This place was created near the end of the twentieth century just for the heck of it..
Saturday, October 28, 2000
I will be unavailable for the next several days. No big thing. I will be back around Wednesday or Thursday by which time the election, which is becoming more and more absurd as well as more and more frightening, will be only a few days away and probably, for all practical purposes, a done deal.
To keep up while I am away check out bushwatch.com, and this obscure political news site. And don't miss the cover of The Nation Magazine, which I truly hope is not an awful example of precognitive sight.
Remember H.L.Mencken's words:
In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.
Now I know that the country was much different when he said, or is said to have said, these words. And so was the GOP in those days. And he probably said them, if he said them, for the wrong reasons. But I like to cite them anyway since the words are truly appropriate for today and today's GOP.
Friday, October 27, 2000
In about 115 days or so, pitchers and catchers will be reporting and this event will be well behind us, as will this one. Do these jimokes remember the Dewey Beats Truman headlines of 1948?
And if you think I am going to start in on Nader being a problem for Gore, your wrong. If Gore blows this( and in the words of one of my young friends should be sentenced to total obscurity forever if he does) and allows the GOP to foist Bush upon us it will be the fault of Al Gore, the DNC, And the Democratic party,and me and you, period and end of story. We should have been able to crush this dimwit a long time ago.
Try this for a little or a lot of fun depending on your mood.
Thursday, October 26, 2000
Today my morning paper, The Hartford Courant, ( www.ctnow.com ) ran an election 2000 story about my issue number one. The Supreme Court. While it may not have been any kind of personal epiphany, it did force me open my eyes to something that is always smoldering under my surface. Most people don't really know much about politics. Nor do they care much about politics. They do care about the generalizations about politics. Like the guy more or less quoted in the paper this morning, who said that the courts are too "liberal" lately. "Eaiser to kill babies than deer" he said. Weather he could name any current Justice, or any recent decision is not important. The truth is it doesn't matter. What matters is what he will think when he votes.
So. Will I let this absolute fact of life bother me. Yes, yes yes! It already has. I found myself thinking that all of them, the "most people" might be right. And might be right about everything. So maybe I should just relax and go with the flow.
No, I won't do that. So here goes. Read this by Charlie Peters, genuine hero, genuine good guy, genuine guy. And no it's not about the Courts, it's about Charlie's usual way of putting his finger on the simple truth of stuff.. And subscribe to his magazine. And read his "Tilting at Windmills"to get an idea of his thinking about lot's of stuff.
Then imagine a George W. Bush managing , say, the Cuban Missle Crisis.GIHSMFAT
Wednesday, October 25, 2000
I read this article yesterday and last night had a dream, or a nightmare really, that the unthinkable happened. So, you read it and see if you don't have bad dreams too.
What is it that lets these kind of guys keep coming up with the time and sources of money to do this stuff? I like a tilt at a windmill and a fantasy and even a pseudo-quest once in a while myself, but really...come up with something new, guys.
And this too... a story from a very serious conservative website that also loves trying to revive the cold war with this "spy" story baloney. Next thing is for some looney tunes congressman, probably Dan Burton, to call for an investigation.
Tuesday, October 24, 2000
Jumping around a lot this morning , at least so far. This column by Micky Kaus catches my eye. I don't believe him. I think that he has already decided to support Bush because like a lot of other marginal reporters and columnists, he is sick of having Clinton, who they all hate and envy, beat the odds and them at every turn. So they want an idiot for POTUS so that they will be able to be "oh so very smart" by contrast. Jerks!
Somewhere along my road a long way back, I bought this book of photographs, "Nothing Personal" by Richard Avedon with comments by James Baldwin. Yes, a strange combination. This was during my personal transition from commie hating (fearing) right wing wacko Republican, to whatever I am now. Have a look if you can. Great stuff.(although the linked critic above does not think the word great and Avedon should be linked does he?)
