Well, Hurricane Ike came and went, and while the title of this post seems ironic, believe it or not, there were some reasons to like Ike.
Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, tend to bring out the best in the best people and the worst in the worst ones. I was privileged to witness the best.
And the days preceding Ike brought Charlie to us. Following the heartbreak associated with little Barack (see "Keep Your Feline Babies Indoors," August 30, in the "Older Posts" of this blog), little Charlie turned up in our backyard. This feline baby - another male - was obviously abandoned. He had no home except our backyard.
Little Charlie probably would not have survived through Ike. He was eight weeks old and weighed 2.2 pounds when my significant other managed to lure him into a cat carrier and took him to the vet. He had fleas, ear mites, and a parasite, but he was healthy - no feline AIDS like little Barack had, thank God. He has what appeared to be a little black mustache, reminding me of Charlie Chaplin, hence his name.
Charlie has a good home. We plan to spoil him in every way possible. He is well on his way to becoming royally spoiled. That's our job, and we plan to excel at it. He's as sweet and loving as a little kitten can possibly be.
In a future post, I will write more about little Charlie - and his 10-year-old sister, Jewel, who is going to be incredibly annoyed when she finds out the real truth about him (he's quarantined in our guest bedroom now, and the two have not yet been formally introduced).
Today, we just got power back on following Hurricane Ike's relentless march through the Texas and Louisiana coastal areas. Actually, it was yesterday, because midnight just came and went while I'm writing this post.
It has been a long day. It has been a long five-days-plus since Ike made landfall on Saturday. Little Charlie is asleep. And soon I will join him.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Jesus was a communist
Ok, before you go ballistic, please read what this is about.
There is nothing here that is sacrilegious or blasphemous. The communism I mean is the pure meaning of the word. The political doctrine of Marx and Engels appropriated the term "communism," but that's not the communism I mean. Jesus and his disciples, a.k.a., the apostles, shared things in common, hence they were communistic in their daily lives.
They were not interested in enriching themselves or in leading followers to a sociopolitical party. They did, in effect, rebel against the prevailing way of life, including the Hebraic tacit endorsement or, at the least, tolerance of the status quo. They were radicals, and their radicalism caused Jesus to be crucified and their prominent figures to be excoriated and, in some cases, killed by the ruling powers of the time.
Modern-day, self-proclaimed Christians seem to have forgotten or to have selective memory about the history of their religion. Many of today's church "leaders" preach a doctrine that implies that being a Christian is a way to enrich yourself in this life. The emphasis on the afterlife is still present, but it's treated almost as a footnote to this feel-good focus on ensuring material comfort while in the present dimension.
That's not the church I grew up in. But it is the church that has - I believe - all but turned its back on what it means to be Christian. To be Christian, in the tradition of Jesus and the apostles may be difficult, because it entails making personal sacrifices for the common good. It entails being a rebel . . . and when necessary, putting your life on the line for what you believe. It entails criticizing and standing up to the status quo. It demands that you do what is right for your fellow man and God's other creations, in spite of what your government, your political party or your false prophets say you should do.
Jesus loved the little lambs. But he didn't want us to be sheep.
There is nothing here that is sacrilegious or blasphemous. The communism I mean is the pure meaning of the word. The political doctrine of Marx and Engels appropriated the term "communism," but that's not the communism I mean. Jesus and his disciples, a.k.a., the apostles, shared things in common, hence they were communistic in their daily lives.
They were not interested in enriching themselves or in leading followers to a sociopolitical party. They did, in effect, rebel against the prevailing way of life, including the Hebraic tacit endorsement or, at the least, tolerance of the status quo. They were radicals, and their radicalism caused Jesus to be crucified and their prominent figures to be excoriated and, in some cases, killed by the ruling powers of the time.
Modern-day, self-proclaimed Christians seem to have forgotten or to have selective memory about the history of their religion. Many of today's church "leaders" preach a doctrine that implies that being a Christian is a way to enrich yourself in this life. The emphasis on the afterlife is still present, but it's treated almost as a footnote to this feel-good focus on ensuring material comfort while in the present dimension.
