about « angryXer

about

sometimes angry (probably consistently till the election), always gen x. what happens when an idealist meets the world of hypocrisy & stupidity.

88 Comments »

88 Responses

on October 14, 2008 at 11:09 pm | Reply ds55

Just checkin’ out your blog.
on October 14, 2008 at 11:14 pm | Reply angryxer

Well hey howdy, fellow Mudflatter! Thanks for stopping by. Obviously I’ve not waxed eloquent on the About page thus far, but I hope you take a mosey around elsewhere. (Nice Claes Oldenburg spoon, by the way; I lived in Uptown for a few years, and miss the spoon…)
on October 16, 2008 at 6:44 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

Hi Angryxer! I didn’t see you around the mudflats last night, but I wanted to tell you that I talked to my daughter in Redlands about Prop 8, and sent her a link to the No on 8 field offices. She’s active in campus Democrats, so I think she’ll do a little rabble rousing.

You’re in the Bay Area? I lived in Santa Cruz in the late 60s and 70’s and in the City for a couple years in the late 70’s. Those were definitely the good old days.

Here’s hoping you won’t have to be angry after November 4, at least not about who’s in charge of the country and who gets to marry whom.

Cheers!
on October 16, 2008 at 7:54 pm | Reply angryxer

Hi Wired! Thanks for coming on over–it is a little hit & miss finding folks on the Mudflats blog on any given night. I was out for the debate last night, so missed the Mudchatter, unfortunately.

Thank you so much for talking to your daughter about Prop 8–it warms the cockles of my angry little heart. I am in the Bay Area, yes, that bastion of No-on-8-dom. (Hey, random question–did you ever get to Tassajara back in your California heyday?)

From your lips to god’s ears, that I might cross off the election and marriage rights from my angry list. I’m so easily riled up by b.s. & hypocrisy, I’m sure there will still be other fuel for my fire, but I’d love to bank it down considerably, for a good long while. As fearless leader Obama has said: Enough! The insanity of the last couple months has taken such a toll on people.

Cheers right back to you!
on October 16, 2008 at 9:33 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

Nope, never been to Tassajara. Stayed mostly on the north end of Monterey Bay. Lived in the SC Mountains north of Soquel as a teenager.
on October 16, 2008 at 10:42 pm | Reply angryxer

Ah– I was just thinking there might’ve been a six-degrees-of-separation link lurking there. Beautiful country, SC Mountains & Monterey. Though I’m not sure how crispy the SC Mountains may have gotten in the statewide inferno we had this summer.
on October 17, 2008 at 9:45 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

I visited SC in June and, although I didn’t see fires, the air was smokey and there was ash all over. Reminded me of Seattle after St. Helens blew in 1980.

Can you believe the Republican a-holes thinking they can get away with the same voter fraud tactics they used in the past 2 elections? Right down to the same New Mexico guy, on cue, raising allegations. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, I must be a spineless Democrat, but fool me thrice– uhhh, gonna have to finally call you on this bullshit.

And forgive me, but I did not think McCain was funny at the Al Smith dinner! Ach, even Rachel said he was funny . He was snide and mean-spirited, as per usual.

Isn’t it great the effect that Michelle Bachmann’s crazy talk had on her opponent’s donations? He’s already taken in over $70,000!

I got my ballot today. Cannot wait to fill in the bubbles and send it in.
on October 18, 2008 at 12:10 am | Reply angryxer

That is such great news about the anti-Bachmann donations! Hadn’t heard about the $70k. Sweet. I was fuming earlier when I saw the tape of her mad rantings. Wasn’t she part of the absurdly named Palin “truth squad”? I seem to vaguely recall that some of the MN Mudpuppies knew of her and scoffed greatly about her record last month.

I have to finish catching up on Maddow now that I’m home, but I did see Keith-O’s segment about the DOJ concerns–thank heavens Obama’s being proactive for a change (ie, compared to spineless Dems of earlier years) on calling out the funny stuff with GOP vote suppression. It really is too much that the same guy in NM is at it again.