And on the subject of photographers that shaped my thinking, there is Dianne Arbus. "Boy with a straw hat waiting to march in a pro-war parade" and "Albino sword swallower at a carnival" are two that have haunted me since I first saw them in this book that is full of pictures that haunt. Look at the book to see these photographs and the others.
Monday, October 23, 2000
It is only 15 days away now. Two weeks and it will be over and done for a while. Two weeks for sanity to take over and let the electorate see that it is less about the two men that seem to leave many of us cold and more about the hidden battle between the wackos on the extreme right who have foisted Bush upon us and, the rest of us. Those who know that guys like Armey, DeLay, Helms, Barr. Lott, Mellen-Scafe, Bennett, Olasky, Robinson, and many more like them are waiting to crawl out from whereever they are hiding the minute Bush wins. So we have to win to keep them under their rocks. Especially the like of the Olasky guy who is Bushes "faith based" baloney-fat advisor.
Other stuff............ Lets see, what would I do. You can guess. I wonder why I never read stupid stuff like(obviously no one did because no one would write it and if they did no one would publish it)this back in the days when I worked.
Yeah yeah, I know the Yankees won a couple. Who cares!
My Selden Creek trip was great, if anyone is interested. Here is a little blurb about one aspect of the area. I go there for other reasons.
Saturday, October 21, 2000
I will be away for today and Sunday. I will be aboard CHIMAERA, my friends boat for a hopefully relaxing and hopefully refeshing and hopefully uneventful trip down the Thames from Shaw's Cove into Long Island Sound then west to Saybrook then north up the Connecticut River to Selden Creek. An overnight in Selden Creek then, after breakfast, the reverse. I will not use this time for anything . I will simply spend it. And enjoy the spending.
While I am away here is a little nuggget of bushdom to chew on.
Thursday/Friday, October 19/20, 2000
Today, Thursday I spent some time with a guy I know buying a car battery in a Wal-Mart. Now this is an old guy who has a way about him and in the half hour we were in the store, he probably had a dozen or so short conversations with folks. The guy on the door, a customer that he almost ran down with the motorized shopping cart he was using because of a gone bad hip replacement, two clerks, an information person and a few people in the customer service line and finally with the check-out clerk. What I found out is that none of them, including my friend, was pre-occupied with the election. In fact, none of them even seemed to be giving it any thought. The point is that I may be the one out of touch not them. Maybe they are right and the election will come and go and they will still need to get stuff, they will still have to watch out for how much they spend, they will still have to go to work, they will still be able to make small talk
I am tired of doing all the worrying. For the next 18 days I am going to try the old Alfred E attitude. By the way, the car battery was $29.95 with a trade in and once we got it back to his camper, the old broken down thing started right up, The camper, not my friend.
Yesterday all the papers and other news sources had stories with headlines shouting about the big raise for Social Security pensioners. Wow. No wonder George W wants to kill it. Whoops. Sorry about that I promised no more worrying.
Then again , I didn't say I wouldn't worry about first persons did I.. Who would rather have the mousy and bland Laura instead of the zaftig Tipper.
Wednesday, October 18, 2000
So, it is a Subway Series. The first since 1956. I honestly don't remember much about the1956 series except for the perfect game . I was a Senior in college. I was getting ready to vote for Dwight David Eisenhower, my first vote ever. I was 21. One of my friends didn't make it back for the Senior year because the first polio vaccine came along the year after he got it and died in an iron lung. Among the group my father called my Irish friends was a guy, Jack Welch ( yes, that Jack Welch) who was already deciding where to go to graduate school so as to make his eventual rise to the top of the company he decided to run when he grew up easier. Another Pete Tierney , my roomate for four years and a close friend and frat brother of Jack's and also a fellow Salem High School graduate, was counting the days until graduation and his planned marriage to his one and only girl. I was starting a restless time.
Now, a new Subway Series, and I am getting ready to vote again. This time a vote against as much as a vote for anything. Back in '56 voting for Ike and Peace, Progress and Prosperity was an easy and positive call.
