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Feeling Down

Sunday, February 26, 2012

I’m feeling a bit down lately. It was Mitt that made me feel this way, sort of empty and dissatisfied.

It all started when I saw him deliver this heartfelt paean to the joy he feels when he returns to his native earth.

 

 

It’s so terribly unfair that the press and much of the blogosphere has seen fit to concentrate on his wife’s two Cadillacs, rather than the pain and heartache he, and she, must feel when they are forced to use those Detroit made Cadillacs near their modest homes in New Hampshire, California and those other locations to which they have been most cruelly exiled.

 

For my part, I look around me and I share Mitt’s pain, for the blinders have fallen from my eyes, and now I can truly see. What do I see? I see that the trees are all the wrong height. I’m not sure if they’re too tall or too short, but that’s not the point. And don’t get me started on the roads. I now know that our stunted and/or overgrown trees and crooked roads are among the many reasons why I can never be truly happy here in New England. And this realization has led to even more revelations. The grass here is too high, the water finds a level too low, the sun rises too early, and the young maidens cheeks are not appled enough.

 

But like Mitt, I must soldier on. Not for me the joy of living where the trees are just the right height, the roads go places, and all other things have achieved the golden mean. Like Mitt, for reasons beyond my ken, I will never know the joy of living in Detroit.

 

 

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Friday Night Music

Friday, February 24, 2012

Well, in keeping with the topicality requirement, I thought I would try to find a song that celebrated something all the Republican candidates had in common, and I think I’ve found it, in two versions. This group was a true one hit wonder, though according to what I read while wandering through youtube, they parlayed the song into appearances in two movies. The group was the Castaways, and the song, well, like I said, a tribute to all the candidates. There are no non lip-synced versions, by the way. Maybe it’s because it was actually physically impossible to replicate those high notes live.

Now, I’m including this second version only because it shows the truly bizarre range of things you can find on the internet generally, and youtube specifically. According to the description on youtube:

“Liar, Liar,” by 1960s garage rock band The Castaways. Dance performance by The Honey Bees (Mary Ann, Ginger and Lovey) of Gilligan’s Island.

I used to watch Gilligan’s Island. Yes, I’ll admit it. But I have absolutely no recollection of “Lovey”. One thing this video does prove is that Mary Ann and Ginger couldn’t dance worth a lick, and Lovey, well, she isn’t even trying. Maybe it was being stuck on that island for so long.

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They truly serve who only sit and tweet

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Yesterday’s debate is over, and I think it’s only fair to pay tribute to the true heroes.

The internet has done some wonderful things, but perhaps for none can we be more grateful than the ability it affords the millions to avoid actually watching the likes of Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney bloviate for two hours, while still giving us the ability to get the highlights, from a number of perspectives, in real time.

I consider myself a person of at least an average ability to maintain my self control and, despite my advancing years, my heart is strong and my blood pressure low. But I know my limits. In my younger days I was fully capable of watching Republican presidential candidates debate, but that was in a different era, when some of them were certifiably sane. Those days are gone, and I know that I risk permanent harm should I expose myself to a concentrated dose of high pressure right wing posturing, particularly by the loathsome creatures remaining in this year’s contest. I don’t need a brain aneurysm, thank you very much, and my wife gets upset when I start screaming at the television. But thanks to the magic of the twittersphere, I can avoid any need to risk my health or marriage while still keeping fully apprised of the debate as it progresses, for there are numerous brave souls who willingly- in fact, in some cases, one suspects eagerly – expose themselves to the mind altering experience of a Republican debate. They sacrifice their health and their fingers, as they tap away throughout, sending instant and –in the case of those I follow-informed and funny reactions to the doings on stage, allowing the faint of heart such as I to stay informed yet sane.

So let us observe a moment of silence for these brave if foolish souls. They watch, so we don’t have to. We cannot know what permanent damage might result from this masochistic behavior. We can only hope for their sakes, that Obama’s Healthcare plan remains in effect, as they will need treatment of some sort, sooner or later.

