First, they came...

This is a political post.

Making sure you have the facts straight

For the next few weeks, the talking heads that revolve around the 24 hour news cycle will work hard to convince us that the man who shot Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killed Federal Judge John Roll was unstable, and worked alone, and this was a terrible tragedy that couldn't be avoided. They will pound it into our heads until we accept that as reality. Because the truth would spell doom for the current political narrative. Because the truth is that all the nasty rhetoric and posturing created the climate that made this shooting possible. And nobody wants to admit that.

Because then you have to blame somebody.

When we live in an age where people feel free to indicate they want to bodily physical harm to the President, where congress men brandish guns in their ads, where politicians words start to resemble those of terrorists...the idea that someone wouldn't pick up a gun and actually do it is naive and shortsighted. One political figure used cross hairs to show political targets. A candidate in one commercial actually shot a mock up of the cap and trade bill. One party's entire political comment right now is that "we will not compromise" - echoing the operational idea of the very fanatical extremists they claim we should oppose.

And it's all fun and games until someone gets shot.

Let me be clear I'm not blaming anyone in particular. No one candidate or political figure is responsible. But the collective has to bear some responsibility for the climate it has created, with its "taking our country back" battle cry and allusions to "Second Amendment remedies". And when the conservatives point their fingers to the extremists on the other side who should also be responsible, ask them for specifics, because I can't think of any.

But then this is the America we live in now, where bad things happen but no one is ever to blame.

To paraphrase a statement that sticks in my mine, "First they came for the poor, but I was not poor so I said nothing, then they came for unemployed, but I had a job so I said nothing. Then they came for the ...,"well, let's just see whose next.

The Return of the Banana Republic(cans)!

This is a political post.

The revolution WILL be televised. If you count C-span as a channel.

To start the new Congress, the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives will read into the official record, the Constitution of the United States. That's actually pretty neat, considering its only be read in its entirety into the record twice in history. Then, as a new rule, all new pieces of legislation will have cite as specifically as possible the assumed power in said Constitution the submitting Congressperson thinks gives him the power to write the aforesaid legislation. This will be called a "Constitutional Authority Statement."

This will in effect, make the appointed position of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, currently filled incidentally by the Honorable Lorraine C. Miller - a black woman from Texas - one the top ten most powerful positions in the world. This is because it will most likely be the Clerk's job to determine, since the concern here seems to be congressional authority, if the proposed piece of legislation's argument for constitutionality is valid. Although the exact rules haven't been spelled out yet, the idea that some personal judgment as what is and isn't within the scope of Congress's powers won't be used in the determination process borders on inane fantasy.

So in one fell swoop, despite the fact that Congressional lawyers would already checked over proposed legislation anyway before it was ever submitted, the new House majority is attempting to horn in on the job of the Supreme Court. Which is a great way to protect the Constitution. [insert sarcasm here]

Here are the issues as I see them. I my humble, barely legally educated opinion.

By changing the standard that formerly presumed all congressional action was initially considered constitutional until judicial review to one that presumes nothing is constitutional without cite, you imbalance the powers set forth in the very Constitution they're trying to protect. Congress is not imbued with some magical power to declare their actions constitutional, nor is it the congressperson's job to interpret the Constitution. The power to determine constitutionality and that task of interpretation belong specifically to the Courts, per that same Constitution. And by moving that metaphorical scale where the law is weighed, the Republicans threaten the very system they claim to be protecting.

And hopefully they're not making the basic text the basis to work from, or the Republicans might be throwing out over 200 years of Supreme Court interpretations and established legal doctrine. Just so you know, established legal doctrine is the grease that makes this country work. A great deal of the basis of the laws that make America actually run on the day to day are based not upon the actual literal text of the Constitution, but upon Supreme Court rulings as to what that text means. I'm not sure how a Congressional Authority Statement is supposed work, but unless they read like legal briefs, we may have a new situation.

Adding a step might seem like a bright idea, if you don't know how the system actually works, but it's basically starting to look like either a political sop to the single minded Tea party movement, or a backdoor coup attempt.

Side note to the Republicans: Repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act probably aint' gonna happen. It's called a veto.

