Just Cuz

Kylie (Fantastic Mr. Fox) reminds me of my new dog, Maya. She is special.

Priming the Pump

So Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Crazyville) has decided to turn down a significant portion of the stimulus funds tagged for her state including roughly $160 million in funds for education. I guess the dumber the populace, the more likely they are to vote Republican.

The Fragility of Ego

As I attempt to roll back the rock from the cave my self esteem has been locked in for the past three years, I have learned to expect setbacks. However, I did not see the train that hit me yesterday afternoon coming at all. No whistles, flashing lights or crossing barriers, just a lot of weird feelings associated with an odd situation involving friends, lovers, acquaintances, and much second guessing. Oh, fickle ego, why so fragile? You have been crushed by many, but never has something seemingly so benign been so disabling. Sometimes I wish I could crawl in that cave and join what is left of my rotting self esteem.

OK, So Maybe There is a God

I was two paragraphs into today's Bill Kristol column in the Times and completely enraged. I thought, "This is it, I'm canceling my subscription or maybe just threatening to cancel my subscription." This fuckface was trumpeting all the conservative successes of the past 3 decades. Talk about fiddling while Rome burns. To top it off, I didn't even bother to finish the column and remained somewhat enraged until about 15 minutes ago when I found out that he was no longer with the paper. I quickly returned to the column and noticed this wonderful sentence in italics at the foot of his column: This is William Kristol's last column. Good riddance.

Although, we all know that Bill "All wrong, All the time" Kristol will land safely on his cloven hooves on the conservative lecture circuit, dink tanks, or Fox news. Thanks for nothing you fucking asshole.

Evil Incarnate

Seriously, was the costume shop completely out of the Devil horns, tail and trident? How else can you explain Dick Cheney's choice of sinister black hat and wheelchair for today's festivities.

HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT.

I'm so happy.

Anniversary Blues

Yep, it's another one of those days. I guess I should have known when I woke up to the grey skies and light drizzle that things were not all that peachy. I had hoped that because of my situation with someone that I would not spend that much time thinking about her. I was wrong (nothing new there). This is going to be my last post related to our failed relationship. I am done wasting valuable emotional energy on her when I have so much better use for it.

From the Department of this Shit Shouldn't Matter

The story regarding Sarah Palin's and the RNC's $150k shopping spree would be a non-issue if it weren't for the fact that the Repubs continue to try to bullshit the country into thinking they are the party of fiscal responsibility. Fucking hypocrites. Oh, and anyone who believes that they were really planning on donating the items to charity post election is probably just gullible enough to vote for these a-holes. That excuse sounds a little like trying to put lipstick on a pig! *Rimshot*

A Reasonable Discourse

Cross posted here

Your esteemed moderator at this fine blog asked me to make a reasoned case for the election of Barack Obama. He gave me no guidelines other than a rough word limit. Therefore, I decided to set a rule for myself. I am going to make my arguments on Obama’s merits, not McCain and Palin’s perceived deficiencies because in my mind that would be akin to shooting fish in a barrel (Ok, I just had to get off one shot…). While I understand that for the most part, the American electorate seems to care very little about actual policy and would much rather concern itself with Inside Edition-like gossipy crap I feel that this election is far too important to get into the kind of worthless discourse that includes race baiting, religious intolerance, class discrimination, and a tremendous amount of outright lies spread through vicious internet based smear campaigns..

I would be tremendously off base if I did not address the economy and taxes right off the bat as these two subjects seem to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now with nearly 77% of the population unhappy with the economic direction of our country. I feel that Obama’s plan to increase taxes on corporate earnings is on base. However, I have little faith that this would actually increase revenue due to the tremendous number of loopholes in the tax code. It’s interesting to note that McCain has the exact opposite philosophy as the plan he announced yesterday to assist the bailout would extend more tax credits to corporations. I strongly disagree with that course. I am more heartened by Obama’s plan to cut taxes to over 100 million families (those earning less than $250k). I would also like to see him follow through on his promise to revoke Bush’s tax cuts that we all agree benefit the ultra-wealthy and were the first of their kind during a time of war. Neither candidate in my mind does enough to curb spending; although McCain seems way off base in his idea to make the aforementioned tax cuts permanent when the country is mired in tremendous debt.

The words leadership and experience are tossed about everyday by the punditocracy as if they have a firm definition of either of those concepts. In other words, one person’s idea of leadership might be nearly the exact opposite of another’s definition. As we have seen over the course of the past 8 years, neither word seems to mean what the majority of the US electorate would hope! I firmly believe that Barack Obama has plenty of experience to handle the office of the Presidency. Moreover; I have full confidence that as a leader he would surround himself with the best and the brightest available. After all, isn’t that the mark of a good leader; the ability to recognize one’s own deficiencies and put people in place who can handle the situation more effectively? We have seen during the Bush presidency what cronyism and the ability to ignore history and not attempt to learn from mistakes will lead to. Honestly, since when is being thoughtful and open to ideas a bad thing? I trust Obama to make reasoned decisions and not rule from his gut. Additionally, I believe that an Obama presidency would instantly transform our world standing. It should be abundantly apparent that we are all in this together and we need someone that can unite the world behind us, not cut a fiery swath ala General Sherman or President Bush. I do not trust McCain to be that leader. His world view is too closely aligned with the failed policies of the Neo-Con brain trust (I use that term very loosely).