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No democracy allowed in Greece

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

This, (via Atrios) along with the extreme austerity imposed on Greece, really should give Germany, of all countries, pause:

When Wolfgang Schäuble proposed that Greece should postpone its elections as a condition for further help, I knew that the game would soon be up. We are at the point where success is no longer compatible with democracy. The German finance minister wants to prevent a “wrong” democratic choice. Similar to this is the suggestion to let the elections go ahead, but to have a grand coalition irrespective of the outcome. The eurozone wants to impose its choice of government on Greece – the eurozone’s first colony.

What’s being done to Greece now is the functional equivalent to what was done to Germany after World War I, and that really didn’t turn out so well. We’re unlikely to see a Greek Hitler, but we’re quite likely to see a Greek dictator.

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Night scene on Park Street

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Last night we went to Hartford to see an old friend of mine, who I hadn’t seen since High school. We went to a pizza place in Hartford, just around the corner from where I lived until I was six. When we left, what did we see but this old car sitting by the curb. I’m not usually into cars, but this one impressed even me. Check out that hood. There’s about an acre of metal there. The thing looked like it just left the showroom, and somehow I managed to get an almost blur free image.

I briefly considered trying to somehow tie this in to politics. You know, an American car, Romney advocating bankruptcy, Obama to the rescue and all of that, but it was way too much of a stretch, so I’m just going to leave it that it’s going up because I like the picture.

 

 

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Lazy Sunday

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Honestly, there are times when blogging becomes a difficult ordeal. I just can’t bring myself to comment on current events. Partly this is because, deep down, I know I lack the talent to adequately address our current situation. To think that people out there, all over the country-indeed, all over the globe, are having to take Little Ricky Santorum somewhat seriously. And Thomas Jefferson and James Madison thought that they’d gotten theology out of politics! Not so, not so, Little Ricky’s putting it back, and to listen to him and the tea party folks, it’s just what Tom and Jamie would have wanted. But, as I say, I lack the skills to express the proper mix of outrage and mockery mixed with shame for a 21st century country that could come to this. To think that those of us who would like to spare our country the humiliation of presenting Little Ricky to a stunned world as a potential president must hope for a Romney candidacy. I am not among that group, by the way. Should the gods in their infinite caprice give us Ricky, then the world will just have to be stunned for a while. In the end, it will all have been for the best.

Anyway, as I have nothing to say on the subject of Santorum, Jeremy Lin, or any other current subject, I thought I’d put up some pictures. I’ve been fooling around with a fisheye lens I got for Christmas, as well as a close up lens I’ve had with a while, and submit herewith a few pictures.

This is a picture taken from the UConn Avery Point campus, goosed a little in Snapscan, the Ipad App of the Year, and I think deservedly so.

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My wife bought a Weeping Pussy Willow at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago, and the catkins are now coming out. A very early sign of spring.

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We live near Haley Farm State Park, where this was taken.

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And,finally, yet another sign of a coming spring. This year the anticipation these tiny signs usually bring is tempered somewhat by the fact that we really haven’t had a winter.

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Friday Night Music

Friday, February 17, 2012

So, I’ve been trying to keep these things topical and timely, but what with things changing so fast in the crazysphere, it’s hard to keep up. Even Adele,this years Grammy sensation, probably never figured that by the time she got to sing this song, Newt Gingrich would be old news yet again. Besides it’s not easy to find songs about birth control, aspirin, or the intersection between the two. So this will have to do.

UPDATE: This is not my week. This is a fake, which I should have realized, but since it’s a well done fake, I’m leaving it up. Seems to me, though, that if someone was going to fake it, they should have gone after Ricky.

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A tank for every town

Thursday, February 16, 2012

All hail to the townsfolk of Keene, New Hampshire, who are opposing the acquisition of a $285K armored vehicle for their town’s police force. As the Occupy movement has brought into sharp focus, our police departments have, behind the scenes so to speak, gradually morphed into paramilitary organizations staffed by people just off the Star  Wars set. All this the result of the anti-terrorist mind set-keep ‘em scared-that the Pentagon and the U.S. government generally has used so effectively since 2001.

