something different than safari does...
Wrote a long post and then deleted it. Rationality wins for the night.
WTF is up with MSN's popup ad thing blocking what I'm trying to read about the Today show? No, I'm not going to download your stinking MSN popup blocking toolbar crap; I don't have Windoze and I don't use that POS Internet Explorer... once I've clicked on it once, you should darn well remove the stupid thing! {grumble grumble} I wonder if firefox would do something different than safari does...
Wrote a long post and then deleted it. Rationality wins for the night.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Maybe it's a sign...
I have a little quote-a-day flipbook thing that I usually forget for a week or two at a time. I happened to see it as I was walking past today, and went ahead to flip it to the correct day - and the quote for yesterday caught my eye:
"To thee I'll return, over-burdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!"
- John Howard Payne
Yesterday we went and saw a house that we're going to make an offer on. I'm very excited.
Today's quote? "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln
Oh, and if the world gets any nuttier or I can't stand our government any more, I've decided to start saving up money to move. It's not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be...
"To thee I'll return, over-burdened with care;
The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home!"
- John Howard Payne
Yesterday we went and saw a house that we're going to make an offer on. I'm very excited.
Today's quote? "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." - Abraham Lincoln
Oh, and if the world gets any nuttier or I can't stand our government any more, I've decided to start saving up money to move. It's not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be...
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
But no, that would have been TOO EASY...
Well, fudge. A week or so ago, our landlord called and informed us that they were selling off all their single-family properties, and we had first dibs on the one we're in. After discussing it, J & I decided that yes, it was about damn time we became homeowners and stopped throwing money down the rent hole, and went forward, doing research, etc. We had a market analysis done by a realtor that told us we should pay about $150,000 for the house. The landlord, when he had called, had said that he'd not had an appraisal done, but that he guessed the house would go for about $160,000. He wanted to get J & I on a conference call to discuss who was going to do what. When I called him back with a good time for J to be in on the call, he changed it so that we were coming by their office. The next time I talked to him, he mentioned our meeting at the office and signing a "letter of intent" to purchase. I told J about this new development, and we researched letters of intent, and were on our way to the meeting when the landlord's secretary called us; he'd had some emergency come up and couldn't meet us, and was going to be out of town this weekend, could we meet Monday? Sure. We called Monday morning and asked what time we were meeting, and then asked if we could do it Tuesday instead. Sure. So last night we go over there. I've looked up the 2004 Market Value of every house on our street, and what they last sold for... one house on our cul-de-sac with the exact same square footage sold 3 months ago for $115,000. So we walk in, and the landlord opens up his file folder with stuff printed out, and right on top of one side of the pile is a printed up "contract of sale" - J & I never said anything about it to the landlord, but I was pretty pissed. We'd gone from a phone call, to an office visit, to a letter of intent, to a contract of sale, and the bastard hadn't even gotten an appraisal done. We could tell that he was less than pleased that we'd been so diligent about our research, and told us that HIS market analysis came out at $169,900, and that they were willing to give us $5000 off of the closing or appraisal value, whichever we preferred. The jerk said he would not pay for an appraisal unless he had a contract of sale. J & I discussed it afterwards, and decided no WAY were we going to sign some stupid contract for the house when there hadn't even been an appraisal yet. *sigh*
So we doubt they're going to come down on their price, and so we're probably moving again. I'm house-hunting. Anybody know of a 3br in a nice neighborhood for sale that's not too expensive?
And I need boxes again. *groan* At least I can have a big garage sale and get rid of a bunch of CRAP before moving this time.
And I still don't have my laptop back! WAAAAA! Thank goodness my husband is so sweet as to set up a computer in the office that I can log in to... The painter's house usually gets painted last, but he's been doing a really great job of keeping our network up and happy.
Is it Friday yet?
So we doubt they're going to come down on their price, and so we're probably moving again. I'm house-hunting. Anybody know of a 3br in a nice neighborhood for sale that's not too expensive?
And I need boxes again. *groan* At least I can have a big garage sale and get rid of a bunch of CRAP before moving this time.
And I still don't have my laptop back! WAAAAA! Thank goodness my husband is so sweet as to set up a computer in the office that I can log in to... The painter's house usually gets painted last, but he's been doing a really great job of keeping our network up and happy.
Is it Friday yet?
Sunday, July 24, 2005
searching for info...
Okay, a loooong time ago in another lifetime, I was reading a webcomic. It was about a girl who had left her city, and somehow the city had disappeared - it was like the city was a legend to the people outside it. Anyway, she's walking through the forest trying to find her way home, and hooks up with a hunter of some sort that she runs across - I can't remember much more, but I wanted to know if the artist continued the story, and for the life of me I can't find the damn thing. Anybody have any help to offer?
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Is it friday yet?
I am at the moment enjoying a much needed mental vacation. My mom offered to watch the kids (bless her) and I'm at a local coffee shop taking a break from reality.
I'm in that emotional slump where I've lost the ability to enjoy being a parent temporarily. It's probably because J & I have been running non-stop lately; neither one of us has gotten our alone time in two weeks or so, I think. Anyway, I sit here at a coffee shop... some weirdo in the corner just answered his phone and is talking to "Pastor Nick" and asking "so did he pray about it?" You know, I've been having a real crisis of faith lately - I do think there is something, some creator type thing or somesuch, but to be honest Christianity isn't really appealing to me right now. Maybe I'm just turned off by the followers rather than the religion.
Our landlord called this afternoon - they're selling the house we're renting from them. They're giving us first dibs on it (which is really nice of them) and will take five grand off either the closing costs or the appraisal value, whichever we prefer, and they'll be credit references for us - but they'd like to have it done in the next 60-90 days max, and while our lease is up in February and we're allowed to stay until then, if we're not the ones who buy the house, there's no guarantee the next owner will rent it to us. So we get to either buy a house or move in February - neither of which I was prepared for. I wonder how much it will appraise for?
Gotta run... reality beckons insistently. I think I'll use my gift card to buy myself a new book. I blew through the new Harry Potter already (who the heck is MAB? ARGH! I hate having to wait to find out what happens! It's the only downside to reading so quickly - the books are over so fast!) and I could use an entertaining read. Maybe I'll go re-read Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
I'm in that emotional slump where I've lost the ability to enjoy being a parent temporarily. It's probably because J & I have been running non-stop lately; neither one of us has gotten our alone time in two weeks or so, I think. Anyway, I sit here at a coffee shop... some weirdo in the corner just answered his phone and is talking to "Pastor Nick" and asking "so did he pray about it?" You know, I've been having a real crisis of faith lately - I do think there is something, some creator type thing or somesuch, but to be honest Christianity isn't really appealing to me right now. Maybe I'm just turned off by the followers rather than the religion.
