Was home for a bit...
Was home for a bit, and it was wonderful. Warm and green and lovely. Things at home could be better, mom has a pinched nerve in her hip which sends lightning down her leg constantly. For the last three months or so. Shes surviving on a steady diet of pain pills which make her fuzzy and sort of freak me out. Shes had back surgery and 4 epidurals which have succeeded to the point that the pain now ONLY shoots from her hip to her knee. She's scheduled for another epidural this week... which pisses me off. If the last FOUR have only halfway fixed the fucking thing, how much can the fifth do? I really hope President Obama gets his healthcare plan passed with his proposed provision (holy aliteration!) that doctors get paid by results as opposed to by each instance. If you dont fix the problem, you dont get paid. That sounds fair to me. If it had happend last year, my folks would be several thousand dollars richer.
Other than my mom being in constant fucking pain and crying every day, it was great to be home. My parents' puppy, Jake, is now the size of a damn dinosaur. Dad's line is, "When we decided on a white German shepherd, I thought he'd be the size of a German shepherd." I've tried to explain that, when you buy from a reputible breeder, all that money goes to making one hell of a dog. Which Jake is. He understands that he's not the alpha, and he doesnt like it one bit and tests Dad (and me when I was there) often to make sure that its not a perfect chance to step it as leader of the pack (vroom vroom). He was a lot of fun, we were good buddies. Once he gets out of his spaztastic puppy phase, he's going to be an incredible dog for my parents. Saw many friends, didnt get to Lawrence or into KC much, which sucks, but just means I need to go back soon to remedy that.
Been back in Miwaukee for about a week now. Getting kinda warmer. Its not 30 anymore. Actually kinda fun. Four days ago (I think) it snowed, Friday it was 80, and its been 50 and pouring rain almost nonstop for 48 hours. A little bit of everything.
In literary news, I finally read the first Harry Potter book. Yeah, I'm kinda slow and stuff. Never read one of the books or seen one of the movies, logic being, I try not to see movies before I read the corresponding books. Its a habit. But I finally read the first one, and I LOVED it. So now I can see the movie and start reading the rest of the series. Further, when I was in KC, I borrowed Sarah's, Daves gf, copy of Twilight to see what all the fuss was about. Ugh. Hated it. If you havent read it and dont want to be spoiled, ignore the next few sentences. Ready? Its a teen romance novel with a vampire theme. Its all about sexual tension and theres absolutely no sex, all foreplay and no one EVER gets off. Laughably predictable, laughably cliche. If someone reading this loves this book and its three sequels, PLEASE tell me why. Because I dont get it, and I want to understand what I, obviously, must have missed.
Tomorrow... or today, as the clock says its no longer late, but early. Tonight is my MATC orientation for their nursing assistant program. I really want this to work out. Really really. I need money. BAD. Good in demand job, sweet benefits, sweeter hours, plenty of room for advancement. Like I said, I really really really want this to work out. I hope I dont fuck it all up. Kinda looking forward to it. I know myself well enough to know that I was more or less at my best when I was in college. Since graduation, I feel like I've been flying in the wind. I think this could be really good for me.
And now for your news.
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) has accused President Obama of "planning reeducation camps for US youths." Does anyone actually listen to this nut at all? After her shameful Some Americans are more American than other Americans bullshit that she pulled during the election, HOW DID this woman get reelected??? What the hell? What the fuck is going on in MN? Did the DCCC not dump enough money into that district? What happened? Who dropped the ball? *sigh*
In Government news, the Department of Homeland Security spent $16,000 publishing "selected speechs" for fmr secretary Michael Chertoff, because there was no better way that that money could have been spent by DHS.
From the legal department, Ted Stevens got off. Acquited, not innocent. What worthless prosecuter couldnt convict an Alaska politician of corruption?? He deserves to loose his job for botching this. ... On the plus side, this could be fun. What will Stevens do next? Will he contest the Republican primary for Govenor and challenge Sarah Palin, who denounced him initially? Tastyness. Further on the legal front, our Attorney General has a monumental decision to make: Do we investigate and/or prosecute the Bush administration? President Obama has made it clear that its up to Eric Holder what to do. We havent had a situation like this since Ford pardoned Nixon to space the US the criminal trial of a fmr president. As I've said before, I dont think we'll ever get W. But it shouldnt be too relatively hard to get Rumsfeld, or Rice, or Wolfowitz. Cheney is a dream, but unlikely. Its shakey ground to tread, for precedent, this would send the message that every new administration has the right to investigate the former administrations policies. But if we dont investigate, at LEAST investigate, then criminals on the international level who were in the DAMN WHITE HOUSE, walk. Whats really unfortunate is that we cant go after them for some of the crimes commited that hit us at home. 1 in 9 US homes is vacant. 1 in 10 Americans is on food stamps. Whatever happened to peace and prosperity? Oh yeah. Florida in 2000. But to end the paragraph on a happy note, I'm proud to report that, of the members of the Bush administration looking for employment, 100 days later, 75% are still unemployed. I hope it hurts, assholes.