(And why don't the Democrats refer to Republican action as an attempt to repeal the Patient Protection Act?)

So to save the country and the Constitution, the Republican elite are don't care if they burn the House down. All for the sake of party.

What I learned 2011

Each year we all go out, get a little tipsy, and have a good time, then wake up the January 1st and promise ourselves that this year is our year, that we're going to do things different, that we're going to make things happen to change who we are.

And for the vast majority of us, it's just another fiction we tell ourselves, along with "I'm just taking this job until the one I want opens up" or "Holiday calories don't count". Its one those things you do because everybody does them, not because you really mean it. And that's kinda sad.

This past year I did some things. I made it through two semesters of law school (took the summer off) and lost about fifty pounds. But then I don't really make resolutions, what I do is put a little thought into those truths I came to realize this year. And hopefully, I'll internalize a lesson or two for the future.

With apologies to Esquire magazine, from whom I brazenly stole this idea from (seriously guys I'm just practicing for the day you do call...I want to be ready)

The weight does matter.
People who care never really leave. You might not speak to them anymore, but they're still there.
Hard times reveal great truths.
Bad losers are even worse winners.
I don't think I'm ever going to get over how my voice sounds on video.
If you dig a hole in the wrong spot, digging it deeper isn't going to fix it.
Things taste better when you haven't had them in a while.
We're not the same person we were yesterday, because we're always changing.
My period of indulgence has been much longer than most folks.
Part of getting what you want is doing those things necessary to get it, even if its not fun or seems counterproductive.
Blogging for four years, and yet the vast majority of my hits are because of a picture I posted.
I need to finish just one personal project.
French fries are fantastic.
I'm not used to compliments.
A lot of things I start on a whim I've become passionate about later. I'm a slow starter, but a strong finisher. Like a freight train.
One needs to be careful when you tell someone you love them, because it may make them do something crazy. Like believe you.

Really Really?

Ramblings Post #162
There is a saying. Okay, there are a lot of sayings, but this one is particularly apt: One shouldn't have any regrets, because at one time that which you regret was exactly what you wanted. It's a pithy little saying, probably made up by someone who just wanted to stop somebody who was complaining way to much. Still, there are moments when you just need a regret or two, to keep you from making the same decision again.


A few weeks ago, Spanky's new man told her...point blank...that his "rotation" was good and she needed to bring more the to table. There is more to his actual statement, but civility and the fact that I couldn't' believe he even "went there" forbid me from going further. Seeing as how she brings quite a bit to the table under any circumstances - brains, looks, will support with time and energy, cooks, etc - I was at a loss to what else he might have expected. But he'd showed his hand, she said it was over, and I figured there would be the usual few weeks of moping before the next "temp" appeared on the scene.

To bring you up to speed, years ago when we first started hanging out in Atlanta, Spanky wouldn't hesitate to cut a guy off with a quickness. So, because learning their name wasn't worth the effort if they might be gone the next week, I started referring to all her potential man-friends as "temps".

Anyway, messing with Spanky last week I hit her up about some foolishness that occurred in her neighborhood. The kind of stuff you post on Facebook because if you just tell somebody about it, nobody will believe you. We text back and forth for a minute, then I suggest we "go get drunk", a way of saying lets go out have some food and drinks and BS for while. It had been a minute since we'd got together, finals and all, I needed a night out and since her incident I figured a night sippin' might brighten her spirits.

She can't. She's "busy".

I'm pretty, but I ain't slow. Well, not that slow. Slowish. So I'm like "that was a quick, a new temp already?"

"Nope. Same temp."

I think I'm about to have to stop talking the Spanky.

According to her, ole boy apologized and claims he was "just testing her loyalty". Which sounds way past childish as old as we are. In his apology, he brought up marriage to her again, something he did early on in the relationship. I think is part of what has her hooked. Spanky has been anxious to tie the knot for at least the last five or so years. Okay, anxious is a understatement.

This is way way bad though.

You kinda hate to see your people get played, but you can't body block folks off from living their lives either. I've told her I don't think this is the best idea, and she claims she's knows he ain't serious or worth a damn anymore, but she's gonna give him another chance. Maybe. Or maybe she's just lonely. I can tell you that I'm not looking forward to the aftermath of this.

