I've been writing a lot in a journal I started to keep after I quit writing on this blog a little more than a year ago, mainly because filling up pages in a notebook was more fulfilling to me than sitting down in front of a computer and typing for a while.
Today I was writing yet another entry and became nostalgic for a moment that happened not too long ago. Going back, reading what I was thinking at the moment made me realize that I make so many mentions to see things I see around me, and how those things influence my actions for days afterwards, I feel the need to return to a digital medium. Not only because I can incorporate items (pictures, news articles, websites) that influence me, but also I can look back and experience these things again - for good or bad.
While I get back into the blog writing, I plan on playing with the template as well - I half-heartedly attempted to incorporate the blog on to my website, but that's turning out to be more work than I'm willing to invest. Looking down the road though, I can see it will ultimately be where I end up putting all my content. I'm happy to be back - and looking forward to posting things on here rather than FB/Twitter.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Nap Time
I've found myself napping more and more during the long week days that I try to fill with applying for jobs. In the event you haven't applied for a job in the recent past, it's an entirely new animal that I thoroughly hate. Signing up for every fucking job site is so annoying, just makes me want to take a nap.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
The State of the Republican Party
"The Republican party has a favorable rating of 23% and an unfavorable rating of 66%. (Democrats are at 42%-50%). Republicans in Congress have favorable-unfavorable ratings of 15% and 70% (Democrats are at 40-53). If this is a resurgent party that has captured the national mood, I'm Herbert Hoover.
It's no coincidence that voters give Republicans such abysmal ratings. The Republican party stands for absolutely nothing other than the pursuit of power. For 30 years, the Republicans have claimed to stand for 3 things: (1) small government (2) family values and (3) strong national defense. They don't actually stand for any of these things, and it's not clear that they ever did.
The small government myth Reagan and GW Bush loved to talk up their small government bona fides, but each spent like there was no tomorrow, running up unprecedented deficits and debt. Small government also seemed to get put aside when it came to the bedroom and privacy. Reagan and Bush both supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion. Bush also supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting marriage equality for same-sex couples. Not exactly libertarian positions: in each case, the goal was to use government to enforce specific religiously based prohibitions on private activity. Bush did Reagan one better when it came to civil liberties. This champion of small government presided over an era of warrantless wiretapping, torture, and government-sponsored propaganda. (That last point is not my opinion, it was the conclusion of the Government Accountability Office.) Republicans cheered on Bush's campaign against civil liberties at every turn, arguing it was necessary to provide security. And then, when it became painfully clear that only government could save the mismanaged economy from the worst disaster since the Great Depression, Republicans couldn't line up quickly enough behind Bush to support government bailouts of failed corporations.
Family values-just a slogan Republicans have chattered on about family values for decades, but elected Republicans who fail to meet these standards often pay no political price. Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and David Vitter are just a few prominent Republicans who believe family values are only something you gush about when you want to fool voters into thinking that you're an old-time moralist committed to clean living and righteous indignation. Of course, when it comes to other peoples' families, especially gay and lesbian couples seeking to marry and raise families, it's time for a heavy dose of sanctimony.
Republican bungling of national defense The past three decades are filled with examples of disastrous decisions Republicans made that undermined our security, starting with Reagan's and the right wing's backing of the mujahideen in Afghanistan (they called them "freedom fighters", but it turned out their ranks included some guy named Osama Bin Laden). Reagan's administration also came up with the nifty idea of trading arms for hostages, which meant selling arms to Iran and using the proceeds to fund another merry band of freedom fighters in the mold of Paul Revere - the murderous contras. Once again, GW Bush would not be outdone. In August 2001, he brushed aside a memo warning of Bin Laden's determination to strike the United States. After the memo proved terribly prescient, Bush proceeded to invade a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, diverting resources from going after the people who actually had attacked us. A National Intelligence Estimate explained that Bush's misguided decisions had left us less safe, and his administration handed over two unfinished, mismanaged wars to its successor.
If the Republican party does not actually stand for its supposed core principles, what does it stand for? Essentially, a very focused quest for power and the willingness to use smear tactics, lies, and fear in an effort to achieve that goal. Whether it's lying about death panels, health care coverage for undocumented immigrants, or President Obama's uncanny resemblance to Adolph Hitler, the Republicans and right wing have set new standards for indecency. Just as they've broken new ground, they always seem to go further-witness yesterday's anti-health care reform rally where elected Republican officials spoke to a crowd that included someone waving a sign reading "National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany 1945" above a stack of piled corpses from a Nazi death camp. It might make some people feel better to dismiss this as an isolated example, but the Nazi comparisons are coming fast and furious, and elected Republicans are condoning or even joining in on the "fun".