On a side note, a friend of mine hopes that W has a realization of what he's done and becomes the first ex president to commit suicide. I think thats kinda harsh, even for a rat bastard like W. I dont want George to kill himself. I want George to start drinking again. I think if George started drinking again we'd hear some great, horrifying stories, "Well of COURSE I signed the damn executive order, dummy, Dick put it in front of me! You obviously have no idea how all this works. Pass the scotch." Anns dream 60 Minutes interviews just keep getting longer and better.
It looks like Al Franken is the new Senator from the great state of Minnesota. Holy shit. There are comedy writers in NY and LA who are saying "Shit, I used to snort coke with that guy." Face it, he's Senate material. Just funnier. A LOT funnier. I'm really looking forward to this.
The Republicans are currently kinda fucked unless they come up with something good or the Dems fuck it up. And coming up with a good idea sure as shit isnt their alternate stimulous bill, all 16 pages of it, I think. What a joke. What I dont think they understand is the tremendous oppertunity they have right now. The Republicans of 2009 are more or less where the Dems of 2001 were. They have to rebuild. The have to make themselves stronger, faster, smarter, better than before. Leaner and meaner. Reach out beyond your traditional base. Organize, organize, organize. They lost NC, VA, IN, FL, NV, and others, damn near lost ND and MT and got a run for their money in AZ, their candidates home state. The Republicans are fading fast in the northeast, pacific coast, and now in the mountain regions. At the moment, they are essentially without leadership. McConnell (R-KY) and Boehner(R-OH) can claim to be in charge all they want, but they have absolutely NO CONTROLL over their party, there is no iron fist to keep the troops in line. Republicans are making thier own deals with the Dems (see Spector [R-PA], Collins [R-ME]). Their biggest liability may be that, when you're exposed and in disaray and everyone can see your hypocrisy out in the open, its hard to cover your ass.
Am I the only moderate thats falling for Meghan McCain??? Oh my sweet God, this chick has IT. This is the new rising star in the Republican party. For gay marriage, hates Karl Rove, called out Ann Coulter, likes punk music. Put the woman on a commitee and start to pick her brain. Moderates like Meghan McCain make me think that her party is not going to go extinct, because it obviously still has something to bring to the table. She is a social moderate who believes in smaller government and that our tax code is fucked up. Meghan McCain has one HELL of a future. Youtube her appearance on the Rachel Maddow show or her blog on the DailyBeast. Cant say enough about this dame.
Glenn Beck has said that "if you take what I say as Gospel, you're an idiot." I'm inclined to agree with him. Ewwww. I feel dirty... in the bad way.
Lately I've had to wonder if we need to reconsider Mexico as a failed state. Between the failed drug war (which we fund), the disgusting conditions, the crippling poverty, corruption, and now EFFING SWINE FLU... I'm just sayin. We send aid around the world, and I know that we send aid to Mexico too, but maybe we might want to think about upping it. Couldnt hurt. Pakistan should be added to the failed state list too, but thats a post by itself.
Other than my mom being in constant fucking pain and crying every day, it was great to be home. My parents' puppy, Jake, is now the size of a damn dinosaur. Dad's line is, "When we decided on a white German shepherd, I thought he'd be the size of a German shepherd." I've tried to explain that, when you buy from a reputible breeder, all that money goes to making one hell of a dog. Which Jake is. He understands that he's not the alpha, and he doesnt like it one bit and tests Dad (and me when I was there) often to make sure that its not a perfect chance to step it as leader of the pack (vroom vroom). He was a lot of fun, we were good buddies. Once he gets out of his spaztastic puppy phase, he's going to be an incredible dog for my parents. Saw many friends, didnt get to Lawrence or into KC much, which sucks, but just means I need to go back soon to remedy that.
Been back in Miwaukee for about a week now. Getting kinda warmer. Its not 30 anymore. Actually kinda fun. Four days ago (I think) it snowed, Friday it was 80, and its been 50 and pouring rain almost nonstop for 48 hours. A little bit of everything.
In literary news, I finally read the first Harry Potter book. Yeah, I'm kinda slow and stuff. Never read one of the books or seen one of the movies, logic being, I try not to see movies before I read the corresponding books. Its a habit. But I finally read the first one, and I LOVED it. So now I can see the movie and start reading the rest of the series. Further, when I was in KC, I borrowed Sarah's, Daves gf, copy of Twilight to see what all the fuss was about. Ugh. Hated it. If you havent read it and dont want to be spoiled, ignore the next few sentences. Ready? Its a teen romance novel with a vampire theme. Its all about sexual tension and theres absolutely no sex, all foreplay and no one EVER gets off. Laughably predictable, laughably cliche. If someone reading this loves this book and its three sequels, PLEASE tell me why. Because I dont get it, and I want to understand what I, obviously, must have missed.
Tomorrow... or today, as the clock says its no longer late, but early. Tonight is my MATC orientation for their nursing assistant program. I really want this to work out. Really really. I need money. BAD. Good in demand job, sweet benefits, sweeter hours, plenty of room for advancement. Like I said, I really really really want this to work out. I hope I dont fuck it all up. Kinda looking forward to it. I know myself well enough to know that I was more or less at my best when I was in college. Since graduation, I feel like I've been flying in the wind. I think this could be really good for me.