These behemoths are manufactured in Pittsfield, and the spokesperson makes what he believes to be a persuasive case for the proposition that every Podunk in the country needs its own tank:

Jim Massery, the government sales manager for Pittsfield, Mass.-based Lenco, dismissed critics who wonder why a town with almost no crime would need a $300,000 armored truck. “I don’t think there’s any place in the country where you can say, ‘That isn’t a likely terrorist target,'” Massery said. “How would you know? We don’ t know what the terrorists are thinking. No one predicted that terrorists would take over airplanes on Sept. 11. If a group of terrorists decide to shoot up a shopping mall in a town like Keene, wouldn’t you rather be prepared?”

Were I to be struck by a meteor, I would probably feel like it would have been good to have built a meteor shelter, but looking forward from my present vantage point, I’m just not convinced I should invest money in one. The same logic would seem to apply here. There are literally thousands of towns in the US. A tank for every one seems a bit much, but as they all share Keene’s peril, presumably each needs its very own tank.  And Oh, by the way, someone actually did predict that terrorists would take over planes, you can look it up. 

On the other hand, there are a lot of higher percentage threats for which I’d rather be prepared that we never seem to get around to preparing for. I’d like to be prepared for global warming. I’d like to be prepared for the foreign competition that will crush us in the coming years, as we reap the harvest of right wing attacks on, and defunding of, our public educational system and our relentless extermination of middle class jobs. It is so very strange that we always seem to be able to afford the very expensive things we don’t need, but can never find the money for the things that we do.

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Freedom of religion in the New Gilded Age

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

 We have recently been apprised of a newly discovered age old constitutional principle. Actually, two, if we want to go back a few years for the second. Senator Blunt, (R-MO), tells us that his proposal that all employers be allowed to impose their moral values on their employees is merely a restatement of 225 years of received constitutional wisdom. Who knew? A few years ago, we were told that corporations are people. The implications of these two novel, yet newly age old, constitutional principles have not yet been plumbed, and I intend to plumb them, or at least start plumbing.

Corporations being people, it follows as the night the day that they may become members of a religion. Not only that, they are free to start their own religions, which, given their unique spiritual needs, they may very well decide to do. While a corporate religion might be relatively unconcerned with issues like abortion or gay marriage, it would no doubt have strong god-inspired objections to engaging in such sinful behavior as bargaining with unions, complying with environmental regulations, manufacturing safe products, or doing or not doing a thousand other things that might offend the tender consciences of its adherents. Banks might form a sect for those who believe that regulation of financial instruments is offensive to god, and they might therefore, in good conscience, indeed impelled by god almighty, justifiably demand the right to engage in their holy rites of financial legerdemain, unhindered by regulation. Who are we to gainsay them? If a corporate conscience is offended, we can’t impose upon its religious freedom by making it obey neutral laws, can we?

 

As for myself, I am contemplating starting my own religion as well. I predict it will outsell Christianity in a heartbeat  You see, it offends my conscience to render unto Caesar, though I have no problem with Caesar rendering unto me. In fact my religion requires it. This, as anyone can see, improves on the Christian formulation. Some might argue that it might make for an unsustainable society, but no sacrifice is too much to impose on society so long as one tender conscience is spared. Actually, now that I think about it, my religion is nothing new. The banks beat me to it. 

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Somebody explain please

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

This is an actual tweet from a Republican Congressman about Obama’s birth control rule:

RT @RepJackKimble: American men, make no mistake this is President Obama’s plan to make you wear a condom.

Is there anyone out there who can parse his logic? 

 

UPDATE: Well, shame on me, for not doing a bit of googling before posting this. In my defense, the Huffington Post was taken in too. The thing is, Republican Congressmen are so stupid these days that it was far too plausible:

 

The fictional Kimble claims to be from California’s 54th district — California only has 53 districts — and his twitter page is adorned with corporate logos including Cargill, Fidelity Investments and Toys R’ Us. At first glance, Kimble’s posts appear to be in line with conservative ideology, but they are in fact subtle digs at the conservative movement. 

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