Category Archive

How the hell can you live in a democratic nation…and NOT expect to pay taxes? What pays for your kid’s public school? What pays for your roads? What pays for the infrastructure of your entire life? Birth certificates, death certificates, hospital regulation, food safety (ok…this one is grossly underfunded thanks to Reagan), regulation of your work safety, prescription drug regulation - this list could go on for hours.
What do these people want…a free-for-all? An anarchy? Move to Somalia…that seems to be the system of choice there - you’ll love it.
I HATE paying taxes, but I understand why I do. And I pay self-employment tax - so I’m bearing even a greater tax burden than many of those whining TEA Party idiots.
This must be the most selfish nation on the planet.

McCain chose Palin as his running mate.

1. He plans to use her voice as a weapon of mass….something.  Probably assuming it’s so awful to listen to - that we won’t,  therefore she doesn’t need to say anything substantive.
2. He really believes that a election-turning percentage…oh, say 9%… of Republican men vote with a portion of their anatomy other than the one with which they speak.
3. Since the Democrats didn’t pick a woman, HE did.  Any one will do right?  Which would explain why he skipped over so many of the more qualified Republican women.  (Well…of course those QUALIFIED Republican women want to kill those poor babies…)
4. It was the best way to lock in that valuable right-wing fundamentalist loon vote.  She ought to do it.
5. You know that parent you hate from the PTA?  The one who’s always standing up to argue about something superficial when the meeting should be over?  The one who’s complaining about the trash out front while half the kids can’t read?  The one who wants “that book” taken off  the reading list?  The one who does her kid’s homework so it will look better than other kids’?  I think Palin is like that woman.  I guess John McCain thought we needed that parent at our big ole PTA meetin’ in Washington.  Oh wait…does he even KNOW what a PTA meeting IS?

between first and coach - did you know? Neither did I. Which is why I no longer have an iPod.
But someone in the first few rows of coach on the Saturday flight from Miami to Charlotte does.

However, karma is a wonderful thing. And I trust that theirs will find them.

If Iowa has 7 electoral votes, and New Hampshire has 4…why do they get to knock out candidates before I even get to have a primary vote? And why does Wyoming (with only one less electoral vote than New Hampshire) rank so low on the media feeding frenzy that they are totally discounted in this process?

Why? Because television blows it all out of proportion. My friend Suzanne compares the current election to the WWE: ” … just as meaningless, but without the sincerity. ” I think the current media environment greatly contributes to that. As I watched Lou Dobbs condemn “the media” (pot…kettle, Mr. Dobbs?) for its overblown coverage of Iowa and New Hampshire, I started to talk to the television. By the time they trotted out Bill Bennett (”to the escaton <sp?>” does ANYONE know what he said there?) and Ralph Reid I was yelling at the television.

At some point in this quality family time, I promised my older son that we would move to Canada if Mitt Romney got elected.

If you’re a Democrat, your options have already been cut by a third, courtesy of states with less than 1% of the nation’s population.
Go vote…if there’s anybody left to choose from by the time they get to YOUR state.

Why are there no Red Bull vending machines?
I can buy 8 different kinds of Coke, Green Tea, and Gatorade…and water.
That’s nice. But I’ve been up since 5am, working since 8am and won’t be done until midnight. I’ve already had two caffes con leche (or however you would pluralize that)
I could just use a Red Bull.

*Other than the ever-present question of why are our children trying so hard to give us a nervous breakdown.

You know it’s just a bad week that goes on and on…
When you reset your ipod for the 3rd time this week…and when you finally get the normal screen back it says you have 0 songs.
0?

How many songs does it take to fill a 20gig ipod?
Because that’s how many there should have been.

I do have it backed up. Using Copypod. I guess I’m about to find out if it works!