Our landlord called this afternoon - they're selling the house we're renting from them. They're giving us first dibs on it (which is really nice of them) and will take five grand off either the closing costs or the appraisal value, whichever we prefer, and they'll be credit references for us - but they'd like to have it done in the next 60-90 days max, and while our lease is up in February and we're allowed to stay until then, if we're not the ones who buy the house, there's no guarantee the next owner will rent it to us. So we get to either buy a house or move in February - neither of which I was prepared for. I wonder how much it will appraise for?
Gotta run... reality beckons insistently. I think I'll use my gift card to buy myself a new book. I blew through the new Harry Potter already (who the heck is MAB? ARGH! I hate having to wait to find out what happens! It's the only downside to reading so quickly - the books are over so fast!) and I could use an entertaining read. Maybe I'll go re-read Eats, Shoots and Leaves.
Friday, July 15, 2005
I know I go overboard.
I don't know if it's the borderline personality disorder, or if it's my desire for the romantic, elegant, victorian, etc. side of life... nine times out of ten, I could care less if my shoes match my purse; I dress for comfort and utility, not for style... I don't wear makeup.... I do something with my hair maybe once every 4 months or so... and the only jewelry I've worn in the last year or more (with a couple of special occasion exceptions) has been my wedding ring. I hate being hot, but when it's not this time of year I like to be outdoors, getting my hands into things... I miss being in good enough shape to climb trees (gotta work on that), and I miss having a garden.
That being said - there's the frilly, girl side of me that rears its head every now and then. The part that looks at costumes in period movies and wistfully thinks of silks and brocades and elaborate embroidery and gold and jewels and occasions to dress up for... the side that likes to make edible works of art (I miss decorating cakes, and I love watching those pastry competitions on Food Network).... the side that wants to throw elaborate parties with champagne fountains and twenty different kinds of hors d'oeuvres, seven courses, and for dessert chocolate fountains with myriad things for the guests to dip in them.
So what's my point in all this, you ask?
We're throwing a party tomorrow. Only 20 people are coming (and that includes all the kids) and it's only friends and family. It's my son's first birthday party. The theme? Miniatures. (He's tiny and adorable. So it's girly; sue me.) Here's the menu:
mini corndogs
mini tacos
mini pizzas
mini cupcakes (I'm planning on decorating them with letters that spell out a birthday message; one letter per cupcake)
mini waffles with J's homemade chicken salad (you have not LIVED until you've had his chicken salad)
mini quiches
mini vegetables to dip (baby carrots, broccoli & cauliflower heads cut into small florets)
teddy grahams
mini pineapple upside down cakes (Uncle Mike is making these, and I cannot WAIT, it's been so long since I've had pineapple upside down cake!)
mini eclairs
mini ice cream bites (vanilla dipped in chocolate, chocolate dipped in chocolate, and vanilla dipped in Drumstick coating)
mini oreos
mini nutter butters
mini brussels & mini milanos (Pepperidge Farm, *drool*)
I found coke & sprite bottles that are almost half the size of the regular plastic bottles (so cute!)
I'm also doing something with jello, but I've not decided what.
Am I silly, or what? We have almost 100 mini cupcakes.
I was going to do mini hamburgers - like Krystal or White Castle - and slice up cherry tomatoes and pearl onions and quarter american cheese slices to put on plates next to them. That would have been so cute! But I'm trying to not go overboard. I'm really trying. I managed to talk myself out of making mini flowerpot cupcakes (make regular size cupcakes, put enough icing on top to make it sticky, cover sticky icing with blended up oreos, stick a lollypop in it, cut petals & leaves out of sticks of gum or fruit roll-ups and stick to lollypop & stick, and stick the head of a gummy worm out of the 'dirt' - and voila, mini edible flowerpots) because I just knew that was nuts. (Maybe for one of Moira's parties when she's older.) I kept hoping we'd find those champagne grapes (they are DELICIOUS, and so cute!) but I don't believe they're in season yet.
And if it rains tomorrow, then the whole play outside thing is shot - the inflatable jump-in thing Megan lent me, the kiddie pool, the tigger sprinkler and the slip 'n slide - but you know, come to think of it, if the kids are going to be playing in the water anyway, if it's raining it doesn't really matter... but if it's anything like the storm we had today, the lightning makes it a no-go.
Okay, time to get off my butt and go clean the kitchen (now that we've wrecked it with dinner and party food prep)
That being said - there's the frilly, girl side of me that rears its head every now and then. The part that looks at costumes in period movies and wistfully thinks of silks and brocades and elaborate embroidery and gold and jewels and occasions to dress up for... the side that likes to make edible works of art (I miss decorating cakes, and I love watching those pastry competitions on Food Network).... the side that wants to throw elaborate parties with champagne fountains and twenty different kinds of hors d'oeuvres, seven courses, and for dessert chocolate fountains with myriad things for the guests to dip in them.
So what's my point in all this, you ask?
We're throwing a party tomorrow. Only 20 people are coming (and that includes all the kids) and it's only friends and family. It's my son's first birthday party. The theme? Miniatures. (He's tiny and adorable. So it's girly; sue me.) Here's the menu:
mini corndogs
mini tacos
mini pizzas
mini cupcakes (I'm planning on decorating them with letters that spell out a birthday message; one letter per cupcake)
mini waffles with J's homemade chicken salad (you have not LIVED until you've had his chicken salad)
mini quiches
mini vegetables to dip (baby carrots, broccoli & cauliflower heads cut into small florets)
teddy grahams
mini pineapple upside down cakes (Uncle Mike is making these, and I cannot WAIT, it's been so long since I've had pineapple upside down cake!)
mini eclairs
mini ice cream bites (vanilla dipped in chocolate, chocolate dipped in chocolate, and vanilla dipped in Drumstick coating)
mini oreos
mini nutter butters
mini brussels & mini milanos (Pepperidge Farm, *drool*)
I found coke & sprite bottles that are almost half the size of the regular plastic bottles (so cute!)
I'm also doing something with jello, but I've not decided what.