Some progressives say-good, no problem. The Republican party is falling apart and rushing to back uninformed extremists who can't win elections--so be it. I see the logic, and in the short-term, the Sarah Palins and Doug Hoffmans of the world may be electoral losers. But so was Barry Goldwater in 1964. 16 years later, the Republicans nominated a presidential candidate who would have been too extreme in previous elections but won two easy victories in the 1980s. He was followed by the even more extreme George W. Bush. Pushing the envelope makes me nervous. Extremism starts to seem normal. We've already seen that with some of the over the top rhetoric-it has become commonplace for right wingers to denounce Obama and the Democrats as Nazis, Marxists, terrorists.
I don't want to take the chance that extremists who take over the Republican party, or perhaps establish a third party, might ultimately see electoral success. I would much prefer to see the few relative moderates who remain in the Republican party gain control, even if it makes the party more palatable to voters. Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, and even Olympia Snowe don't scare me. Mike Huckabee, Michelle Bachmann, Dick Armey, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin do. The latter group is aiming to make the extreme mainstream. Some are doing it for ideological reasons, others may be exploiting fears simply because they see a path to victory. Either way, the lack of a functioning media is allowing these extremists to pass themselves off as mainstream, and that's not good for anyone."
It is going to be really interesting in the coming elections these next few years seeing how the Republican's can reinvent themselves, or more accurately, can they reinvent themselves.
It's no coincidence that voters give Republicans such abysmal ratings. The Republican party stands for absolutely nothing other than the pursuit of power. For 30 years, the Republicans have claimed to stand for 3 things: (1) small government (2) family values and (3) strong national defense. They don't actually stand for any of these things, and it's not clear that they ever did.
The small government myth Reagan and GW Bush loved to talk up their small government bona fides, but each spent like there was no tomorrow, running up unprecedented deficits and debt. Small government also seemed to get put aside when it came to the bedroom and privacy. Reagan and Bush both supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion. Bush also supported a constitutional amendment prohibiting marriage equality for same-sex couples. Not exactly libertarian positions: in each case, the goal was to use government to enforce specific religiously based prohibitions on private activity. Bush did Reagan one better when it came to civil liberties. This champion of small government presided over an era of warrantless wiretapping, torture, and government-sponsored propaganda. (That last point is not my opinion, it was the conclusion of the Government Accountability Office.) Republicans cheered on Bush's campaign against civil liberties at every turn, arguing it was necessary to provide security. And then, when it became painfully clear that only government could save the mismanaged economy from the worst disaster since the Great Depression, Republicans couldn't line up quickly enough behind Bush to support government bailouts of failed corporations.
Family values-just a slogan Republicans have chattered on about family values for decades, but elected Republicans who fail to meet these standards often pay no political price. Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and David Vitter are just a few prominent Republicans who believe family values are only something you gush about when you want to fool voters into thinking that you're an old-time moralist committed to clean living and righteous indignation. Of course, when it comes to other peoples' families, especially gay and lesbian couples seeking to marry and raise families, it's time for a heavy dose of sanctimony.
Republican bungling of national defense The past three decades are filled with examples of disastrous decisions Republicans made that undermined our security, starting with Reagan's and the right wing's backing of the mujahideen in Afghanistan (they called them "freedom fighters", but it turned out their ranks included some guy named Osama Bin Laden). Reagan's administration also came up with the nifty idea of trading arms for hostages, which meant selling arms to Iran and using the proceeds to fund another merry band of freedom fighters in the mold of Paul Revere - the murderous contras. Once again, GW Bush would not be outdone. In August 2001, he brushed aside a memo warning of Bin Laden's determination to strike the United States. After the memo proved terribly prescient, Bush proceeded to invade a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, diverting resources from going after the people who actually had attacked us. A National Intelligence Estimate explained that Bush's misguided decisions had left us less safe, and his administration handed over two unfinished, mismanaged wars to its successor.