Since I…as a fairly small adult (5′1″ and about 106 lbs) can barely use an airplane toilet for its originally intended function,  I doubt a normal sized man (or woman) terrorist could manage this.

does anyone hear it? If American homes have more televisions than people - what on earth is everyone watching? The same article mentions that only 19% of U.S. homes have only 1 television. Why would you ever need more than one…it’s a rare media day at our house when we can find ONE thing on to watch…I can’t imagine there could be MULTIPLE shows on simultaneously that we just could not afford to miss.
Come and see how 19% of the country lives…at our house. I’d love to meet some of the others…

Room 128. Comfort Suites - Norwalk, Connecticut. Midnight.
A smoking room. After I throw the ashtrays out into the hall…I look around to fully appreciate the special atmosphere of my room.
The open windows on a ground floor window. (It’s better than Febreeze, I guess)
The filthy curtains.
The peeling wallpaper.
The blasting air conditioner that smells so awful, I’m better off without it.
The floor that is so dirty it turns my socks gray after 2 passes across the room.
The cigarette burns on the blanket.

This room costs $249.00. I wondered if the white noise machine was extra…until I realized it was the fridge.
(…wait…I almost forgot the used towel on the back of the bathroom door, and the hairs of a rather personal nature left in the tub…)

So I’m driving to the airport, listening to NPR’s Talk of the Nation. And they’re talking about “New Airport Restrictions” and they want to speak to listeners who fly alot. Well, I do fly alot and of course - I have an opinion about this topic. Me? Have an opinion? Well, of course I do.
So I dial. It’s busy. I dial again. It’s busy…but I’m eating french fries…so that’s probably just as well. I decide to dial one more time and then finish my french fries. And they answer. And they graciously offer to let me share my opinion with the entire country. And I do.
And that is how I became the last caller on today’s “Talk of the Nation” show on NPR. In all my annoyingly high-pitched, rambling glory. You can hear it here, but you’ll have to listen until the very end - I had the last word…as Neal Conan said.
But I meant what I said. I would gladly walk through the nasty machine that can see through my clothes if meant I could carry my bag on the plane again.
I want to be safe. But I want to have my huge bottle of water back…and my contact solution…and my Eucerin Calming Cream.
And I don’t want to wait at the baggage carousel for it.
It’s a control thing.

Go see it. Take your kids. Take your friends.
Marvel at the other truly ironic inconvenient truth…this man should have been President.
Visit the website.

“I have 3 versions of this song on my Ipod”
“I love that song…it’s always been one of my favorites”
“Here’s the Tom Petty version”
“Uh…Tom Petty never covered that song”
“Well, here’s the first version”
“That’s the Tom Cochrane version - it’s the original”
“Well! It says Tom Petty right here” (showing me the Ipod screen)
And therein lies one of the greatest failings of peer-to-peer sharing. Sometimes your peers are wrong. Sometimes those total strangers you are getting that free music from are stupid. And they actually think that Tom Cochrane sounds like Tom Petty.
This drives me NUTS.

The guy travels 6,211 miles to surprise (or humiliate - by showing up without even letting them know he was coming!) the new democratic government in Iraq - and this is the best he can do? That’s a long trip just to bolster the old approval ratings. And why does he need to do that?
Let’s see…in the last month or two we’ve learned:
1. that the Bush administration intentionally withheld aid in the early hours of Katrina to make Governor Blanco look bad - to help Republicans in the next election. (Vanity Fair June issue)
2. the Department of Justice is asking ISPs to archive and provide upon demand 2 years worth of our internet history. (BetaNews)
3. that we’ve really spent around $580 billion on the war in Iraq (Slate)
4. that our current administration treats our constitution so lightly even Hastert and Frist are whining about it (Washington Post)
“Seize the moment?” Somebody better be taking advantage of this “moment” and it had better be the Democratic party in our own country. And it had better NOT include supporting Hillary Rodham as a possible presidential candidate. She may be brilliant. She may be a good politician. She will never be a viable Democratic presidential candidate. And that’s what we need. Soon.