Am I silly, or what? We have almost 100 mini cupcakes.
I was going to do mini hamburgers - like Krystal or White Castle - and slice up cherry tomatoes and pearl onions and quarter american cheese slices to put on plates next to them. That would have been so cute! But I'm trying to not go overboard. I'm really trying. I managed to talk myself out of making mini flowerpot cupcakes (make regular size cupcakes, put enough icing on top to make it sticky, cover sticky icing with blended up oreos, stick a lollypop in it, cut petals & leaves out of sticks of gum or fruit roll-ups and stick to lollypop & stick, and stick the head of a gummy worm out of the 'dirt' - and voila, mini edible flowerpots) because I just knew that was nuts. (Maybe for one of Moira's parties when she's older.) I kept hoping we'd find those champagne grapes (they are DELICIOUS, and so cute!) but I don't believe they're in season yet.
And if it rains tomorrow, then the whole play outside thing is shot - the inflatable jump-in thing Megan lent me, the kiddie pool, the tigger sprinkler and the slip 'n slide - but you know, come to think of it, if the kids are going to be playing in the water anyway, if it's raining it doesn't really matter... but if it's anything like the storm we had today, the lightning makes it a no-go.
Okay, time to get off my butt and go clean the kitchen (now that we've wrecked it with dinner and party food prep)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
ARGH
Drives
Me
Crazy
I've gotta start locking my door.
So dad calls; we're napping so we don't answer the phone. We get up, and I call dad back. No answer. No answer on cell. No answer at home. I hope he's not trying to work outside in this heat! So I head for the utility room, where my bras are hanging up drying after doing laundry - and there he is, sitting on the love seat. I'm glad I saw him before I got too far into the room, as I was naked. *sigh*
Getting dressed now. Just had to vent. Thanks for listening.
Me
Crazy
I've gotta start locking my door.
So dad calls; we're napping so we don't answer the phone. We get up, and I call dad back. No answer. No answer on cell. No answer at home. I hope he's not trying to work outside in this heat! So I head for the utility room, where my bras are hanging up drying after doing laundry - and there he is, sitting on the love seat. I'm glad I saw him before I got too far into the room, as I was naked. *sigh*
Getting dressed now. Just had to vent. Thanks for listening.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
where there's a will, there's a way...
I missed both Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Says You this past weekend... the first I can listen to online, but the second I can only listen to at audible.com if I pay for it.
However, I discovered a california radio station that plays it Tuesday nights (tonight!) that has an online simulcast! WOOHOO!
I'm SO glad J is coming home tonight. It's actually not been as hard as I thought it might be - of course, I've had company and help.
However, I discovered a california radio station that plays it Tuesday nights (tonight!) that has an online simulcast! WOOHOO!
I'm SO glad J is coming home tonight. It's actually not been as hard as I thought it might be - of course, I've had company and help.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Stick me with a fork, I'm done.
Hopefully I just sweated off a pound or so - a couple of biiiiiiig pine branches laden with muscadine vines came down on my parents' doorstep during the hurricane, and I've just spent several hours cutting stuff up and stacking it at the curb. It was kinda nice to do some physical labour. I just wish the insect world weren't out to get me today. Between the weird ant-bee thing that bit me on the way to my counselor's appt. to whatever the heck it was that stung me on the finger at my parents' house to the ants that covered the pine branches and mosquitos...
I wish I could figure out what the heck that thing was that bit/stung me. It was freaky looking.
Dang! I gotta go print & mail the invites!!!
I wish I could figure out what the heck that thing was that bit/stung me. It was freaky looking.
Dang! I gotta go print & mail the invites!!!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
WOW
I knew my daughter was gorgeous, but... wow.
I've ALWAYS wanted one of these dresses. I should have bought one back in the day when I was skinny enough to wear it.
Well, I'm not dead yet!
I've ALWAYS wanted one of these dresses. I should have bought one back in the day when I was skinny enough to wear it.
Well, I'm not dead yet!
Note to self:
do not put just-boiled-in-the-microwave water and Better Than Bullion goop into a plastic container, put the lid on, and then shake vigorously.
Especially while unclothed.
The resulting explosion coated my front with boiling chicken broth.
I'm fine now. Please continue to laugh amongst yourselves. Yes, I learned the "don't fry bacon naked" rule the hard way too.
In other news... mom-in-law is back from China (yay!), my sweetie left this morning for San Diego (wah!) and I'm a single mother for a few days. Hurricane Dennis looks like it's going to miss us to the left; we'll see how much wind we end up getting this far out. Unless it slows down dramatically, it looks like it won't interfere with J's flight home on Tuesday.
I have to say, I was relieved to hear from him when he landed in Houston - the recent fun in London made me worry a lot more than I usually do. I'm waiting for the phone to ring again to tell me he's in California safely.
As soon as Moira wakes up completely (Christian is messing with her right now) I'm hoping we can go play with cousins et al. Logan & Mike are selling their house and buying another one... I can't wait to see it. More room!
Okay, going to hit the shower. Hey, any of you want to come visit & keep me company in the next few days, PLEASE feel free. I've got cards & games galore, and would love to see you.
Especially while unclothed.
The resulting explosion coated my front with boiling chicken broth.
I'm fine now. Please continue to laugh amongst yourselves. Yes, I learned the "don't fry bacon naked" rule the hard way too.
In other news... mom-in-law is back from China (yay!), my sweetie left this morning for San Diego (wah!) and I'm a single mother for a few days. Hurricane Dennis looks like it's going to miss us to the left; we'll see how much wind we end up getting this far out. Unless it slows down dramatically, it looks like it won't interfere with J's flight home on Tuesday.
I have to say, I was relieved to hear from him when he landed in Houston - the recent fun in London made me worry a lot more than I usually do. I'm waiting for the phone to ring again to tell me he's in California safely.
As soon as Moira wakes up completely (Christian is messing with her right now) I'm hoping we can go play with cousins et al. Logan & Mike are selling their house and buying another one... I can't wait to see it. More room!
Okay, going to hit the shower. Hey, any of you want to come visit & keep me company in the next few days, PLEASE feel free. I've got cards & games galore, and would love to see you.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
I'm a what?
stolen from ClicheMonster who stole it himself.