If the Republican party does not actually stand for its supposed core principles, what does it stand for? Essentially, a very focused quest for power and the willingness to use smear tactics, lies, and fear in an effort to achieve that goal. Whether it's lying about death panels, health care coverage for undocumented immigrants, or President Obama's uncanny resemblance to Adolph Hitler, the Republicans and right wing have set new standards for indecency. Just as they've broken new ground, they always seem to go further-witness yesterday's anti-health care reform rally where elected Republican officials spoke to a crowd that included someone waving a sign reading "National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany 1945" above a stack of piled corpses from a Nazi death camp. It might make some people feel better to dismiss this as an isolated example, but the Nazi comparisons are coming fast and furious, and elected Republicans are condoning or even joining in on the "fun".
Some progressives say-good, no problem. The Republican party is falling apart and rushing to back uninformed extremists who can't win elections--so be it. I see the logic, and in the short-term, the Sarah Palins and Doug Hoffmans of the world may be electoral losers. But so was Barry Goldwater in 1964. 16 years later, the Republicans nominated a presidential candidate who would have been too extreme in previous elections but won two easy victories in the 1980s. He was followed by the even more extreme George W. Bush. Pushing the envelope makes me nervous. Extremism starts to seem normal. We've already seen that with some of the over the top rhetoric-it has become commonplace for right wingers to denounce Obama and the Democrats as Nazis, Marxists, terrorists.
I don't want to take the chance that extremists who take over the Republican party, or perhaps establish a third party, might ultimately see electoral success. I would much prefer to see the few relative moderates who remain in the Republican party gain control, even if it makes the party more palatable to voters. Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, and even Olympia Snowe don't scare me. Mike Huckabee, Michelle Bachmann, Dick Armey, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin do. The latter group is aiming to make the extreme mainstream. Some are doing it for ideological reasons, others may be exploiting fears simply because they see a path to victory. Either way, the lack of a functioning media is allowing these extremists to pass themselves off as mainstream, and that's not good for anyone."
It is going to be really interesting in the coming elections these next few years seeing how the Republican's can reinvent themselves, or more accurately, can they reinvent themselves.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
New office, new people
Sorry for the extended delay in posting. It's seems I never have time to just sit down and type, in part though because I haven't had a computer since January. It's been more or less a good thing, I've been able to get a lot of things down around the house, been reading quiet a bit.
Last week I made a change to a different department at work, I haven't really gotten my mind around the change yet. The work is basically the same, but there are different procedures and processes for things and has made me very uncomfortable and I don't like it at all. I'm at the point to where I'm looking for a different job in the area. We'll see how that pans out.
More later...
Last week I made a change to a different department at work, I haven't really gotten my mind around the change yet. The work is basically the same, but there are different procedures and processes for things and has made me very uncomfortable and I don't like it at all. I'm at the point to where I'm looking for a different job in the area. We'll see how that pans out.
More later...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Doin' Time
The lengths to which the police in this country will go, to apparently raise revenue in a world where shrinking operating budgets have become the norm, continues to shock me. I should have known I was going to run in to problems heading to the border. I just should have known..., what I didn't figure is that I would end up in the nastiest of jails and my car impounded.
After I picked up my friends from the airport on Friday evening, we began the journey to Puerto Penasco. We were making great time and stopped at the Circle K in Ajo. Went to the bathroom (surprisingly clean), bought a few snacks, and it was on the road again. It wasn't more than 5 miles outside the town we spotted a sheriff, and on came the lights. I was initially pulled over for a burned out license plate light, but then it was discovered I had a suspended license. About two years ago Jon and I had gone to Laughlin for a semi-vacation to see my grandparents..., while leaving I was pulled over and ticketed for going to slow in the fast lane (I was going 30 in a 40). Well, I didn't think much of it. Somewhere along the line I misplaced the ticket and never thought of it again. Well, after non-payment, the court suspended my license.
Fast forward to Friday night, because my friends were not family members, they could not take possession of my vehicle, and it had to be impounded. I called around to see if friends could make the trip down to pick my lugagge and friends up...luckily I have great friends.
So I spend the night in the Ajo jail, in the morning Jon makes the trip from Puerto Penasco to pick us all up, and down to Mexico we finally went. Laid on the beach, got entirely too drunk, and that's that.
Now, Monday, I have since paid off the aforemetioned ticket..., and tomorrow after work I'm going to battle the MVD to get my license in order. My court date is 4/7 in Ajo...so much fun. More updates later.