If McCain hadn’t been running such a scuzzy campaign, I might’ve thought he was funny at the Al Smith dinner, but compartmentalizer I am not; I didn’t quite get Rachel’s reaction either. I cannot separate the man’s atrocious behavior from some evening where he’s acting nicer. I used to think he was funny on the Daily Show during primary season. (Koinky dinky that he hasn’t been back on since? I think not.)

Where are you living now, o ballot caster? If you mentioned it over yon Mudflats, it’s slipped my mind. I get why early voting/absentee is so important in swing states where the monkey business is going on, but I must admit, I really like going to my local polling place and voting day of.
on October 18, 2008 at 7:42 am | Reply wired hussein differently

I live in Seattle, and most everyone in the state votes by mail. In fact, there are only 2 counties that even have polling in person, King (where Seattle is) and Pierce (Tacoma). I don’t mind voting by mail, partly because I get my irl political fix by going to the caucus. The Democratic primary caucus I attended was packed beyond all expectations and was very exciting because of the Hillary/Obama contest. We went at it hammer and tongs (but civilly, in accordance with strict rules), and then sent proportional votes to the next level. Small “d” democracy.

I remember way back in the day trying to vote in a presidential election in SF, must have been 1980?? Anyway, the lines were so long that I gave up and went home. I intended to vote for John Anderson, because I was so fed up with Jimmy Carter. We got Reagan out of that one.

Being a boomer, and having witnessed the riots, assassinations (yes, I remember where I was when I heard that JFK had been shot– 5th grade, teacher came in distraught) and other political violence of the 60’s, I have been so dismayed by the complacency of the American people in recent years. I was slightly encouraged by the WTO protests here in 1999, and I am so proud of a group that has protested at a particular suburban crossroad every single Saturday without fail since we invaded Iraq, but otherwise, greed, indifference to a political and religious hard right turn, and a highly inflated sense of entitlement has led us directly to this place. And while we were buying our mcmansions and gas guzzling suvs, charging ourselves into bankruptcy, and giving all responsibility for our actions to some twisted idea of Jeeeesussss, we have allowed a very dangerous cabal of men to systematically strip us of our rights.

Honestly, I don’t even care that the money is gone. I grew up without money and I’m not afraid of living close to the bone (I really admire that mudflats dude Ira, who says he lives on $7,000/year). What I do care about is that the controllers are tightening their grip. They will most definitely steal this election if we let them. Fortunately, the Obama campaign has people in it who seem to have figured it out (duh, the Republicans are using the exact same tactics they did in 04 and 06) and are taking action now, instead of after the election. The letter filed with DOJ yesterday is hugely important. The marker has been laid down. Obama will continue to personally take the high road, but his lawyers are in motion to stop the GOP in its tracks.

Did you see Jennifer Brunner (Ohio Secretary of State) on Rachel’s show? What she has done is very important, and it’s very encouraging to see how the US Supreme Court ruled in this case. Despite how that court has been packed in recent years, they did the right thing. Only another government entity can call voter registrations into question. And databases generated for other purposes cannot be used as a basis for questioning registrations. Even if that only applies to Ohio right now, it sets an important precedent.

And also (wink) I heard a Florida state official swear that there will be no repeat of the 2000 fiasco there.

538 has called it, Republican intelligensia (not quite an oxymoron) have called it. It’s going to be a landslide for Obama. Which doesn’t mean the Rovians won’t try to steal it. Their arrogance and greed know no bounds. But as Rachel put it last night, not only are we paying attention this time, we’re actually taking action. pro-action.

I’ve been told by a close friend that if this election is stolen, he’s taking to the streets. This from an extremely law-abiding, middle-aged citizen. Will the military be called out to quell the riots? Could be. Will we turn into Burma? I’m thinking not. I just heard Roger Daltrey screaming in my head, “We won’t be fooled again!”

I wonder sometimes if I’m just swimming in a sea of like-minded people, in the blogosphere and in real life– Seattle is about as blue as they come. But although I don’t watch the msm, I do try to inform myself of what’s really going on, not just what I want to see. That’s why your post of Sean’s experience (old PA couple voting for the n****r) is important.