Yesterday was bizarre. Or was it the day before? I wish I had a housewide computer (like the one on the enterprise) to keep track of days for me. Had dreams the night before about my first husband; we were having a gigantic fight, and he had dumped me and I was suicidal. It's been a long time since I've been suicidal, but the dream brought back the feeling so exactly that when I woke up I was a little discombobulated. When you're that depressed it's almost physical, you can FEEL the despair running along your nerves like a shiver. We're turning thirty this year... J & I were talking last night about how glad we are that we're past a lot of our callow youthful stupidity and immaturity - I was telling him that I don't feel like I'm 30; I don't know that I'm all THAT much more responsible and less immature than I was say, 5 years ago or more. He pointed out lots of things, saying he thought I was much more mature than I had been, and wasn't I glad I wasn't in the same place I was back then, mentally and emotionally? In spades. I think we complement each other pretty well.
Uncle Patrick came over for a bit last night - I'm so glad we're living in town again. As much as I liked the place in Monticello, moving here was worth the extra rent if he'll drop by more often. He didn't stay long enough for us to break out the cards, unfortunately, but we had fun just chatting. I worry about him sometimes; I keep thinking I'm going to get an SOS in a bottle from his liver asking for rescue.
M's speech therapist came this morning - I really like Renee. After the evaluation today, it looks like Moira is only behind in a few of her sounds; not bad at all. It's nice that she's getting this one-on-one work; I wish we could afford to hire teachers like in the old days.... I think I'll try to work that into the budget.
Hrm. Power outage. I love having a laptop. However, the ups will only work for so long, so my net connection will drop any minute now. *sigh* And just when I'd gotten the kids down for a nap, too.
That's okay; god knows I have enough stuff to do OFF line - like clean my house, or finish sorting through my fifty million digital pictures in iPhoto, or working on my website, or doing laundry...
(If I were not a Cywydd Llosgyrnog I would be a Haiku.) |
Yesterday was bizarre. Or was it the day before? I wish I had a housewide computer (like the one on the enterprise) to keep track of days for me. Had dreams the night before about my first husband; we were having a gigantic fight, and he had dumped me and I was suicidal. It's been a long time since I've been suicidal, but the dream brought back the feeling so exactly that when I woke up I was a little discombobulated. When you're that depressed it's almost physical, you can FEEL the despair running along your nerves like a shiver. We're turning thirty this year... J & I were talking last night about how glad we are that we're past a lot of our callow youthful stupidity and immaturity - I was telling him that I don't feel like I'm 30; I don't know that I'm all THAT much more responsible and less immature than I was say, 5 years ago or more. He pointed out lots of things, saying he thought I was much more mature than I had been, and wasn't I glad I wasn't in the same place I was back then, mentally and emotionally? In spades. I think we complement each other pretty well.
Uncle Patrick came over for a bit last night - I'm so glad we're living in town again. As much as I liked the place in Monticello, moving here was worth the extra rent if he'll drop by more often. He didn't stay long enough for us to break out the cards, unfortunately, but we had fun just chatting. I worry about him sometimes; I keep thinking I'm going to get an SOS in a bottle from his liver asking for rescue.
M's speech therapist came this morning - I really like Renee. After the evaluation today, it looks like Moira is only behind in a few of her sounds; not bad at all. It's nice that she's getting this one-on-one work; I wish we could afford to hire teachers like in the old days.... I think I'll try to work that into the budget.
Hrm. Power outage. I love having a laptop. However, the ups will only work for so long, so my net connection will drop any minute now. *sigh* And just when I'd gotten the kids down for a nap, too.
That's okay; god knows I have enough stuff to do OFF line - like clean my house, or finish sorting through my fifty million digital pictures in iPhoto, or working on my website, or doing laundry...
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Any excuse for a get together!
Saturday, July 16th we're throwing a party. Christian turns one on the 18th, so it's sort-of a birthday party, but it's more just an excuse to get everybody together to eat and let the kids play in the backyard. I got a slip & slide! Adults aren't supposed to use it, and if I tried I'd probably burst a breast, but it'll be fun to watch the kids do it. I remember loving slip & slides as a kid. Kiddie pool, sprinkler, Aunt Megan is bringing one of those inflatable bouncy things... and I think I'm going with a miniature theme! I love miniature things. And my son is pretty petite, so it fits. *grin* So, if you wanna come hang out with us and our crazy family, let me know! I'll send you an invite with directions.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Random conversation
I rarely have less than at least five things on my mind. If you were hanging out with me right now (and why aren't you?) here are some of the things we might be chatting about.
I recently decided to stop shopping at Wal-Mart. For a great explanation as to why, read this. I've decided that the convenience isn't worth the long-term costs. I'm going to try to read Always Low Prices on a regular basis, as it seems pretty fair - includes news both flattering and not so.
I heard on the news today that Sandra Day O'Connor is retiring from the Supreme Court. *sigh* Rhenquist was given 6 months to live, 9 months ago... so I'm assuming President Bush is going to be able to put two Supreme Court Justices into place. I wish I had faith that the people he picks would be good justices, but I really just don't.
I've been sick for a week now... sore throat that comes & goes, chest congestion, some sinus congestion, and a low-grade fever I just can't shake. I'm at 99.something right now. I would just suck it up and go to the doctor so he could make sure it's not bronchitis, but until the COBRA people finish processing our paperwork, according to the system we don't have insurance and will have to pay out of pocket, and then wait for a reimbursment. I swear, if I'm ever wealthy, I'm going to have a separate investment account/savings account for medical expenses, and I'm not ever going to give another insurance company a dime. I'll pay the doctors in cash.
Moira has a split uvula, which is evidently in the same diagnostic category as cleft palate - of course, not nearly as serious. The speech therapist (who has managed to see Moira once so far) thinks that this might be interfering with Moira's soft-palate, which is supposed to close off her nasal passages when she says K, amongst other things - which might be part of why Moira doesn't say K. The ENT says that short of sticking a scope down her nose (which would be pretty traumatic) there's no way to be sure; to go ahead with the speech therapist's diagnosis - because even if that is the problem, they'd not be able to do anything about it until she was 4 or 5, and then she'd have to go to Shands or somesuch - nobody here in town handles naso-pharengeal insufficiency (at least I think that's what he called it). But it looks like due to her evaluation, Moira will be able to attend Nana's school for free! That'll be amazingly cool. She'll have peers to play with daily, daddy can take her to school in the morning, I'll have time alone with Christian (and to myself when he's napping), and Nana is there!