That's not the church I grew up in. But it is the church that has - I believe - all but turned its back on what it means to be Christian. To be Christian, in the tradition of Jesus and the apostles may be difficult, because it entails making personal sacrifices for the common good. It entails being a rebel . . . and when necessary, putting your life on the line for what you believe. It entails criticizing and standing up to the status quo. It demands that you do what is right for your fellow man and God's other creations, in spite of what your government, your political party or your false prophets say you should do.
Jesus loved the little lambs. But he didn't want us to be sheep.
Cult of personality and misdirected votes
Why do we persist in being so stupid?
When it comes to politics in our country - at least presidential politics - the cult of personality holds sway. Nothing else is stronger in determining who most of us decide to vote for.
Why does that matter? Because it causes us to vote for the political crapola that every campaign makes up to appeal to as wide a spectrum of voters as possible. Because it causes us to vote against our best interests. It makes us even more stupid than we already are.
Why am I so harsh about our mental faculties? I'm not. I just observe what happens and comment on it. Ok, here come the generalizations, the broad-brush, so be forewarned. No, not everyone is the way that I'm about to describe, but from where I sit, this applies to the majority.
What I've observed, in six decades of living, is that Americans think this is the best country on the planet, even if they've never been to any other country. That's a pleasant little conceit, but the people who haven't been anywhere else don't seem to even entertain the possibility that someplace else might suit them better. Most of them were born here - a fluke of biological processes, not a choice. What if they went for an extended visit to Sweden, say, or Kenya, and decided they liked one of those places better? Would that make them a traitor?
We think the quality of life is better in the United States, and we believe the economy and government have no equal. But there's lots of evidence to dispute those beliefs. When you compare individual aspects of our lives, a number of countries are either comparable or way out ahead.
When it comes to healthcare, for example, we have about 47 million uninsured Americans. As a whole, virtually all Europeans are covered by healthcare systems. So, political conservatives would say those Europeans have socialized medicine and they pay out the nose for it. But guess which country has the most expensive healthcare? No need to look across the pond - the most expensive is right here in the good old U.S.A.
Then there's the argument that government-assured healthcare is not good healthcare. But the healthcare is so good and so cheap in some other countries - India, for example (where a growing number of the doctors in this country come from) - that Americans travel there for procedures in first-class hospitals by top-notch doctors for a fraction of what it would cost them at home.
Enough about healthcare - more about that in another post. Back to the cult of personality. We tend to vote for the good old guy, the fraternity brother, the popular class clown whose parents bought him a diploma from a good school, who never really studied, who dated the cheerleaders, who was voted most likely to succeed (not because he was smart but because his family had "connections"), and who seems like the kind of guy you'd enjoy having a beer with. Even if he doesn't drink beer anymore. He cleaned up totally after the family intervention because of his wild partying and excessive cocaine snorting. Oops . . . I guess we just voted for that guy once (maybe) four years ago . . . the first time he was appointed (or "anointed") by the Supreme Court.
But you get the point. This year, we seem to be deciding to vote for a old soldier who happened to get shot down and captured during the Vietnam War, who withstood horrible torture, and who decided to parlay his misfortune into a political career. Who used to be a maverick and who sold out to the neoconservative forces of darkness that derailed his strong candidacy in 2000. And who is somehow the best qualified to lead because he is a "war hero" and "ready to lead."
Or, we're voting for a former community organizer who is very smart, very skillful, has a winning smile and is one of the best orators of our time. He's a "rock star."
I happen to be for the latter guy. However, even if he were as ugly as Quasimodo, I would still be voting for him. Why? Because I don't believe in voting for "personalities." I know it's a radical position to take, but I believe in voting for the ISSUES.
What a concept.
When it comes to politics in our country - at least presidential politics - the cult of personality holds sway. Nothing else is stronger in determining who most of us decide to vote for.
Why does that matter? Because it causes us to vote for the political crapola that every campaign makes up to appeal to as wide a spectrum of voters as possible. Because it causes us to vote against our best interests. It makes us even more stupid than we already are.
Why am I so harsh about our mental faculties? I'm not. I just observe what happens and comment on it. Ok, here come the generalizations, the broad-brush, so be forewarned. No, not everyone is the way that I'm about to describe, but from where I sit, this applies to the majority.