I’m interested in your point of view. I would guess that you’re 15-20 years younger than me (I’m 55). My kids are 23, 21 and 19 (is that gen Y?), so I know the boomer perspective (lots of old hippies on mudflats) and I know what my own kids and their friends are thinking (they know they’re screwed), but my sense of your generation is that this is all a very rude shock for you. Many of your peers graduated from college and went right into very high-paying jobs (Microsofties in my ‘hood, Silicon Valley-ites down there) that they mistakenly thought they earned instead of lucked into. They’ve partied and had a great time, and bought lots of stuff, and they’re not at all happy that the party’s over. And then there are the ones who have kind of said, fuck this, all along. But obviously it’s more nuanced than that.

I hope we can continue this conversation. I love mudflats, but there’s a lot of chatter and repetition there now that is not so interesting to me. I’d like to know more about what motivates you, as an xer and as an individual, to write this blog, and what you’d like to see come from a regime change.

And now, fully caffeinated, I arise to enjoy a beautiful, fall Saturday. Going with my friend to the Goodwill outlet. Stuff is sold BY THE POUND! I will buy fabric and sweaters for my students to felt and cut up and re-sew and create altered stuff.
on October 18, 2008 at 7:54 am | Reply wired hussein differently

p.s. how’s the prop 8 thing going?
on October 18, 2008 at 7:58 am | Reply wired hussein differently

p.p.s. what the heck is your avatar? failing boomer eyesight …
on October 18, 2008 at 10:14 am | Reply angryxer

the p.s. first: SFGate is so lame now, the dreadful website redesign coupled with increasingly anemic reporting, that it’s actually hard to find Prop 8 news readily.

This bit makes my blood curdle: “the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been making calls to believers to support Prop. 8, including a recent video broadcast from Salt Lake City to churches a week ago. Individual Mormons now account for at least 40 percent of donors supporting the ballot measure, accounting for at least $9 million. The Connecticut-based Knights of Columbus and the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family are two other out-of-state conservative Christian groups contributing to the campaign. ”

I haven’t seen a polling update since this
http://cbs5.com/local/proposition.8.poll.2.834082.html
which was the freaky one that showed a flip from Prop 8 being down by at least 5% to being up by the same, and that said younger people were the vote now switching in favour. I don’t understand why there isn’t more polling on the issue; it’s making me really crazy.
on October 18, 2008 at 10:32 am | Reply angryxer

p.p.s. No, it’s not your eyesight! The picture’s so damn small it’s hard to tell, and I’m sure no one but my brother will recognize it, unless they also had a chitty chitty bang bang toy car (complete with retractable wings!) in their collection when they were kids and could identify this fraction of a picture.

My parents were making noises about selling some of our childhood stuff on eBay awhile back, as though they had a right to do so just because we didn’t have kids (even tho’ oldest brother does now, the niece is so not getting my stuff). As apartment dwellers we didn’t have room to take it all, but there was a certain clandestine raid to the parental garage one month: Operation Toy Rescue. We scored some of the old favourites, of which I should take some better pictures. That was a slightly hurried pick after a few other ones didn’t work. But it signifies my deep fondness for my noncomputer childhood, something which I think really distinguishes my part of Gen X from the younger crowd as a sea change in kids’ lives. You could probably speak to that very well, given the age of your kids, and that you’re a teacher (very cool! sounds like you teach a youngish set, too?)
on October 18, 2008 at 11:33 am | Reply angryxer

Okey doke, now back to your 7:42 questions… by jove, you’re going to get an About page out of me one way or the other! I wrote a little bit about the angle I’m coming from on my first post http://angryxer.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/sex-lies-moosegate/
(oh, the early nat’l enquirer days 6 wks ago), which of course nobody probably ever read, and I had every intention of fleshing out those ideas post-election, but I’m very glad we’ve struck up this conversation in the meantime, and am happy to field any and all questions. Thank you for coming over and adding your very thoughtful comments and perspective here. It has indeed been getting awfully crowded over at Mudflats lately.