After I picked up my friends from the airport on Friday evening, we began the journey to Puerto Penasco. We were making great time and stopped at the Circle K in Ajo. Went to the bathroom (surprisingly clean), bought a few snacks, and it was on the road again. It wasn't more than 5 miles outside the town we spotted a sheriff, and on came the lights. I was initially pulled over for a burned out license plate light, but then it was discovered I had a suspended license. About two years ago Jon and I had gone to Laughlin for a semi-vacation to see my grandparents..., while leaving I was pulled over and ticketed for going to slow in the fast lane (I was going 30 in a 40). Well, I didn't think much of it. Somewhere along the line I misplaced the ticket and never thought of it again. Well, after non-payment, the court suspended my license.
Fast forward to Friday night, because my friends were not family members, they could not take possession of my vehicle, and it had to be impounded. I called around to see if friends could make the trip down to pick my lugagge and friends up...luckily I have great friends.
So I spend the night in the Ajo jail, in the morning Jon makes the trip from Puerto Penasco to pick us all up, and down to Mexico we finally went. Laid on the beach, got entirely too drunk, and that's that.
Now, Monday, I have since paid off the aforemetioned ticket..., and tomorrow after work I'm going to battle the MVD to get my license in order. My court date is 4/7 in Ajo...so much fun. More updates later.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Mexico
I've been out of commission for the past few weeks, because of several reasons. It's allergy season here in Arizona now, and my allergies are much worse here than back in Minnesota. So much so that some days are nearly debilitating, I've joined the pill-popping crowd for about a month. Throw in that, my birthday, and not having a computer..., I haven't been online in quite some time.
So I've purchased a cheap laptop ($420 after tax!) and I'm back on the tubes. I figure I really just need something to get me through the home purchase, then I'm going to invest in an Apple. I feel my creative outlet has really been stifled and looking to breakout in to the marketing work in some capacity. Surely I won't be working for the man all my life.
Tomorrow I head to Mexico for some relaxation, not that I deserve or need it. A friend from work owns a home in Puerto Penasco, about 3.5 hours southwest of Phoenix, that's a nice little getaway that's right on the ocean! And with a sweet deal, you can't turn it down. I'll post some pics of the crystal clear water, beautiful people sure to be there for spring break, and my ice cold drinks I'll be enjoying all weekend long.
So I've purchased a cheap laptop ($420 after tax!) and I'm back on the tubes. I figure I really just need something to get me through the home purchase, then I'm going to invest in an Apple. I feel my creative outlet has really been stifled and looking to breakout in to the marketing work in some capacity. Surely I won't be working for the man all my life.
Tomorrow I head to Mexico for some relaxation, not that I deserve or need it. A friend from work owns a home in Puerto Penasco, about 3.5 hours southwest of Phoenix, that's a nice little getaway that's right on the ocean! And with a sweet deal, you can't turn it down. I'll post some pics of the crystal clear water, beautiful people sure to be there for spring break, and my ice cold drinks I'll be enjoying all weekend long.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
The Weekender
I wish I could have a great big count down til my move in day, unfortunately I don't have a definite date. I kind of think this is unusual even though I don't know the normal procedure or time period needed to secure the underwriting, but I still think it's taking too long. I'm just going to chalk it up to my impatience, have another drink, and enjoy this unbelievable weather we've been having. I'm blogging in shorts..., just shorts, on the patio, with a glass of Scotch, and glancing up ever-so-often to watch the sun go down past the mountains (what a change of scenery).
These past few days have been entirely too much fun. HoYin and I went to see The International, and although I'm beginning to think Clive Owen is becoming typecast into a jaded, scruffy, and sometimes clumsy character victim of happenstance, I enjoyed the movie. I wish the trailer would have given less away, but the movie has its twists and turns, I'm happy not everything is spelled out.
I've been concerted in watching what I've been eating, and aggressively..., that's too harsh...umm, progressively becoming more active after work. My typical routine after work brings me home, a small walk with the dog, dinner avec Wheel of Fortune, the some reading before bed. Now, I'm fitting some aerobics (typically a 90 minute jog, lifting light weights, and a lengthy stretch), an abnormally well-proportioned meal where I eat until I'm full instead of til the food is gone, and minimal TV. I can all ready see results, which only drives me harder.
This is one of my current obsessions, and although it's not the best audio quality, it's one of those songs....if it doesn't move you, I feel sorry for ya.
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