What I've observed, in six decades of living, is that Americans think this is the best country on the planet, even if they've never been to any other country. That's a pleasant little conceit, but the people who haven't been anywhere else don't seem to even entertain the possibility that someplace else might suit them better. Most of them were born here - a fluke of biological processes, not a choice. What if they went for an extended visit to Sweden, say, or Kenya, and decided they liked one of those places better? Would that make them a traitor?
We think the quality of life is better in the United States, and we believe the economy and government have no equal. But there's lots of evidence to dispute those beliefs. When you compare individual aspects of our lives, a number of countries are either comparable or way out ahead.
When it comes to healthcare, for example, we have about 47 million uninsured Americans. As a whole, virtually all Europeans are covered by healthcare systems. So, political conservatives would say those Europeans have socialized medicine and they pay out the nose for it. But guess which country has the most expensive healthcare? No need to look across the pond - the most expensive is right here in the good old U.S.A.
Then there's the argument that government-assured healthcare is not good healthcare. But the healthcare is so good and so cheap in some other countries - India, for example (where a growing number of the doctors in this country come from) - that Americans travel there for procedures in first-class hospitals by top-notch doctors for a fraction of what it would cost them at home.
Enough about healthcare - more about that in another post. Back to the cult of personality. We tend to vote for the good old guy, the fraternity brother, the popular class clown whose parents bought him a diploma from a good school, who never really studied, who dated the cheerleaders, who was voted most likely to succeed (not because he was smart but because his family had "connections"), and who seems like the kind of guy you'd enjoy having a beer with. Even if he doesn't drink beer anymore. He cleaned up totally after the family intervention because of his wild partying and excessive cocaine snorting. Oops . . . I guess we just voted for that guy once (maybe) four years ago . . . the first time he was appointed (or "anointed") by the Supreme Court.
But you get the point. This year, we seem to be deciding to vote for a old soldier who happened to get shot down and captured during the Vietnam War, who withstood horrible torture, and who decided to parlay his misfortune into a political career. Who used to be a maverick and who sold out to the neoconservative forces of darkness that derailed his strong candidacy in 2000. And who is somehow the best qualified to lead because he is a "war hero" and "ready to lead."
Or, we're voting for a former community organizer who is very smart, very skillful, has a winning smile and is one of the best orators of our time. He's a "rock star."
I happen to be for the latter guy. However, even if he were as ugly as Quasimodo, I would still be voting for him. Why? Because I don't believe in voting for "personalities." I know it's a radical position to take, but I believe in voting for the ISSUES.
What a concept.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
How do you spell nausea? R-e-a-g-a-n w-o-r-s-h-i-p
Good grief! They're canonizing Reagan again at the RNC in St. Paul.
Why are the Republicans so gay for this guy? (That's not my line - have to give credit to Bill Maher, but it's so true and sums it up so well.) They were bestowing sainthood on His Holiness Ronnie while the theme from some hack western movie played in the background. I think I saw the specter of 20 Mule Team Borax in the shadowy background. Not since he hosted Death Valley Days has Dutch been so "John Wayned."
He gave it all for his country. But he took a lot for himself. And he left our economy in shambles.
The first president to increase the national debt by more than $200 billion in one year, Ronnie promoted the most crippling economic policies in my lifetime . . . until Dubya came along. And for his mismanagement, an airport was named for him. An airport! For a president who was the arch-enemy of the air traffic controllers' union.
Come to think of it, they should be gay for Ronnie. He epitomized many of the truly hypocritical principles of the GOP.
Why are the Republicans so gay for this guy? (That's not my line - have to give credit to Bill Maher, but it's so true and sums it up so well.) They were bestowing sainthood on His Holiness Ronnie while the theme from some hack western movie played in the background. I think I saw the specter of 20 Mule Team Borax in the shadowy background. Not since he hosted Death Valley Days has Dutch been so "John Wayned."
He gave it all for his country. But he took a lot for himself. And he left our economy in shambles.
The first president to increase the national debt by more than $200 billion in one year, Ronnie promoted the most crippling economic policies in my lifetime . . . until Dubya came along. And for his mismanagement, an airport was named for him. An airport! For a president who was the arch-enemy of the air traffic controllers' union.
