And where did the summer go?
I've recently gotten some emails pointing out that it has been quite some time since I've updated this. Two months now since I've updated; have I really been that slack? Most of this year has gone by in such a blur that its been easy to lose track--hence the pronounced lack of posts lately. On the other hand, I'm glad to see people are reading and bugging me when I don't update frequently. I feel so loved. Normally when I go on a hiatus, I'm at least still reading, but for the past month or so I haven't even managed that much. If any life-changing news or other valuable posts that I've missed, please comment with a link. And thanks for nudging me awake, Maggie. Now without further ado--a post.
1. There hasn't been any one particular reason for my recent absences. I've had quite a few very long days and a lot on my mind. Nearly all of that has come as a result of my increasing involvement with the IFC and homelessness issues in particular and the broader spectrum of progressive politics in general. Its taken a bit of time to get adjusted--both schedule-wise and mentally--to the new roles I've moved into. I'm starting to get the hang of it but I still have my occasional crisis of confidence--lingering doubts and that sort of thing. In a way it almost seems strange to be moving into leadership roles when it seems like not all that long ago that I didn't know beans about any of this--nor did I care. There's also two other projects I'm starting to get moving again after they've been mothballed for a while. I'll likely be going into more detail about those in the near future--though some people will have an idea of what I'm talking about.
2. The more involved I get working with IFC's Community Kitchen, the more amazed I am at how well-run of an operation it truly is. I've been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to be a part of something like this. For all my criticisms of the IFC--and there is certainly room for improvements--there is definitely a lot they do right as well. And at the end of the day, I'm proud to be involved in these efforts. I'm no longer slaving away ridiculous hours to enrich a huge corporation where very few people will ever see the money and the CEO rides around in his corporate jet. I wasted enough time on that sort of nonsense and I'm glad I've moved on to a point where chasing money isn't the central focus of my existence.
Unfortunately, there has also been a bit of minor work-related drama the past few weeks. It can be chalked up to misunderstandings and people making adjustments to new roles in the organization, but it can be draining nonetheless. The good news is that most of this is in the process of being resolved and I doubt there'll be any long-term effects. Still, I hate office politics.
3. I saw a bumper sticker a couple of weeks ago offering a sobering look at how our society tends to view war: "One man's collateral damage is another man's son." I've been increasingly disgusted lately with the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, the fiasco in Iraq, and now the possibility of new involvement with Iran and North Korea. The worst part of it is how much of the carnage has been caused by sheer stupidity, incompetence, and mismanagement. I doubt there has ever been a time when our security situation in the world has been so awful and its appalling that all of this has come about at the hands of a party whose supposed strength is defense and national security.
4. Speaking of alleged Republican strengths, what about family values? Can we possibly get a more vivid demonstration of Republican hypocrisy than the Mark Foley scandal? This is a party that believes that consensual gay relationships will somehow destroy the fabric of society yet they have not seemed overly concerned about one of their own victimizing underage boys. Do people just not get it? Apparently not, because I had to bite my tongue one day last week when an IFC volunteer was explaining how disgusted she was with Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. I guess Mark Foley's behavior didn't bother her all that much. Nor did the increasing epidemic of sexual abuse of young women by military recruiters. Nor did the fact that the policies of the US government have led to so much horrible death and destruction all over the world. Nor does the fact that the Republican Congress has become so corrupt that half of the news briefing section of Thursday's Wall Street Journal (hardly a left-wing publication) read more like a police blotter than a financial newspaper. Somehow, Bill Clinton's extramarital affair is more important than any of this.
Yep, this apparently is the mentality of the average American voter. And then people actually wonder why I believe that the American electorate has about as much credibility as a broken clock.
5. Here's some good news. Some of you may remember how I've been saying for quite some time how victory is the only thing keeping the Republican Party together and that if they ever ran into trouble, their internal differences would tear them apart. According to an article in last week's New York Times, it's starting to happen.
What concerns me, though, is the continued lack of vision coming from most of the Democratic Party leadership. 2006 has often been compared to 1994 without mentioning the fact that in 1994, Republicans were not only running against an out of touch and corrupt Democratic Congress. They also had a plan of their own. Today, the corruption of the past 12 years has gone far beyond what the Democrats had achieved in four decades of control of Congress. But the opposition does not seem to have much of a vision or a plan. The Democrats will probably win control of Congress by default, but will they have the vision to drive the final stake in the Bush Administration and begin charting a new direction for our country? I guess we'll see in a few months.
6. The rich, in case you haven't noticed, are different from you and me. While the average American worker continues to struggle to make ends meet, the super-rich are contemplating the upgrade of the ol' private jet. That is, when they're not trying to figure out where they're going to dock their huge yachts that are so big that many marinas can't even accommodate them.
7. On a personal note, I need to do a better job of staying connected with the people who are important to me. Good friends are hard to find and life's too short to get caught up in day to day rushing around to the point of not staying in touch with them. I've felt a certain disconnect with others over the past few months and its bothering me--so its time to do something about it. To all of you this applies to, thank you for showing so much patience. It means a lot to me.
8. I also need to get back to being more creative. I always feel better when I have that as a big part of my life--starting with doing better at keeping up with my writing. Then again, perhaps having a hiatus to rest and regroup will turn out to be just what I needed to get back into things.