Having visited Premier with my friend Diane, I'm looking forward to joining - provided, of course, somebody joins with me. AHEM. I've got about 5 months to lose some weight and tone my arms - it's a sleeveless dress. (top 8087, bottom 8090, color apple) And Erin's dress, btw, is absolutely stunning! She has great taste.
Too tired to keep writing. Besides, I have laundry to do.
I recently decided to stop shopping at Wal-Mart. For a great explanation as to why, read this. I've decided that the convenience isn't worth the long-term costs. I'm going to try to read Always Low Prices on a regular basis, as it seems pretty fair - includes news both flattering and not so.
I heard on the news today that Sandra Day O'Connor is retiring from the Supreme Court. *sigh* Rhenquist was given 6 months to live, 9 months ago... so I'm assuming President Bush is going to be able to put two Supreme Court Justices into place. I wish I had faith that the people he picks would be good justices, but I really just don't.
I've been sick for a week now... sore throat that comes & goes, chest congestion, some sinus congestion, and a low-grade fever I just can't shake. I'm at 99.something right now. I would just suck it up and go to the doctor so he could make sure it's not bronchitis, but until the COBRA people finish processing our paperwork, according to the system we don't have insurance and will have to pay out of pocket, and then wait for a reimbursment. I swear, if I'm ever wealthy, I'm going to have a separate investment account/savings account for medical expenses, and I'm not ever going to give another insurance company a dime. I'll pay the doctors in cash.
Moira has a split uvula, which is evidently in the same diagnostic category as cleft palate - of course, not nearly as serious. The speech therapist (who has managed to see Moira once so far) thinks that this might be interfering with Moira's soft-palate, which is supposed to close off her nasal passages when she says K, amongst other things - which might be part of why Moira doesn't say K. The ENT says that short of sticking a scope down her nose (which would be pretty traumatic) there's no way to be sure; to go ahead with the speech therapist's diagnosis - because even if that is the problem, they'd not be able to do anything about it until she was 4 or 5, and then she'd have to go to Shands or somesuch - nobody here in town handles naso-pharengeal insufficiency (at least I think that's what he called it). But it looks like due to her evaluation, Moira will be able to attend Nana's school for free! That'll be amazingly cool. She'll have peers to play with daily, daddy can take her to school in the morning, I'll have time alone with Christian (and to myself when he's napping), and Nana is there!
Having visited Premier with my friend Diane, I'm looking forward to joining - provided, of course, somebody joins with me. AHEM. I've got about 5 months to lose some weight and tone my arms - it's a sleeveless dress. (top 8087, bottom 8090, color apple) And Erin's dress, btw, is absolutely stunning! She has great taste.
Too tired to keep writing. Besides, I have laundry to do.
Monday, June 27, 2005
WTF????
I'm speechless. Totally speechless. I'll be angry when I've had time to think about it, but right now I'm in that disturbing Eddie Willeresque position of total gobsmackedness.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has been a key swing vote on many cases before the court, issued a stinging dissent. She argued that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers.
"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," O'Connor wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."
Emigrating keeps getting checks in the "pro" category...
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has been a key swing vote on many cases before the court, issued a stinging dissent. She argued that cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers.
"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," O'Connor wrote. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."
Emigrating keeps getting checks in the "pro" category...
The King and I
I love this movie, but I'd forgotten how sad it is.
I've found a new addiction - Scotland Yard! J played it as a kid, and I ordered it online for him for father's day - I've played it three times, and I kick ass! I can't wait to play it again! The first time, J was going easy on me (and he'd not played in a long time so he was very rusty), the second time Uncle Patrick had never played before, and the third time, I think the travel tokens got screwed up - so I wanna play another game, while the children are asleep, now that everybody knows how to do it!
Btw, I used canoed in a scrabble game today! heehee
I have to say, I got the most wonderful phone call last night. Our friends Matthew and Erin, who are getting married in January, called us up while they were both on speakerphone - Erin's asked me to be a bridesmaid!!!!! TOTALLY blew me away. I even got a little teary; it's so flattering to be asked... I've never been a bridesmaid before! Been a bride 3 times; I figured that was fate's freaky way of making up for it. ;) As Erin put it, "Always a bride, never a bridesmaid, huh?" heeheehee. So now I have a WONDERFUL incentive for losing weight. And a deadline! SO, who's going to come work out with me, huh?
I wish I could talk. I don't know what freaky bug I came down with - the first day J was afraid it was mono, but now it just seems like your normal run-of-the-mill respiratory illness, except it might have gone to my sinuses and chest, which is very unusual for me. I must be getting old & decrepit.
Got the kids down for their nap - I think I'll take advantage of this time to sleep as well. As much as I need to clean, I need to get better faster more, or the house will REALLY fall apart.
I've found a new addiction - Scotland Yard! J played it as a kid, and I ordered it online for him for father's day - I've played it three times, and I kick ass! I can't wait to play it again! The first time, J was going easy on me (and he'd not played in a long time so he was very rusty), the second time Uncle Patrick had never played before, and the third time, I think the travel tokens got screwed up - so I wanna play another game, while the children are asleep, now that everybody knows how to do it!
Btw, I used canoed in a scrabble game today! heehee
I have to say, I got the most wonderful phone call last night. Our friends Matthew and Erin, who are getting married in January, called us up while they were both on speakerphone - Erin's asked me to be a bridesmaid!!!!! TOTALLY blew me away. I even got a little teary; it's so flattering to be asked... I've never been a bridesmaid before! Been a bride 3 times; I figured that was fate's freaky way of making up for it. ;) As Erin put it, "Always a bride, never a bridesmaid, huh?" heeheehee. So now I have a WONDERFUL incentive for losing weight. And a deadline! SO, who's going to come work out with me, huh?
I wish I could talk. I don't know what freaky bug I came down with - the first day J was afraid it was mono, but now it just seems like your normal run-of-the-mill respiratory illness, except it might have gone to my sinuses and chest, which is very unusual for me. I must be getting old & decrepit.
Got the kids down for their nap - I think I'll take advantage of this time to sleep as well. As much as I need to clean, I need to get better faster more, or the house will REALLY fall apart.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Okay, I always knew I was different...
I'm not as different as this woman, but I gotta say, I find her Capricorn
really fucking cool. The winged cat is nifty too.
(I like that she uses leftovers rather than hunting things.)