Enough of this nostalgia. I figure the baseball series is a can't miss for me. Since 1986, I have cringed at the very thought of the Mets and I was born dreading and hating the Yankees. So.... there you have it. How can I lose?
Oh yeah, the "debate". I watched. Gore did not rip his throat out. Came close once or twice, but close only counts in horseshoes.( Scoring:Rule 1)
Tuesday, October 17, 2000
As I am typing this stuff today, 10:06AM Eastern Standard Time, news is breaking out all over. Maybe, just maybe, a possible end to the current insanity in the mid-east, a sitting govenor and candidate for the US Senate has been killed in a small plane crash, the Los Angeles transit strike has been resolved, and the often silly always pandering, big booze company sponsored "debates" are finally going to end tonight.
The "debate" tonight will, I assume, continue to talk about the ten year projections for the economy. They will talk about what will happen over a decade when no one could have come close to predicting any of the events above even yesterday. One was just an accidental thing, another was predicted to fail before it started, and another just a routine everyday settlement that was blown out of proportion by local politics.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if Gore simply asked the Bush caricature to name one single plan offered and put into law by Republicans over the past 65 years that was designed to even out the playing field for regular Americans. And then let him have the floor for an hour to squirm and fail to name anything. Then Gore could respond for just a few minutes and say, child labor laws, 40 hour work week, workmans compensation insurance, employer paid health care benefits, Social Security, unemployment compensation insurance, Medicare, (and point out that as recently as Bob Doles time in the Senate, the wacko right was voting against it's implementation), minimum wage laws, voter rights, and on and on. Gore could simply cite all of these and more and point out that progresive politicians and the progressive labor movement fought the wacko right wing to provide all of these. Thats what this election should be about. Not anyones ten year plan for anything.
Talking about predicting the future, here is a new website that claims to do just that. So it tells me that there is a chance of rain on this day next year. That's some prediction.
Monday, October 16, 2000
The elections are just 22 days away and the disengaged electorate seem to be in the mood to throw it away by voting as though they were electing something as trivial as Homecoming Queen. Oh, sorry George W. I am not insulting your manhood, just your substance. There, feel better now?
I stand by my call of a couple of weeks ago in any case. The operative word in the dire comment above is seem. We will come out of our collective thought paralysis in time. We will remember the Supreme Court. We will remember progressive taxation works. We will remember that you can't save Social Security by ending it. We will remember that public education is at the foundation of our countries strength. We will see that George W. Bush is just plain stupid.
Advice to Gore. In the upcoming last "debate", despite the silly town meeting format, forget all your advisors advice and just rip his throat out. I am telling you, it will work Get mad. And then get even.
A personal comment. Yesterday, my oldest son Nick and his true love Sandy got married. It was one fine day! The road certainly has risen up for them and now may the wind always be at their backs. Alla Salute!!
Friday, October 13, 2000
Here is some interesting if not otherwise useless news....webhouse.priceline.com just sent me an e-mail telling me that they were crediting my credit card $5.53 for unused grocery tokens and unused grocery credits. I wonder if all the e-commerce websites that go belly-up or who will eventually go belly-up will be as responsive to preserving a little customer goodwill. My guess is that they won't unless, like the priceline people they still hope to keep their main business alive.
Let's see what else today. Yeah yeah, I know the Mets won but who cares. And since I am brain dead this morning I will follow my instinct and shut down for the rest of the weekend. Should have made that choice before I typed in the date this morning.
Thursday, October 12, 2000
Drat. The Yankees managed to have an inning and pull out a win. And blast!
The debates? Well, I watched and was stupified. I suppose the jerks who are still trying to decide will say it was a wonderful debate just like the VP's the other night. Thats life. There was no debate, there was no news, there was no winner, which makes it a Bush plus. The wackos have managed and created a caricature of a candidate that seems harmless at worst, and likeable at best. For all of us who want to see the progressive tradition continue the show last night was a bad sign.