9. And on a frivolous note, the weather here is beautiful right now. After the stifling heat and humidity this past July and August, I've long been ready for the bright colors and crisp cool air of fall.
That's it for now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
1. There hasn't been any one particular reason for my recent absences. I've had quite a few very long days and a lot on my mind. Nearly all of that has come as a result of my increasing involvement with the IFC and homelessness issues in particular and the broader spectrum of progressive politics in general. Its taken a bit of time to get adjusted--both schedule-wise and mentally--to the new roles I've moved into. I'm starting to get the hang of it but I still have my occasional crisis of confidence--lingering doubts and that sort of thing. In a way it almost seems strange to be moving into leadership roles when it seems like not all that long ago that I didn't know beans about any of this--nor did I care. There's also two other projects I'm starting to get moving again after they've been mothballed for a while. I'll likely be going into more detail about those in the near future--though some people will have an idea of what I'm talking about.
2. The more involved I get working with IFC's Community Kitchen, the more amazed I am at how well-run of an operation it truly is. I've been thinking a lot about how lucky I am to be a part of something like this. For all my criticisms of the IFC--and there is certainly room for improvements--there is definitely a lot they do right as well. And at the end of the day, I'm proud to be involved in these efforts. I'm no longer slaving away ridiculous hours to enrich a huge corporation where very few people will ever see the money and the CEO rides around in his corporate jet. I wasted enough time on that sort of nonsense and I'm glad I've moved on to a point where chasing money isn't the central focus of my existence.
Unfortunately, there has also been a bit of minor work-related drama the past few weeks. It can be chalked up to misunderstandings and people making adjustments to new roles in the organization, but it can be draining nonetheless. The good news is that most of this is in the process of being resolved and I doubt there'll be any long-term effects. Still, I hate office politics.
3. I saw a bumper sticker a couple of weeks ago offering a sobering look at how our society tends to view war: "One man's collateral damage is another man's son." I've been increasingly disgusted lately with the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, the fiasco in Iraq, and now the possibility of new involvement with Iran and North Korea. The worst part of it is how much of the carnage has been caused by sheer stupidity, incompetence, and mismanagement. I doubt there has ever been a time when our security situation in the world has been so awful and its appalling that all of this has come about at the hands of a party whose supposed strength is defense and national security.
4. Speaking of alleged Republican strengths, what about family values? Can we possibly get a more vivid demonstration of Republican hypocrisy than the Mark Foley scandal? This is a party that believes that consensual gay relationships will somehow destroy the fabric of society yet they have not seemed overly concerned about one of their own victimizing underage boys. Do people just not get it? Apparently not, because I had to bite my tongue one day last week when an IFC volunteer was explaining how disgusted she was with Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky scandal. I guess Mark Foley's behavior didn't bother her all that much. Nor did the increasing epidemic of sexual abuse of young women by military recruiters. Nor did the fact that the policies of the US government have led to so much horrible death and destruction all over the world. Nor does the fact that the Republican Congress has become so corrupt that half of the news briefing section of Thursday's Wall Street Journal (hardly a left-wing publication) read more like a police blotter than a financial newspaper. Somehow, Bill Clinton's extramarital affair is more important than any of this.
Yep, this apparently is the mentality of the average American voter. And then people actually wonder why I believe that the American electorate has about as much credibility as a broken clock.
5. Here's some good news. Some of you may remember how I've been saying for quite some time how victory is the only thing keeping the Republican Party together and that if they ever ran into trouble, their internal differences would tear them apart. According to an article in last week's New York Times, it's starting to happen.
What concerns me, though, is the continued lack of vision coming from most of the Democratic Party leadership. 2006 has often been compared to 1994 without mentioning the fact that in 1994, Republicans were not only running against an out of touch and corrupt Democratic Congress. They also had a plan of their own. Today, the corruption of the past 12 years has gone far beyond what the Democrats had achieved in four decades of control of Congress. But the opposition does not seem to have much of a vision or a plan. The Democrats will probably win control of Congress by default, but will they have the vision to drive the final stake in the Bush Administration and begin charting a new direction for our country? I guess we'll see in a few months.
6. The rich, in case you haven't noticed, are different from you and me. While the average American worker continues to struggle to make ends meet, the super-rich are contemplating the upgrade of the ol' private jet. That is, when they're not trying to figure out where they're going to dock their huge yachts that are so big that many marinas can't even accommodate them.
7. On a personal note, I need to do a better job of staying connected with the people who are important to me. Good friends are hard to find and life's too short to get caught up in day to day rushing around to the point of not staying in touch with them. I've felt a certain disconnect with others over the past few months and its bothering me--so its time to do something about it. To all of you this applies to, thank you for showing so much patience. It means a lot to me.
8. I also need to get back to being more creative. I always feel better when I have that as a big part of my life--starting with doing better at keeping up with my writing. Then again, perhaps having a hiatus to rest and regroup will turn out to be just what I needed to get back into things.
9. And on a frivolous note, the weather here is beautiful right now. After the stifling heat and humidity this past July and August, I've long been ready for the bright colors and crisp cool air of fall.
That's it for now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.