Frenzied Daddy

It’s clear, especially from the last election, that the Republicans have figured out how to push the buttons of the Democrats. They have done an excellent job of figuring out how to splinter us, causing us to argue amongst ourselves and let them, with more of a united push to take control. By “last election,” I do not mean the primary we just suffered through, but rather the 2004 elections. And I’m afraid, as you should be too, that they will continue to do this, and our country will continue to suffer.

This week and the next few weeks in the US Senate are a good example of diversionary, splintering tactics. The Senate will be discussing banning Gay Marriage, Flag Burning, and they continue to discuss Immigration. These are not important topics. When given the choice to investigate the President’s abuse of power and total disregard for United States law, these Senators want to discuss Flag Burning. When was this last an issue? When given the chance to do something meaningful about our open ports and the lack of cargo examination, they want to argue about how to keep Mexicans from entering without permission. I don’t see threats from the Mexican border; but then I don’t believe that terrorists will be trying to take over more airplanes.

Given our eroding personal rights, these Senators want, not to strengthen us, but to declare some forms of love to be “wrong,” and to ally the United States even more closely with the Religous right.

This is another election year, and then the “big” presidential race in 2008. By then, the Democratic party leaders need to agree on one, two or maybe three main fields of battle.

First, we need to strengthen our home support. Stop the erosion of our personal freedoms and rights. Repeal the Patriot Act, which makes criminals of us all. Open up the discussions about how the NSA is allowed to spy on people. Get rid of the secret rooms that tap into the Internet and track all of our emails, phone calls and instant messaging. Honestly, Al Quaeda operatives don’t email each other with their plans, and you’re stupid if you think so.

Second, we need to fortify our country; rather than suspecting every American of being a terrorist, check incoming cargo at the point of departure. Never ever give control over this to a private company, much less to a company or country with ties to terrorism. Keep the keys in our pocket. Most Americans don’t think like terrorists, or like people who live in war-torn countries. When we cross the street to avoid a possible car bombing, when we start to consider the number of ways we might be hurt, rather than worry about the ways we have been hurt, we’ll be a lot stronger.

Third, we need to rebuild foreign relations. The war in Iraq, I’m sorry to say, continues. And will continue for a long time. Many mistakes have been made during our handling of this war, and unfortunately we have a responsibility to try to make it better. Let’s start with getting some actual electricity and clean water for these people. We need to figure out how to bring our forces together and out of there, without leaving a power vacuum. And we need to stop our threatening Iran. As clumsily as we’ve handled Iraq, do you see us entering that land? They have a stronger military and currently more money.

The number of other issues is huge; tax cuts for the top 1 percent of our wealthy, the decline in school funding (both public school and government loans for college students), the continued squeeze on the middle class to keep us worried and unhappy. But as we get our party more cohesive, we’ll be able to attend to these issues. It’s more important to combine our strengths than to worry about our differences.

And there are some parts where these issues conflict; it would be easy to argue that point number two, securing our country from terror and being pro-active about dangers would be helped by infringing on American’s civil liberties. However, given a one in ten thousand chance that the airplane I fly on will explode in a fiery ball of death, weighed against a daily lessening of my privacy, of the security I have in my home, or even my right to pursue happiness, I’ll take my chances.

Yes, I am giving a more simplistic view than you might think appropriate. But that’s exactly my point; simplify our stance so that more people can get behind it, rather than try to accomodate every little thing. Figure out where the Democratic Party stands, and resist reacting to the Republicans needles.

Some people have too much time on their hands. No, not the people who play computer games … the people who remix and remaster old movie trailers … like this one… a remix of the Shining as a “Romantic Comedy.”

Wrong. But funny.

So, we did go to the parade, but my photos aren’t nearly as inspired as some of LeLo’s shots. She captures a lot of the sense of the parade, including Mayor Potter in a St. John’s shirt, and the Edger Guy.

I’m running again. I bought a jogging journal, but it lays on the table and doesn’t command my attention the way a big black R on the wall calendar does. It is good, however, for journalling how far, where, and how I did. For instance, if I run to the 7-11 and back, it’s about a mile. Currently, I’m running a block, then walking a block, then running a block, then walking. I think it’s called “splits.”