The real news today is the continuing mid-east collapse, the possible terroist attack in Yeman, the slipping in the stock markets, the uneasey feeling that things may be getting ready to come apart a little in the easy times of the past several years. It all may be coincidential. Or it all may be part of an orchestrated................wait a minute. I can't be saying that. I am not saying that
Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Another day another "debate"...or dollar. Both I suppose. The candidates will sit around a table and "debate" without saying too much that really matters. ( isn't it a scary comment that a prestigious news source puts out crap like this as a viewer guide on the question of who is going to end up as the leader of the free world as we all loved to say in times past and a few still do say...hyperbole vs. stupidity...the big issue!!!) The press and the focus groups will ponder and fume about who won. The polls will show Gore to be better on the issues while Bush is the "leader" and the most real. It's baloney-fat piled on to baloney-fat. But you know all that. And isn't it too bad.
I usually would not let Slate e-zine be my source for baseball stuff, but since the Yankees lost last night to the Mariners, and since a cheap shot or two is not beneath me when it comes to the Yankees and especially ex-Red Sox players who are now Yankees, I will probably read this article. I haven't yet. Hope the article lives up to it's title.
And then, if your tired of baseball and politics there is this. I like the part about aliens and stuff.
Tuesday, October 10, 2000
Only Tuesday. It feels like it should be at least Thursday. Slow motion kind of time for me. I don't like that feeling. I am going to do something about that. Step on the gas.
The wackos are going nuts over the Bush surge in the polls. I am too.
Here is a point of view on our election from Russia.
Obviously, I have nothing to say today.
Monday, October 9, 2000
With just 28 days to go until the actual election day and, despite my very solid and unwavering prediction that the people would not and indeed could not vote for the frat boy George W., there is the possibility that I might be wrong and that Bush might ( shudder ) win the election. There, I have admitted it but quietly so as not to be too much of jinx to the good guys.
If the unthinkable happens though, there is a huge consolation prize looming for me. And here is my second flat out prediction of the season. "Baby-face" Lazio gets whipped by Hillary. Just think of how the wackos will go nuts at the thought of Senator Hillary CLINTON. In fact, this may be more than a consolation prize.
I was hoping to be able to note today that both the dreaded and hated Yankees, and the despised Mets had been defeated. But no, I cannot do that. Another consolotation prize though. Roger Clemens was drubbed twice by the Oakland A's.
Finally today, this baseball story isn't exactly related to my whine, but it's pretty good anyway.
Saturday, October 7, 2000
I am calmer. I mean calmer than I was yesterday. Don't know why, I just am. The thought of President "Stupid" and the era of the wackos running him and the country is still just as possible. The idiot potential voters who swing back and forth between candidates on one whimsical idea or another are still there threatening me and you with their lack of understanding. The undecided are even worse. Phewww! that ought to be enough to keep me in bad moods forever. I don't even care about the Red Sox being for sale. In fact maybe thats the source of my better mood today. Maybe the new guys will just leave Fenway Park alone. Well, they might. You never know. Maybe.Could be. Why not? Please!
Or, as one of my sisters in law says "...you can dream!"
While implying"...you jerk"
Friday, October 6, 2000
This small step by the Congress toward ending the Cuba embargo is, I suppose, progress. Get it all over with and end the stupid embargo entirely you, fools!
Despite the so-called civility of the debate between Lieberman and Cheney last night, the plans by the GOP to privatize thereby killing Social Security, to turn over Medicare to the greed of the insurance companies, to take huge steps toward killing the concept of progressive tax rates, to put people on the Supreme Court who will try to take the country back to the eighteenth century, and to rape the environment in the name of energy are all outrageous and Lieberman did no one a service by failing to point this out.I want this whole business to be over with too!
So Saddam is still there, the Bush-Cheney war that was not won, and it looks like Milosevic is gone, the Clinton-Cohen war that apparantly was won. See how stupid all this baloney is. My war is better than your war! Enough already with this insanity!!!