And now for your news.
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) has accused President Obama of "planning reeducation camps for US youths." Does anyone actually listen to this nut at all? After her shameful Some Americans are more American than other Americans bullshit that she pulled during the election, HOW DID this woman get reelected??? What the hell? What the fuck is going on in MN? Did the DCCC not dump enough money into that district? What happened? Who dropped the ball? *sigh*
In Government news, the Department of Homeland Security spent $16,000 publishing "selected speechs" for fmr secretary Michael Chertoff, because there was no better way that that money could have been spent by DHS.
From the legal department, Ted Stevens got off. Acquited, not innocent. What worthless prosecuter couldnt convict an Alaska politician of corruption?? He deserves to loose his job for botching this. ... On the plus side, this could be fun. What will Stevens do next? Will he contest the Republican primary for Govenor and challenge Sarah Palin, who denounced him initially? Tastyness. Further on the legal front, our Attorney General has a monumental decision to make: Do we investigate and/or prosecute the Bush administration? President Obama has made it clear that its up to Eric Holder what to do. We havent had a situation like this since Ford pardoned Nixon to space the US the criminal trial of a fmr president. As I've said before, I dont think we'll ever get W. But it shouldnt be too relatively hard to get Rumsfeld, or Rice, or Wolfowitz. Cheney is a dream, but unlikely. Its shakey ground to tread, for precedent, this would send the message that every new administration has the right to investigate the former administrations policies. But if we dont investigate, at LEAST investigate, then criminals on the international level who were in the DAMN WHITE HOUSE, walk. Whats really unfortunate is that we cant go after them for some of the crimes commited that hit us at home. 1 in 9 US homes is vacant. 1 in 10 Americans is on food stamps. Whatever happened to peace and prosperity? Oh yeah. Florida in 2000. But to end the paragraph on a happy note, I'm proud to report that, of the members of the Bush administration looking for employment, 100 days later, 75% are still unemployed. I hope it hurts, assholes.
On a side note, a friend of mine hopes that W has a realization of what he's done and becomes the first ex president to commit suicide. I think thats kinda harsh, even for a rat bastard like W. I dont want George to kill himself. I want George to start drinking again. I think if George started drinking again we'd hear some great, horrifying stories, "Well of COURSE I signed the damn executive order, dummy, Dick put it in front of me! You obviously have no idea how all this works. Pass the scotch." Anns dream 60 Minutes interviews just keep getting longer and better.
It looks like Al Franken is the new Senator from the great state of Minnesota. Holy shit. There are comedy writers in NY and LA who are saying "Shit, I used to snort coke with that guy." Face it, he's Senate material. Just funnier. A LOT funnier. I'm really looking forward to this.
The Republicans are currently kinda fucked unless they come up with something good or the Dems fuck it up. And coming up with a good idea sure as shit isnt their alternate stimulous bill, all 16 pages of it, I think. What a joke. What I dont think they understand is the tremendous oppertunity they have right now. The Republicans of 2009 are more or less where the Dems of 2001 were. They have to rebuild. The have to make themselves stronger, faster, smarter, better than before. Leaner and meaner. Reach out beyond your traditional base. Organize, organize, organize. They lost NC, VA, IN, FL, NV, and others, damn near lost ND and MT and got a run for their money in AZ, their candidates home state. The Republicans are fading fast in the northeast, pacific coast, and now in the mountain regions. At the moment, they are essentially without leadership. McConnell (R-KY) and Boehner(R-OH) can claim to be in charge all they want, but they have absolutely NO CONTROLL over their party, there is no iron fist to keep the troops in line. Republicans are making thier own deals with the Dems (see Spector [R-PA], Collins [R-ME]). Their biggest liability may be that, when you're exposed and in disaray and everyone can see your hypocrisy out in the open, its hard to cover your ass.
Am I the only moderate thats falling for Meghan McCain??? Oh my sweet God, this chick has IT. This is the new rising star in the Republican party. For gay marriage, hates Karl Rove, called out Ann Coulter, likes punk music. Put the woman on a commitee and start to pick her brain. Moderates like Meghan McCain make me think that her party is not going to go extinct, because it obviously still has something to bring to the table. She is a social moderate who believes in smaller government and that our tax code is fucked up. Meghan McCain has one HELL of a future. Youtube her appearance on the Rachel Maddow show or her blog on the DailyBeast. Cant say enough about this dame.
Glenn Beck has said that "if you take what I say as Gospel, you're an idiot." I'm inclined to agree with him. Ewwww. I feel dirty... in the bad way.
Lately I've had to wonder if we need to reconsider Mexico as a failed state. Between the failed drug war (which we fund), the disgusting conditions, the crippling poverty, corruption, and now EFFING SWINE FLU... I'm just sayin. We send aid around the world, and I know that we send aid to Mexico too, but maybe we might want to think about upping it. Couldnt hurt. Pakistan should be added to the failed state list too, but thats a post by itself.