I’m particularly happy to be able to disabuse you of the notion that I’m part of the entitled set. I don’t know any of those people who got high-paying jobs right out of college. You’re close on my age–38. I graduated smack dab into the early 90s recession, when none of us thought we were going to get decent jobs. Ah, the ascendency of the temp agency. Every Gen Xer I know has been eyes-wide-open cynical of the boomers and of our place in the world (some of my best friends are boomers; no offense) since, oh, high school. While it’s a subset of Gen X, it’s a pretty damn big one.

It’s hard to know how screwed we are by the current economic crisis; I think part of the fierce urgency for an Obama win is that just him getting in will start to set the right tone, that the necessary infrastructure and new job creation will start happening, and that cronyism is much less likely to plague the overseeing of the bailout funds. McCain has had all sorts of time to play catchup and at least pretend he knows what the economy needs, but he can’t even fake it well. The fact that he’s still allergic to saying “middle class” is a very serious red flag. Keep that man far, far away from the presidency.

I’d forgotten that Washington was one of the caucus states (the primary feels like it was years ago now! it’s all a blur). It must’ve really been something to be right on the frontlines of the Obama/Clinton voting. I am fearful of the b.s. Republicans are going to pull at the polls (it’s already begun– how obvious that they’re just using ACORN as an excuse for voter suppression, which is the true fraud being perpetrated), but deeply relieved Obama’s team is already on it. The Ohio ruling was huge; I did see Brunner on Maddow, yes, and plan to post that clip today. What insanity that the same folks caught red-handed in the DOJ scandal of ‘06 are right back at it. Shameless.

Here’s hoping you scored well on the Goodwill expedition today. A fine Saturday activity, and a most frugal one in this shitty economy, too!
on October 18, 2008 at 6:43 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

Okay, now you’ve got me googling gen x. I do have gen x friends, certainly work colleagues, but I tend to hang out with my contemporaries (mainly women who have grown or no children). And you’re not the famous slacker 20-somethings anymore. This is very interesting.

I’ll just say that although I love, love, love my boomer women friends, who are really starting to bust loose and fling off their shackles, I am, in general, really disgusted with my generation. Bunch of effing sellouts. And I’m also sick of the so-called Greatest Generation. Mind you, it’s hard to watch my parents become old and ill, but WWII and the Cold War are way over, and we need a new narrative. I don’t take all the blame for this mess, though. There were (are) plenty of old men like Rumsfeld and Cheney calling the shots. They’re still running on the old story, just like Wiley Coyote, right off the edge of the cliff, where they linger just a bit before (with any luck) they will plummet straight down to hell.

How is it that we have come to this place where conservative (albeit with compassion and integrity) seems liberal (Obama), we’ve handed over all our civil rights to a patriarchal cabal, and Jesus is a hater? I can’t say that I want my country back, because it’s never actually been all that great for a lot of people, but I do want real democracy, and full civil rights for all, now.

I am a teacher– have worked in several subject areas at all levels from elementary through college, and am now a teacher librarian in a private, K-12 school. I teach students to sew and knit and do other fiber crafts as a side gig. My library is probably not like most you know. We have books and computers, but there’s lots of other stuff going on, too. All the time. I love it.

Re. my trip to the Goodwill, almost everything in my closet is from there, and has been for years. Exceptions include underwear and socks. (We do have our standards.) At the outlet today, in addition to the new immigrants and determined bargain hunters like my friend and me, I noticed a lot of men I always kind of assume are Vietnam vets. Scraggly ponytails, possibly homeless, definitely dealing with some emotional issues. I guess we can look forward to a lot more like them, and now with their equal opportunities, women, too, as the Iraq vets struggle to find their way in an economy that has tanked. (That is, if they ever are released from their endless tours of duty.)