A long time ago, during my days as a player in a small theater company, I played a character in an Albee play, The American Dream. I must have been smarter then because we used to have questions from the audience after performances and I thought I understood the play. Today, I can't even try to labor through this overly pretentious review. But I am getting away from my point. I played Daddy in this play. A gutless defeated character who sat around saying "...I just want everything to get over with" . Lately thats how I feel about a lot of stuff.
But not everything. Just stupid stuff.
Thursday, October 5, 2000
If anything that gets this much hype could be any less relevant to the election process, I would like to know what it is.
But this column that is published in The Weekly Standard, the conservative brainy magazine, is relevant isn't it. And if you didn't read it, go back and do read it.
Now, this is worth looking at. Click here. And you thought that this was the quintessential baloney fat site. Sure when I have to resort to this silly junk I know it is time to get ..., well something. Baseball, for me, is five months and a couple of weeks away. I will keep looking around. Who knows what might crop up.
Wednesday, October 4, 2000
Last night, I was able to take a certain delight when The Oakland A's cleaned Roger Clemens' clock and beat the dreaded and hated Yankees 5 to 3. And this is good.
Yesterday, The Senate joined the House by passing in a near unanimous vote, a bill that will allow for 585,000 new 6 year H1B technical visa's to be allowed over the next three years. Go figure, as some may say. I am specifically in favor of pretty much open immigration, but these guys are usually opposed for a lot of reasons, including xenophobia. Except when busines talks, and business did $ talk.
Yes, yes. I did watch the "debate" last night. And George W. managed to stay standing, did not screw up too bad, completed a few statements, and said "fuzzy numbers" several times , and managed finally to say "promises made, promises kept" twice; therefore a lot of the 1500 pundits and reporters declared the debate a tie, or maybe a squeaker on way or another. I thought that like the Oakland A's did to the Yankees, even cautious Al Gore cleaned his clock. Wouldn't it have been fun if we could have been treated to watching someone less cautious take the guy apart?
The so-called undecided's ( I call them something else ) and the town meeting types gathered by the media for "insight" also said "...gee whiz they both made some good points and I am still....snore snooze confused and don't know and gosh and..." Who the heck cares a whit about what these jerks think!
Tuesday, October 3, 2000
Alright. It was bad editing yesterday. I admit that it was the second and not the first. But in the interest of honesty I will leave the mistake in place for all the world to see. There you have it. Plain speaking. or is it just baloney-fat like so much of what anyone who tunes into the "debate" tonight will get. And as for these fools...
So these guys along with about 1500 other "members of the media" will be telling the fools above and many of the rest of us who said what and who won and who got off the best zinger and blah blah blah blah.
So while Bush is getting ready to tell America that he wants to make us all more like good ole Texas, stories like this get buried.
And the legitimately important story of the day, the mid-east peace process collapse, seems to be getting smothered . Later, after the election is over, I worry that the events taking place now in The West Bank and Gaza will end up effecting us all more than we think. Certainly more than we want.
Monday, October 1, 2000
The election is five weeks and one day away. And the "debates" , three of them between Gore and Bush within the next two weeks start tomorrow night. Two hundred and seventy minutes to try to convince first the TV, and print media guys who "won" and then the ten to twelve percent of the "electorate" who shoud be the next POTUS. If this isn't the ultimate GIHSMFAT (god in heaven save me from all this--for those of you who have forgotten, a rhetorical "god" that is ) then what is! But, I will watch and I will groan and I will stick to my prediction of a few weeks ago that Bush cannot win.
But, and more to the point today, it's the First Monday in October. The Supreme Court, yes, the supreme court of the "it's The Supreme Court stupid" slogan I inflicted on you some months ago, opens today. When the "debates" take place see which candidate tries to capture this issue. See if either of them even tries.
So here we are in October. The best month. Well, my favorite anyway. It started off with a fine day for me out on my friends boat CHIMAERA for an easy day sail down the Thames past Avery Point and into the Sound for a few hours yesterday. A good place to forget the election, the collapse of a possible peace in the mid-east and whatever else needed forgetting for a few hours.