Wanna make your own? (Online, not real one, aren't you relieved?) And then send me a picture!
Things I do while waiting for my husband to finish working in the middle of the night...
This made me laugh until I cried, and all silently so as not to wake the children.
This is amazing, and I know a few people that could benefit from it, I think.
really fucking cool. The winged cat is nifty too.
(I like that she uses leftovers rather than hunting things.)
Wanna make your own? (Online, not real one, aren't you relieved?) And then send me a picture!
Things I do while waiting for my husband to finish working in the middle of the night...
This made me laugh until I cried, and all silently so as not to wake the children.
This is amazing, and I know a few people that could benefit from it, I think.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Stuck at Prom
In the tradition of Highly Recommended Thing Of The Moment
An oldie, but goodie. I never get tired of looking at the designs. I particularly like the guitar one.
**edit**
oooooh, and the Starry Night couple is cool too!
An oldie, but goodie. I never get tired of looking at the designs. I particularly like the guitar one.
**edit**
oooooh, and the Starry Night couple is cool too!
Men, sit up and take notice
I dropped by Cyborgirl's blog (like I do most days) and read her latest post... and it really got me thinking. I've been married three times now. I've dated quite a few men, before I lucked into J. And I have to say, men should take lessons in foreplay. So few of them have even the slightest clue about how to turn a woman on! My first husband - lord, what a nightmare. Only time I've ever fallen asleep during sex.
Here's a hint. If we women think the only reason you're initiating sex is so you can get off, we're usually a whole heck of a lot less likely to be into it. So men, here's some advice. Approach your woman with the intention of making her feel good. Plan not to get off yourself. In fact, TRY not to get off yourself. Make that session all about her. If she tries to return the favor, unless she's just uncontrollably horny & turned on and is jumping you, tell her no, to lie back and relax. If you do this often enough, guys, then I would bet the percentage of times the woman initiates sex would go up. Because then we know that you know that sex isn't all about you - it's a mutual pleasure thing. All you women out there - how many times have you & your man been having sex, and when he orgasms, it's over, whether you've peaked or not? Guys, you've got a tongue and two hands; if your penis is done for the night, that doesn't mean you're done! Do you not realize that that behaviour implies that you don't care if we orgasm or not? Which extrapolates to the whole "one woman is pretty much like another in the dark" idea and can make us feel pretty much like a convenient hole for you to fuck?
So now I'm wondering how to teach my son this when he's older... I think that's probably a conversation I should leave to his dad.
Here's a hint. If we women think the only reason you're initiating sex is so you can get off, we're usually a whole heck of a lot less likely to be into it. So men, here's some advice. Approach your woman with the intention of making her feel good. Plan not to get off yourself. In fact, TRY not to get off yourself. Make that session all about her. If she tries to return the favor, unless she's just uncontrollably horny & turned on and is jumping you, tell her no, to lie back and relax. If you do this often enough, guys, then I would bet the percentage of times the woman initiates sex would go up. Because then we know that you know that sex isn't all about you - it's a mutual pleasure thing. All you women out there - how many times have you & your man been having sex, and when he orgasms, it's over, whether you've peaked or not? Guys, you've got a tongue and two hands; if your penis is done for the night, that doesn't mean you're done! Do you not realize that that behaviour implies that you don't care if we orgasm or not? Which extrapolates to the whole "one woman is pretty much like another in the dark" idea and can make us feel pretty much like a convenient hole for you to fuck?
So now I'm wondering how to teach my son this when he's older... I think that's probably a conversation I should leave to his dad.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Okay, I've not gotten around to sitting down with a notary...
but here's something that should carry some weight.
Having just read the autopsy report of Terry Shiavo, I'd like to make it known that if I am a vegetable, I do not wish to be kept alive on life support of any kind. If the chances of me ever recovering are low, go ahead and take my organs and give them to somebody who needs them, and what's left of me can be cremated (please don't embalm me, ew). My husband knows how I feel about this, and now the rest of you do too.
Having just read the autopsy report of Terry Shiavo, I'd like to make it known that if I am a vegetable, I do not wish to be kept alive on life support of any kind. If the chances of me ever recovering are low, go ahead and take my organs and give them to somebody who needs them, and what's left of me can be cremated (please don't embalm me, ew). My husband knows how I feel about this, and now the rest of you do too.
Monday, June 13, 2005
WOOHOOO!
I've always been a weird mix of introverted and extroverted. This Wednesday night I get to exercise my extroverted side, for the first time in a long time. It's Girls' Game night at my place! J is taking the kids to the grandparents' house, so we're planning on a manless, kidless evening of board games, or card games, or whatever! So, if you wanna come, drop me a line!
Sunday, June 12, 2005
An easy post for a late Sunday morning
Snitched from Monster
Ceara is...
Ceara is fom the Old Irish name, Cera, the meaning of which may be "bright red."
Ceara is also Irish for "spear."
CearĂ¡ is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast.
CearĂ¡ is in the zone of droughts.
ceara is the goddess of the forests and the wild things
ceara is 650 000 tonnes
ceara is now issuing a international call for bids
ceara is forbidden
ceara is affected by the south east trade winds which blow relentlessly towards the equator
ceara is aloof and dignified
ceara is amazing at two and a half
ceara is the daughter of the scottish cheiftan tearlaich and his irish leymen
ceara is a powerful jedi
ceara is quick and agile
ceara is great
ceara is involved with the drama club
ceara is given to luke skywalker and adopted by him
ceara is attractive
ceara is kinda busy and will be for at least another month
ceara is determined and strong
Ceara is tired.
Ceara is...
Ceara is fom the Old Irish name, Cera, the meaning of which may be "bright red."
Ceara is also Irish for "spear."
CearĂ¡ is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast.
CearĂ¡ is in the zone of droughts.
ceara is the goddess of the forests and the wild things
ceara is 650 000 tonnes
ceara is now issuing a international call for bids
ceara is forbidden
ceara is affected by the south east trade winds which blow relentlessly towards the equator
ceara is aloof and dignified
ceara is amazing at two and a half
ceara is the daughter of the scottish cheiftan tearlaich and his irish leymen
ceara is a powerful jedi
ceara is quick and agile
ceara is great
ceara is involved with the drama club
ceara is given to luke skywalker and adopted by him
ceara is attractive
ceara is kinda busy and will be for at least another month
ceara is determined and strong
Ceara is tired.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
I'm opinionated
Here are a few of mine. Read at your own risk.