So now, if you’re getting tired of me I’ll move along. I can just read your posts and enjoy them. Your call.
on October 18, 2008 at 8:57 pm | Reply angryxer

Well first off, let me say I’m glad of your “sellout” comment, so I know I won’t have to worry overly much about offending you when I do get around to writing my more pointed boomer criticisms (mind you, from our conversation thus far, I had a hunch you were one of the introspective lot who had a few critiques of your own along those lines).

If there were slacker twentysomethings, I never met them; I never was one. I always thought that was a derisive characterization from a (boomer) media who didn’t know what to make of us. As a general rule, we weren’t going along with the self-congratulatory boomer generation’s opinion of itself, so we weren’t exactly endearing ourselves to the ruling class. I mean, really– you want to chastize us for not being more active and engaged when we watched the ultimate “activist” generation go from peace, love, and communal living to the worst excesses of materialism in the 80s?? Dear god, that was one hell of an obnoxious and hypocritical transformation to behold.

I think I identify with the older Gen X crowd not just because my brothers are older, but because we have “Greatest Generation” parents [well, dad wasn't quite old enough to be in WWII, he's maybe technically on the late tail of the generation? this is all Tom Brokaw's fault], which I think is a minority demographic for Gen Xers as a whole. So I’m very aware of the dynamics with both generations preceding mine, and yes, there was an unfortunate number of the old, old guard inhabiting the Bush-Cheney administrations.

As to how we’ve come to this place–I remain dumbfounded by the idiot votes of 2000 and 2004 (not to put too fine a point on it), so I’m not one to illuminate the situation much either. Especially because I grew up overseas and have travelled abroad occasionally thereafter (tho’ not as much as I’d like), I deplore the American isolationist nonsense. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the red on the electoral map is almost entirely inland–the less exposure to the world beyond their borders, the less people seem to give a damn. Going to college in the Midwest was a bit of a shock to the system, but given that I attended a college with one of the best abroad programs in the nation, I was still in a fairly evolved bubble of the Interior.

Having said that about the interior of the country, however, the fact that it’s looking like we might really lose Prop 8 doesn’t leave me with a terribly high opinion of the coastal states either.

Doesn’t surprise me that the Goodwill run would occasion the vet sightings. One of the things that offends me the most about McCain is that for all of his flaunting of his POW status, he has such an atrocious record on veterans’ care. Go figure, when we know the nonmilitary Obama will take care of our soldiers far better than Bush ever has or McCain ever will.

Wow. Teacher-librarian combo. You are doubling down on the respect creds! Nine bows in your general direction. Get tired of you? Heaven forfend–was I not clear enough about that in my last post? I thought we were just getting started. I welcome your thoughts, Wired D. (hey, that could be the hip-hop version of your name. you know, just in case you needed one) for as long as you have the time and inclination to share them here. I have no interest in blogging just to hear my own voice. I put things out there because I hope to variously provide humour and food for thought, depending on my mood, but primarily because I hope to engage people in real conversation. And while the fabulous Rake Trinket Palin has provided some fine cameos on a few of my posts, thus far it’s mostly been… crickets. So I see your response and raise you…

And now, dare I go look if the SNL Palin appearance is online yet–?
on October 19, 2008 at 8:03 am | Reply wired hussein differently

You’re not by any chance a Foreign Service kid, are you? I laughed out loud (did not spit coffee) when I read that you grew up overseas, because, ta-da, so did *my* kids. And my first experience overseas came when I was an exchange student in high school. I have spent many, many years since then away from the mother ship, on my own and married to FSO. My kids are textbook TCKs (Third Culture Kids).

You and I have a lot to talk about. I chose my screen name very deliberately. I am wired differently in so many ways– from others of my generation, my social class, my gender. Sometimes I feel like a Party of One.

Congrats on being #1 on last night’s Brenda thread. And on your recent posts here. I love the photo of Obama tossing the mandarin orange. (I have recently taken up juggling, so am partial to things being tossed into the air.)

Do you always stay up so late, or is this campaign causing insomnia?

I’m off this morning to the disgustingly yuppified Ballard farmer’s market. I almost make a point of buying non-organic there.