Closely tied to our standing in the world are the two wars we are currently mired in which are bleeding precious funds from our country and more importantly taking precious lives. Obama pledges to begin an orderly withdrawal from Iraq and to refocus our efforts in Afghanistan. I feel this is the absolute best case scenario short of pulling out of both countries (sorry as a bleeding heart, I find war to be absolutely abhorrent, especially unnecessary ones). Setting aside our reasons for being in Iraq, I think we can all agree that the ages old sectarian differences renewed by our proverbial bat to the beehive are not going to be settled by American interlopers, no matter how long we stay there. Let’s cut our losses. Meanwhile, the most recent NIE sees things beginning to spiral out of control in the true central front for the war on terror in Afghanistan and to a large extent Pakistan. Obama pledges to refocus our efforts there and also to track bin Laden into Pakistan if necessary. I agree lets keep our eye on the ball.

Due to space restrictions, I will not be able to delve into healthcare as deeply as I would like, but let it be known that I do not want my benefits taxed as McCain suggests and I would much rather find affordable, accessible healthcare available to all.

I would also be remiss if I did not mention education. This is the one area where I will break the rule I stated earlier. Can anyone explain to me McCain’s position on this all-important subject? Does he even understand the importance of this issue and that our population continues to lag behind other countries? If we want to be the best and the brightest, we need to educate our children in such a fashion, not ignore our deficiencies. I feel that Obama is so far out in front of McCain on this issue that it does not really merit a discussion.

Thanks for the opportunity,
Townser

For further information, please visit www.barackobama.com/issues/

Pitchforks and Torches

This is getting ridiculous.

Idiocy

No comment necessary.

This Woman Scares the Fuck out of Me

I'm not sure when I became so disconnected from the pulse of America, but obviously it occurred quite some time ago. How else can I come to grips with the phenomena known as Sarah Palin? Why does this woman have such allure for some people? I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one do not want "Joe Six Pack" anywhere near the White House much less negotiating with foreign leaders or appointing judges. Have these morons been asleep for the past 8 years? Joe Six Pack has driven this country to the brink of disaster and yet a large portion of the population still wants more. Is New Zealand looking to increase it's population because I'm considering immigrating there (wait, maybe this is all a plan to control the population through reverse immigration)? Why can't people see that this woman is frightening in her abject ruthlessness, adversity to thought and ideas, as well as her track record of vindictive political maneuvers? For a taste of what this country has become, scroll through the comments of this. Bear in mind that this is a right wing site and the comments are in response to a column by Kathleen Parker not exactly a bleeding heart...

The Void

Two and a half months have passed since I had Townes euthanized and it really has not gotten any easier. I still miss him tremendously and second guess my decision on a daily basis. The void he left is staggering.

RNC to the MAXXXXXXX

In lieu of sticking pencils in my ears, I've decided to drink my way through tonight's festivities. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to drink fast enough.

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being

Since my return from Hilton Head Island earlier this summer, I have been trying to figure out a way to present/write this post. Fortunately, the Republican National Convention has given me just the platform. I am embarrassed. I am embarrassed by my ethnicity. I understand this is really difficult ground to tread without discharging numerous racial mines, so please bear with me. What I am mainly disillusioned by is our (meaning the white population) inability to embrace the changing ethnic landscape that this country is undergoing. It is my true hope that the 2008 RNC in St. Paul is the last time I have to look at a crowd filled completely with aging, out of touch Caucasians rallying for other aging out of touch Caucasians who are advocating a platform that supports only aging out of touch Caucasians. Seriously, I wonder how many of the delegates in attendance have taken a good look around their communities lately. Because, if they had, they would have to be a little shaken by the fact that the people in attendance with them in St. Paul bear little resemblance to those that they run across in everyday life at the convenience store, or dry cleaners, or grocery store, or dentists’ office. I know that the dems supposedly occupy the elitist ground in this country, but we all know that position is theirs solely because of the likes of Karl Rove and his minions. I defy anyone to spend a week in Hilton Head or Kiawah and tell me which party is the party of the elite.

Full Disclosure: I am part Native American, so maybe this post is nothing but sour grapes.