I believe that a fertilized egg is a potential human life, and whether it lives or dies is not up to me. I cannot imagine ever having an abortion, and I hope I'm never put in that position. That being said, I firmly believe that abortions should NOT be illegal. Historically, when abortion was illegal, the AMA decided to push for its legalization because it was a health issue - women were dying from infections, complications, etc. due to "back alley" abortions performed by unqualified practicioners. I believe that a woman who has been raped should not be forced to carry a child as a result of that rape - while I doubt a day would go by that she would not remember the rape in the next 9 months, there is no reason to make that memory a physical fact. I believe that if you are against abortion, you should be standing up and screaming for better, more available birth control. If people that don't want to get pregnant don't get pregnant, the number of abortions will go down dramatically, DUH. OH - and for god's sake, EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN. It never ceases to amaze me in today's day and age of information availability what some of the misconceptions about sex are. Yes, you can get pregnant while you are on your period. Yes, you can get pregnant if you have never had a period before. Yes, you can get pregnant if he pulls out. I can't even remember some of the stupider ones; my brain has blocked them out for self-preservation. I'd start getting trigger happy if I were surrounded by that much idiocy. I think I'm going to make a bumpersticker that says "YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE MORALITY"
I believe that 'creationism' and 'evolution' are not incompatible. I think people that interpret the bible literally are doofuses (and that's being polite). I personally don't believe that Genesis says HOW God created the earth - it says he did, and briefly mentions how long it took him. (About that, by the way: the Hebrew word translated as "day" is yom, which can mean "a length of time" as well as a "day".) Anyway, I consider anybody who argues that God did NOT use evolution to create everything is a raging egomaniac. How dare they presume to know the methods of God? They weren't there! And, if you want to get spiritual about it, doesn't the enormous complexity of evolution make the existence of God more believable? And as for what gets taught in schools - oh, give me a break. We don't teach religion in school (unless it's a religious private school, like the one I went to) and creationism is religion. Would Christians like us to also teach that the world was created when the Divine Turtle rose out of the primordial ocean with mud on its back? That too is a creation story. If you argue that evolution is 'just a theory' then you need to understand the meaning of the word 'theory' when used scientifically. There's a whole hell of a lot of data, found independently by many people over many years, that supports the idea of the process of evolution. Scientists are not out to destroy religion. I know a lot of scientists with very strong faith. A lot of them actually consider what they do to be somewhat spiritual, as they look at it as learning about God's creation - and they understand that science has nothing to do with faith, and that the existence of God is not the purview of science. So why can't religious fundamentalists understand that?
I believe that drugs should be legalized. Dammit, people, haven't you ever heard that saying about not learning from history and being doomed to repeat it? Look at Prohibition! It was widely ignored, and its existence helped organize crime take hold in the United States. I need to track it down again, but I once read about a study that said if a percentage of the population wants to do a certain act, then making it illegal is pointless because it will not dissuade people from doing it. Make drugs legal! Then regulate them. That eliminates people having trouble because the coke they bought was cut with rat poison. Tax drug sales. Think of the revenue! And then use some of that revenue to fund rehabilitation programs and education programs. Legalization eliminates the black-market demand, thus lowering the price of drugs, and eliminating the need for violence in the distribution system. This also eliminates the incredible amount of money this country is wasting on the "War on Drugs" both at home and abroad. This would allow other poor countries that currently produce a lot of the current drugs (Afghanistan, Columbia) to develop in a more free-market way, and would hopefully end the rule of armed despots in those countries as well. After all - nicotine and alcohol are chemical substances that affect the body, just like cocaine, meth, etc - why should those two be legal, and all others not? Because we grow tobacco & grain here in the US? I wonder if drug dealers paid as much money into our Congress as the Tobacco lobbyists do, if legalization would be heard more often.
Our policy on Cuba is stupid. Look at the USSR: we refused to interact with them - they endured. We open up our markets, culture, etc. - and bam! They open up. Think of Cuba as a battered wife to Fidel, the abusive husband. We're basically trying to keep her isolated from everybody else, providing only the most basic of necessities (and sometimes not even that) and yelling at her to leave her awful husband. Well, hell, it's not like you've shown her a better alternative! Take her out, show her how caring people interact with her, show her what she's missing - give her the means to leave, and don't you think it's much more likely that she will?
Illegal immigrants - the phrase should be retired. I think we should open our borders completely. You wanna come work in the US? Fine! Great! We'll pay you and take Social Security & all other taxes out of your pay. If you're willing to do for $8/hr what another worker is unwilling to do for less than $30, then I don't blame the employer for wanting to hire you. Let's just make sure the employer does it above the table, rather than under the table, as is common now. Come on in and work! And unions - consider this a huge influx of potential members. Decent working conditions, fair wages, etc. should be universal. Companies that remain in the US can even get tax breaks, or something. (Let's just please close all the damn tax loopholes that so many of them are currently jumping through, okay?) Looking around the world today, I'm anticipating a huge crash when things start to equalize - a person in Detroit making automobiles is paid a whopping amount compared to what a person in, say, Korea is. We are all interconnected, and at some point our pay and standard of living is going to have to come closer to other countries' pay and standard of living - and wouldn't you rather attempt to bring their levels closer up to ours, rather than ours crashing down to theirs? Make it a requirement that American countries have to pay a decent minimum wage to employees regardless of where those employees are (Alabama or Thailand) and that companies on foreign soil that an american company buys from must pay a decent minimum wage and provide a safe working environment.
As I've drifted into economy, here's a pet peeve: People, learn to boycott. If you don't like what a company is doing, DON'T BUY FROM THEM. They pay attention to you when you cease handing them money. I know it may make your life a little inconvenient or complicated, but that extra time you take shopping could be saving a little foriegn child from slave labor.
I think our dependence on fossil fuels is awful. I think the government should be encouraging conservation in all areas - giving tax breaks to companies that build 'green' buildings, or energy/water efficient fixtures... Build your houses with solar panels! Use grey water reclamation systems! Got a big factory? Plant stuff on the roof! Use recycled materials! Give tax breaks to people who use biodiesel cars! Give tax breaks to car companies that design more fuel efficient vehicles! As a government, the only way to encourage behaviour is by the reward system.
Education - my god, don't get me started. It's 2:30 am. I'll finish this another time.