This post is about “The DaVinci Code” - not really another tirade against televison.
I liked the book. I liked the movie, too. What is the big deal? “The DaVinci Code” has good and bad characters with faith and without. And the last time I checked…the book was filed under FICTION in the library. And the movie was not marketed as a documentary.
Hello? Fiction? You know…like the stuff our current presidential administration tells us?
(Oh, sorry - I went off on a tangent there.)
Fiction. You remember it. When it wasn’t what we heard on the news. When people had the good sense to read a story as a story and watch a movie as a movie. And NOT take it as fact. Are we such a nation of idiots that we can not even grasp the concept of fiction anymore?
The title of the post is a line from the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Is it possible that television has become the reality for so many people in this country that they can no longer recognize fiction or fact?
Okay. I’m climbing off the soapbox now and getting back to the post at hand.
Of course the bad reviews are almost enough to make you believe there IS a conspiracy at work. This movie is not as bad as the reviews would indicate. Does it have some awkward moments? Yes. Are there some really interesting devices employed to give the audience a sense of historical place superimposed on present day? Yes. Is the acting wooden? No. With that cast? Ian McKellen? Audrey Tautou? Alfred Molina? You’ve got to be kidding. Tom Hanks sounds like he has a cold for some scenes…but I wouldn’t call him wooden, as some reviewers have. We liked it (me and C). Is it a big fast moving thriller? No. It’s a retelling of an intricate, complex FICTIONAL mystery novel. So no…it’s not really fast paced. There’s alot of dialogue…you have to listen. And think. God forbid you should have to think and pay attention while being entertained.
It’s a good movie. Go see it.

You haven’t eaten since 4pm…look at the sumptuous offerings on our catering table.
1. Sauerkraut sandwiches (ok, so they have other stuff on them…is this what you Northerners eat for a bedtime snack? Cabbage?)
2. Vegetarian chili. Now…while I (a former vegetarian) applaud this meatless option…chili? This late at night?
3. Coffee. Great. Would have been even nicer at halftime…you know. Hours before you’re going to have to try to fall asleep, rather than minutes.
My future in catering looks certain.

If I have to come to work at 6am on a Sunday morning…

Is it too much for me to expect coffee? A bottle of water?
A stale bagel to be eaten beside the aromatic dumpster?
None of this do we have this morning. We have day old coffee.
And the last 2 bottles of water that just happened to travel with us
from Oklahoma City.
This is the life I chose…I’m having fun in Dallas.

“We’re living in a dictatorship…a self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes…”
“Ah…there you go…bringing class into it again!”
Well, yeah…you think this is a democracy? Read this! It’s an interesting column from the Denver Post. Since you’ll never hear about it otherwise. You just want to throw the hammer at the screen - don’t you? Don’t you?

You know…I love vinaigrette dressing with balsamic vinegar…but I would never, never bring it on a plane to eat. Especially a very, very small plane. For a very, very long flight.
(I’m so worried about killing some poor soul with a peanut allergy by eating my peanut butter crackers on a plane…I put the whole cracker in my mouth and chew and swallow it quickly. I’m not even sure this would help - but it would make me feel better when my seatmate collapsed in anaphylactic shock in the aisle of the plane. At least I would have made an effort…)
Hey…I’m sorry they don’t feed us back here in coach anymore, but here’s a list of things you should not bring on a plane to eat.
1. Salad with feta cheese and vinaigrette.
2. Anything with beans. Duh.
3. Tunafish
There’s one I’m missing, but I’m sure I’ll remember it tomorrow night…someone will be eating it on the CRJ to Memphis.

He’s 55 years old. He works for the Bush administration. In his spare time, he writes erotic historical fiction and tries to buy Maureen Dowd shots of tequila. Those crazy Republicans.

Ever since Bush took us to war in Iraq, I’ve been dreading our sons’ eighteenth birthdays. The other day I realized it won’t matter. Richard had sent me this Fred Reed article. Reed was trying to discourage young men from entering the military. He mentioned his belief that there will never be a compulsory draft again. It had never occurred to me that until the country’s political elite discover the “national guard” excuse for this generation they will never send their sons to fight. So they can’t send mine. The escape avenues used by Bush, Cheney…and Clinton are closed now. Can you imagine the media and blog world reaction to that kind of hypocrisy today? What would really be interesting…to watch the more conservative media outlets spin it. How would Fox News cover the son of a future president sneaking out of compulsory military service?