Barkeep, set up the tequila. And just keep it coming.

Christmas is Family...

Ramblings Post #162
I've had a long childhood. I came to that realization when talking with some people I hadn't seen in ages over the holidays. People my age have kids in college, and I'm still trying to score free drinks. I've got, or at least been told, that I have a lot of potential. The notebooks and hard drives full of half finished projects are a testament to that. The failed relationships only underline it. I need to do better.




Historically, as a child, my holidays were spent in the car. We'd rise and open presents, eat, then load up and go visiting. Visiting was riding an hour to see my father's parents, my grandparents, where my aunts and uncles would have gathered at the farm they'd grown up on. There we'd spend a few hours before bundling back into the car and visit to my mother's family, where again aunts and uncles would gather to celebrate the season. We visited my father's family first because they were closer. Invariably we'd ride back home in the dark.

Because this ritual continued from childhood through college and onto adulthood, I now dread spending the holiday in the car. But as the younger generation, my people are long lived, you kinda don't really have a choice.

For this year's holiday, my brother and I rented a vehicle to ride home in. A first. This is at the suggestion of my psuedo cousin, who explained the benefits of a lack of wear and tear on our own cars and issues with insurance, all of which made sense. I reserved a economy something and started packing.

Note: Packing for me involved all electronics that might be attractive to unwanted visitors. The PS3, computer, monitor, etc. No need to take chances.

The good folks muffed my reservation, so we got I guess "upgraded" to a mini-van. Which turned out to be not bad, further indicating my advanced age. It turned out to be roomy, handle well and not that bad on gas, which surprised me and my brother. After the ritual running around that accompanies all trips of any distance, we made pretty good time.

The family was good. We only dropped in on my Grandparents, who are getting on into the advanced section of advanced age. It was quieting, calming and made me wish for days gone by. It's hard watching people you've known your whole life get old. I hope it means I've got good genes.

The end of the day came when, after we'd trundled back home, I took a quiet few minutes and opened up the box of gifts Sporty had shipped me.

So, I wrote all that to say that as I grow older, the holidays have come to mean different things to me. And although I loathe the riding around on Christmas, I understand its purpose. My family is important, and due to my educational efforts and the time commitment necessary to make that happen, I've seen little of them lately. It's not about the gifts, it's the thought. It's larger than just me. That and morning after Christmas we awoke to snow, which got us on the road earlier than expected...and proved the handling of that mini-van was nice.

The Maybees..

Ramblings Post #161
One day, you start to add it all up. Where you've been, what you did, what you've left behind, what your plans are, and its fairly certain that when you finish with all the figuration and guesstimating, you're gonna realize that the number is a whole hell of a lot smaller than you could possibly have imagined. Therefore, I would suggest, if at all possible, putting that day off for as long as you can.


I have the Christmas blehs. Or maybe just the general blehs, and it's Christmas time. I'm not quite sure what the "blehs" are, because I just made the term up, but right now I have them.

Maybe life's little pressures have started to catch up with me, now that I find myself with a moment to breathe and nothing left to distract me. Maybe it's that as I calculate up my personal life scoreboard, I suddenly realize I'm gonna need one hell of a second half. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's age, maybe it's the diet, maybe it's the lack of structure, maybe it's the feng shui of my kitchen.

Maybe its the inevitable changes in my life that comes with time and making decisions...or in some cases, non-decisions. Maybe it's an awareness of my mortality, a certain degree of loneliness, or maybe I just need to clean up the house. Maybe it's that when I imagine all the possibilities for my future, the bad ones are starting to out number the good ones. Maybe it's that I've gotten into bad habits I know are bad, and haven't found the will to make them better.

Maybe I've been in the same place too long. Maybe I need a change of ...something. Maybe it's that my dreams are too large. Maybe its that I'm frustrated with too many things to list. Maybe it's that those things that made it all bearable are too few and far between now. Maybe I'm on the wrong path, maybe I'm headed in the wrong direction, or maybe I just need a nap.

Maybe I need a drink.

Maybe I need a salad.

Maybe I need a brownie.

Maybe I need a hug.

Barkeep, maybe something different.