I believe that a fertilized egg is a potential human life, and whether it lives or dies is not up to me. I cannot imagine ever having an abortion, and I hope I'm never put in that position. That being said, I firmly believe that abortions should NOT be illegal. Historically, when abortion was illegal, the AMA decided to push for its legalization because it was a health issue - women were dying from infections, complications, etc. due to "back alley" abortions performed by unqualified practicioners. I believe that a woman who has been raped should not be forced to carry a child as a result of that rape - while I doubt a day would go by that she would not remember the rape in the next 9 months, there is no reason to make that memory a physical fact. I believe that if you are against abortion, you should be standing up and screaming for better, more available birth control. If people that don't want to get pregnant don't get pregnant, the number of abortions will go down dramatically, DUH. OH - and for god's sake, EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN. It never ceases to amaze me in today's day and age of information availability what some of the misconceptions about sex are. Yes, you can get pregnant while you are on your period. Yes, you can get pregnant if you have never had a period before. Yes, you can get pregnant if he pulls out. I can't even remember some of the stupider ones; my brain has blocked them out for self-preservation. I'd start getting trigger happy if I were surrounded by that much idiocy. I think I'm going to make a bumpersticker that says "YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE MORALITY"
I believe that 'creationism' and 'evolution' are not incompatible. I think people that interpret the bible literally are doofuses (and that's being polite). I personally don't believe that Genesis says HOW God created the earth - it says he did, and briefly mentions how long it took him. (About that, by the way: the Hebrew word translated as "day" is yom, which can mean "a length of time" as well as a "day".) Anyway, I consider anybody who argues that God did NOT use evolution to create everything is a raging egomaniac. How dare they presume to know the methods of God? They weren't there! And, if you want to get spiritual about it, doesn't the enormous complexity of evolution make the existence of God more believable? And as for what gets taught in schools - oh, give me a break. We don't teach religion in school (unless it's a religious private school, like the one I went to) and creationism is religion. Would Christians like us to also teach that the world was created when the Divine Turtle rose out of the primordial ocean with mud on its back? That too is a creation story. If you argue that evolution is 'just a theory' then you need to understand the meaning of the word 'theory' when used scientifically. There's a whole hell of a lot of data, found independently by many people over many years, that supports the idea of the process of evolution. Scientists are not out to destroy religion. I know a lot of scientists with very strong faith. A lot of them actually consider what they do to be somewhat spiritual, as they look at it as learning about God's creation - and they understand that science has nothing to do with faith, and that the existence of God is not the purview of science. So why can't religious fundamentalists understand that?
I believe that drugs should be legalized. Dammit, people, haven't you ever heard that saying about not learning from history and being doomed to repeat it? Look at Prohibition! It was widely ignored, and its existence helped organize crime take hold in the United States. I need to track it down again, but I once read about a study that said if a percentage of the population wants to do a certain act, then making it illegal is pointless because it will not dissuade people from doing it. Make drugs legal! Then regulate them. That eliminates people having trouble because the coke they bought was cut with rat poison. Tax drug sales. Think of the revenue! And then use some of that revenue to fund rehabilitation programs and education programs. Legalization eliminates the black-market demand, thus lowering the price of drugs, and eliminating the need for violence in the distribution system. This also eliminates the incredible amount of money this country is wasting on the "War on Drugs" both at home and abroad. This would allow other poor countries that currently produce a lot of the current drugs (Afghanistan, Columbia) to develop in a more free-market way, and would hopefully end the rule of armed despots in those countries as well. After all - nicotine and alcohol are chemical substances that affect the body, just like cocaine, meth, etc - why should those two be legal, and all others not? Because we grow tobacco & grain here in the US? I wonder if drug dealers paid as much money into our Congress as the Tobacco lobbyists do, if legalization would be heard more often.
Our policy on Cuba is stupid. Look at the USSR: we refused to interact with them - they endured. We open up our markets, culture, etc. - and bam! They open up. Think of Cuba as a battered wife to Fidel, the abusive husband. We're basically trying to keep her isolated from everybody else, providing only the most basic of necessities (and sometimes not even that) and yelling at her to leave her awful husband. Well, hell, it's not like you've shown her a better alternative! Take her out, show her how caring people interact with her, show her what she's missing - give her the means to leave, and don't you think it's much more likely that she will?
Illegal immigrants - the phrase should be retired. I think we should open our borders completely. You wanna come work in the US? Fine! Great! We'll pay you and take Social Security & all other taxes out of your pay. If you're willing to do for $8/hr what another worker is unwilling to do for less than $30, then I don't blame the employer for wanting to hire you. Let's just make sure the employer does it above the table, rather than under the table, as is common now. Come on in and work! And unions - consider this a huge influx of potential members. Decent working conditions, fair wages, etc. should be universal. Companies that remain in the US can even get tax breaks, or something. (Let's just please close all the damn tax loopholes that so many of them are currently jumping through, okay?) Looking around the world today, I'm anticipating a huge crash when things start to equalize - a person in Detroit making automobiles is paid a whopping amount compared to what a person in, say, Korea is. We are all interconnected, and at some point our pay and standard of living is going to have to come closer to other countries' pay and standard of living - and wouldn't you rather attempt to bring their levels closer up to ours, rather than ours crashing down to theirs? Make it a requirement that American countries have to pay a decent minimum wage to employees regardless of where those employees are (Alabama or Thailand) and that companies on foreign soil that an american company buys from must pay a decent minimum wage and provide a safe working environment.
As I've drifted into economy, here's a pet peeve: People, learn to boycott. If you don't like what a company is doing, DON'T BUY FROM THEM. They pay attention to you when you cease handing them money. I know it may make your life a little inconvenient or complicated, but that extra time you take shopping could be saving a little foriegn child from slave labor.
I think our dependence on fossil fuels is awful. I think the government should be encouraging conservation in all areas - giving tax breaks to companies that build 'green' buildings, or energy/water efficient fixtures... Build your houses with solar panels! Use grey water reclamation systems! Got a big factory? Plant stuff on the roof! Use recycled materials! Give tax breaks to people who use biodiesel cars! Give tax breaks to car companies that design more fuel efficient vehicles! As a government, the only way to encourage behaviour is by the reward system.
Education - my god, don't get me started. It's 2:30 am. I'll finish this another time.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
stolen from meta
 | You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.
What is Your World View? (updated) created with QuizFarm.com |
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