In which I Attempt to Tie the News Ticker to the Ruination of our Society

I am asking for an immediate moratorium on the news ticker or tracker or whatever the fuck you want to call the thing that crawls along the bottom of every channel on the teevee telling me all I need to know about complex stories in a simple 6 word sentence. Enough already, this piece of crap is ruining the world. For Exhibit A, just look at the current coverage of the election in this country. We are bombarded with tidbits about the look of the set that Barack is going to speak from, yet very little about the actual content of the speech. We concern ourselves with the chai-ification of the snobbish dems, yet do not even hash out the details of Obama’s even handed economic plan. I firmly believe that the news ticker has killed our ability to reason and analyze information as it is presented to us. And furthermore, it has helped squeeze those stories and situations that need reason and analysis off the teevee screen and pages of the newspaper only to be replaced by mind-numbing minutiae that fits the 6 word formula.

Even worse is the type of journalism and journalist that has been spawned by our need to diffuse every story into 6 words. In a time when a myriad of issues need to be sorted out regarding the dismal state of this country both here and abroad why should I ever have to see Dan Abrams on my television spouting completely irrelevant commentary? Seriously Dan, are you a political/legal reporter or a gossip columnist? Judging from the fact you were recently dumped from prime time and from every bit of work you have done in your miserable life, I’m gonna stick with gossip columnist for now. Dan, it is called nuance. Remember there are varying ways to report Paris’s panty-less nights amongst the glitterati and the hypocrisy of McCain’s claims to support a living wage or minimum wage increases. Just decide which one you want to handle, but please stop combining the two. I understand our political discourse in this country is stupid, but could we attempt to inject some sort of rational thought into it. The stakes are far too high.

The Skepticism of a Skeptic

As the days continue to pass and all is calm on the good ship Townser, I continue to become less skeptical of my skepticalness of the direction this thing is headed. Somehow, someway, it is working with someone. She has helped to restore happiness to a veritable wasteland of depression, remorse, embarrassment, and borderline hatred. Now, just don’t blow it you shithead.

Things I Learned from my Kids this Summer

I learned that they have absolutely no concept of “old” cameras that actually have film in them. My 6 year old was truly baffled as to how the pictures were going to be retrieved from the camera’s innards; “Dad, I need you to help me get the pictures out. How are we going to do it?”

I also learned that they are good, well adjusted kids. Watching them interact with other kids of similar ages was reassuring. They seemed very comfortable in their own skin and all exuded their mother’s extreme calmness. And, of course, they are extremely, and I mean, EXTREMELY smart.

I learned that they are cool. Despite the fact that my middle child has the Jonas Brothers on her iPod, she still reacted by saying, “Thank you. Thank you very much”, when an Elvis impersonator reached out to shake her hand.

I re-learned just exactly how much I miss them and how much I need them in my life. My house seems so fucking empty without them not to mention the emptiness inside me.

Letter to a Friend

Townes-

I hope that I am doing the right thing. I just wish that you could tell me that I am. This is easily the most difficult decision that I have had to make in my life to this point, and with my history of bad decisions, I hope I do not live to regret this one. But recently, when I have looked at you, I think I can see you reassuring me in the expression on your face. Sadly, I guess I will never truly know. What I do know is that your illness has reduced you to a shadow of your former self and I am having a hard time coping with that fact. I knew 13 years ago when I got you that this day would come and that it would be a difficult day. Frankly, I had no idea just how difficult it would be. And that’s mainly because of what a fantastic animal and friend you are and have always been. Your companionship and unyielding love have almost single-handedly gotten me through some of my toughest times, and God knows there have been many. I hope you understand how much you mean to me and how special you are. You have touched more people than you will ever know. I will cherish your memory and never forget the days we spent together especially those blissful days in the mountains and woods where you seemed so content. Please know that someday I will take you back to the mountains where you belong. I’m going to place you near where you used to play with your friend Elk. The two of you can run together for eternity. I hope that will be a suitable place for you. I’m not sure that you understand the impact you have had on my life as it has truly been profound. Sometimes I wish that I could be half the man that you are dog. Your nobility and grace would suit me well. Please rest assured that your presence will never leave me. You will be dearly missed.

Go in peace,
Matt

What was He Thinking?

As we roll through this lovely campaign season, or as I like to call it, the most shitful time of the year™, I found this little gem from Mr. Whitman and it reminded me of just how far we have fallen. Indissoluble companionship? Fucking blasphemy. The guy must have been some sort of dirty fucking hippie.

For You, O Democracy

Come, I will make the continent indissoluble,
I will make the most splendid race the sun ever shone upon,
I will make divine magnetic lands,
With the love of comrades,
With the life-long love of comrades.

I will plant companionship thick as trees along all the rivers of America,
and along the shores of the great lakes, and all over the prairies,
I will make inseparable cities with their arms about each other's necks,
By the love of comrades,
By the manly love of comrades.

For you these from me, O Democracy, to serve you ma femme!
For you, for you I am trilling these songs.