Running / Jogging. I liked the penguin method of shuffling along, but this fat dog and I need to do more work than just shuffling along. I’m probably going to shuffle some days, split them like run/walk some others. Basically, the “jogging” works on my endurance, while the running works on my speed. I’m not too concerned about the speed part, really- I don’t plan to enter any marathons or any races for actual time trials or anything. But I feel stronger when I’m running; like I’m actually doing something fun with my body.

Dontcha just hate it when this happens?

The parade was this morning. Miss B was enthusiastically getting us ready to go. Mrs B was working, so it was just the girls and me. Miss B got Miss K all dressed up and changed and everything– then Miss K was super-excited about going for a walk to the parade, ran outside, and tripped over the threshold, landing nose first on the concrete porch about nine inches below.

Seems to bother me more than her, though — but I feel like every time I take the girls out with the intention of getting their happy little faces recorded in my happy little camera, something like this happens.

This week marks the annual “mow the backyard until one of us gives up” ritual. Every winter I let the backyard go hog-wild until the spring, and then eventually talk myself into mowing it out. This year, Mrs B and our neighbor S convinced me to do it, because the blackberries were threatening to invade S’s yard. And she spent two weeks last summer ripping out the thorny behemoths from her yard. I was already looking at my schedule and deciding when to do it; the ladies just solidified my decision.

One year, I actually saw a praying mantis. This year, no such luck- though I did see this opportunistic Stellar Jay. I was weed-whacking down the long grasses and then mowing over them. I could do a section, then I’d be worn out and have to take a break. When I sat down, he would swoop in and perch on the fence. He’d give me the eye, then inspect the area I had just cleared out. Then he’d zero in on some food and go to town. With all the action, it was practically a Jay Buffet.

I might have been hauled in before, on charges of my logic and beliefs being shanghai’d by a misquoting of President Bush… but do you suppose this is a misquoting too?

In reference to Flight 93, President Bush is alleged to have said ‘I believe that it was the first counter-attack to World War III.’ It is true that he was agreeing with a bereaved father who lost a son on that flight, who initiated the “counter attack to WWIII” hyperbole (and let’s pray that it’s only hyperbole), but there are some things that mean different things when they’re said by the leader of the freaking country.

Someone stop this man, please.

Source

Our sidewalk to the front door has probably laid limply there since 1942, when our house was built. It needs to be pulled up and relain, because when it rains (and how it rains), we get a big puddle next to the porch. The water should drain away from the house. The driveway’s the same way- maybe our house is in sort of a little depression. Fitting, eh? Need some soma for my house. The front walk is eternally overgrown from grasses in the yard. I edge it about four times in a summer, if Mrs B is that lucky.

About two years ago, I dug little ditches to the sides of the sidewalk and lined it with grey cottage bricks, to make it a little wider. I packed dirt between the bricks and then let it be. Last year it needed to be weeded; we have a lot of weeds. After I weeded it, I splurged (whoo hoo, a whole $4.00!) and bought some thyme and tried to pack it in around the bricks. Generally speaking, I think that if I plant enough non-weeds, they’ll keep the weeds from taking over. And I like the image of the rocks or the bricks with low-growing flowers among them, that’ll smell great when I walk on them. And when I used to work for the University of Oregon Family Housing, I mowed over someone’s herb garden (I’m still sorry!), and the resulting aroma made my mouth water.

Well, the thyme doesn’t seem to be working. Last fall, the thyme looked dead, all brown and scraggly. Over the winter and the beginning of spring, some clover, some crabgrass, some dandelions, some nettles all moved in to the decorative bricks. One more tick on the “nothing I do lasts” metronome that ticks whether I listen to it or not.

But today, as I walked home from next door, I saw teeny purple flowers peeking out around the bricks. The thyme isn’t dead, but it could use a hand. I’m off to find my trowel and some fertilizer.

I’d give you a photo, but with the recent upgrade for WordPress, the image-uploading stuff’s not working right with our php on this server.

Inadequacy. Actually, I was feeling very competent since last night. I finally got our firewall working right with snort, barnyard and guardian, and watching it snipe at attacking servers was very satisfying.