Come to think of it, they should be gay for Ronnie. He epitomized many of the truly hypocritical principles of the GOP.
Drink to me only with thine eyes!
What the hell happened to Joe Lieberman?
How do you go from being the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee eight years ago to being John McCain's lapdog today? Perhaps a nocturnal visit from Nosferatu Bush . . . oh, the fangs, the blood, the foul and deadly bacterial venom . . . worse than the bite of the Komodo Dragon. That might have done it. I can think of nothing else powerful enough to make the transformation.
Except LOVE. Yes, that could be it. I heard McCain giving an interview the other evening: "Joe is a wonderful, warm man. So warm, so wonderful. The other evening, I asked Joe if he would be there for me. He rolled over, looked deep into my eyes, and said, 'John, I would bend over forward for you . . . you just ask . . . and I will deliver. Or you can deliver. Or we can take turns delivering.' That's the kind of guy Joe is," McCain continued, "a real stand-up guy. Unless you want him to kneel or lie down . . . or roll over and pant."
Yes, love. That could be it.
How do you go from being the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee eight years ago to being John McCain's lapdog today? Perhaps a nocturnal visit from Nosferatu Bush . . . oh, the fangs, the blood, the foul and deadly bacterial venom . . . worse than the bite of the Komodo Dragon. That might have done it. I can think of nothing else powerful enough to make the transformation.
Except LOVE. Yes, that could be it. I heard McCain giving an interview the other evening: "Joe is a wonderful, warm man. So warm, so wonderful. The other evening, I asked Joe if he would be there for me. He rolled over, looked deep into my eyes, and said, 'John, I would bend over forward for you . . . you just ask . . . and I will deliver. Or you can deliver. Or we can take turns delivering.' That's the kind of guy Joe is," McCain continued, "a real stand-up guy. Unless you want him to kneel or lie down . . . or roll over and pant."
Yes, love. That could be it.
Monday, September 1, 2008
God is upset with the Republicans
Hurricane Gustav has put a serious kink in the Party of the Wealthy's plans in St. Paul. What a white bread place to hold your national convention! How appropriate!
To be fair, it's a beautiful area, especially in the non-ice-fishing times of the year. But its Caucasian stronghold symbolism is not lost on people of color . . . nor on the Pachyderm Party faithful.
Taking a cue from the Rove-inspired master magicians who in 2004 transformed John Kerry from a decorated Vietnam vet into a cowardly traitor who supposedly betrayed his fellow vets and his country, the GOP (Gargantuan Opportunity for Patricians) has announced that some of the convention parties will instead be fund-raisers for hurricane relief. How selfless and compassionate!
Of course, you and I know that "compassionate conservative" is an oxymoron. And we all know the moron who made the term popular. (Actually, he's not a moron. I wish he were; he would probably be less dangerous.)
But the party of economically bankrupt Presidents Dubya Bush and Ronnie Reagan and ethically bankrupt Tricky Dick Nixon can't escape the all-too-obvious sign from God, delivered by Gustav, that he/she isn't happy with it. Maybe God is so upset because Republicans claim that God is exclusively on their side . . .
To be fair, it's a beautiful area, especially in the non-ice-fishing times of the year. But its Caucasian stronghold symbolism is not lost on people of color . . . nor on the Pachyderm Party faithful.
Taking a cue from the Rove-inspired master magicians who in 2004 transformed John Kerry from a decorated Vietnam vet into a cowardly traitor who supposedly betrayed his fellow vets and his country, the GOP (Gargantuan Opportunity for Patricians) has announced that some of the convention parties will instead be fund-raisers for hurricane relief. How selfless and compassionate!
Of course, you and I know that "compassionate conservative" is an oxymoron. And we all know the moron who made the term popular. (Actually, he's not a moron. I wish he were; he would probably be less dangerous.)
But the party of economically bankrupt Presidents Dubya Bush and Ronnie Reagan and ethically bankrupt Tricky Dick Nixon can't escape the all-too-obvious sign from God, delivered by Gustav, that he/she isn't happy with it. Maybe God is so upset because Republicans claim that God is exclusively on their side . . .
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