Later… (chirp, chirp of cricket legs)
on October 19, 2008 at 10:27 am | Reply angryxer

Wow. You can obviously run circles around my overseas experience! Very cool. You must have many great stories to tell. Nope, not an FSK myself. Civilian daddio; he was a mining engineer. I didn’t get a handy dandy second language fluency out of my experience, which is a bummer. But I can’t complain; I didn’t have the constant uprooting that FSKs and military families often do. Living abroad anywhere is still a considerable change, even in another English-speaking country. I sure as hell had culture shock moving back here.

I hear you on feeling like a party of one! Without having school or other communities beyond work to find members of the “Other” tribe, it’s easy to feel like a stranger in a strange land. Beauty of the internets, that you can actually find more of the wired differently crowd. Mudflats has been particularly great on that score.

Speaking of, thankee– #1 is always a brief little thrill over there. (Although, have you noticed, it seems like a lot of the old regulars have stopped posting; maybe the numbers in general are just down since the urgency is off the Palin discovery, and/or more people are lurking.) And the open thread is an easy excuse to peddle stuff I want a wider audience to see. Too bad you can’t post pictures directly into the comments thread–that Obama orange-toss pic was my favourite too. The man just radiates ease, even when he’s got to be stressed out & tired as all hell. I kind of wanted to reference the campaign suspension absurdity by adding something about the candidate who can do more than one thing at once, but the photo was too beautiful to mess up with any words.

I am a total nightowl, though I’ll have to dial back the late, late night hours now that I’m moving from freelance to in-house work again. But ever since P-Day, as so many of the Mudflatters have talked about, sleep and all else has gone a little wonky. Much of the usual routine has gone out the window to accommodate the urgent need for information & company amidst this unrelenting onslaught of crazy news. The nervous system really does take a beating, not knowing what utter b.s. the McCain campaign is going to pull next. There’s rarely a day when some new outrage doesn’t appear. Maybe some people get through by just ignoring it, but there’s too much in need of swift repudiation these days.

Happy farmers marketing! We West Coasters are so spoiled in having them year round. I can’t imagine living without them anymore. Even the yuppified ones.

Oh, and for the record I’ve not actually lost any beverages to campaign news. A couple close calls, yes. But I’ve really been relating to all the spit-takes on the Daily Show recently. We are living in a time when beverage spewing does seem like a fitting response to much of the breaking news. Here’s hoping the madness will stop on Nov 5. (Of course, then there’s that tiresome wait till inauguration day. Why not fast-track the whole process; Bush so obviously doesn’t want to be there anymore.) Why can’t they just leave you to juggle in peace?
on October 19, 2008 at 6:43 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

Okay. Home again. Fed and watered, homework done.

I see you’ve been busy today. I have to admit that Colin Powell also made me tear up, even though I will not forgive him for his role in the Iraq disaster. And, although 5,000 years of patriarchy have made us believe otherwise, socially-organized aggression and war are not encoded in our dna.

Now, where were we? The important thing about having lived overseas, whether as a civilian or otherwise, is that you have seen people living differently from Americans, and that it is as legitimate for them as our way of life is for us. Some things about the way people live in, say, Indonesia, are real head scratchers for me, but other things are pretty darn cool, and even worthy of emulation. My kids didn’t learn the languages of the countries where we lived– they went to English medium international schools. But they had friends from all over the world (many of whom they have relocated in recent years on Facebook), and they were always of a racial minority. More than 10 years have passed since we moved to Seattle (I was born here, but none of my kids were). They were always more cosmopolitan than their peers, and they have continued to seek out opportunities to live overseas. My older son now lives in Japan, my daughter has lived twice in Australia, and my younger son has been to Ghana and is now in London.

I hear that Biden was in Tacoma today and was well-received. Our governor’s race is very tight, a Groundhog’s Day kind of replay of 4 years ago. Chris Gregoire has been a good governor, but has blown a couple things recently, creating an opportunity for total asshole Dino Rossi to step forward. He got some sketchy financing from a builder’s lobby, and has gotten his hand slapped, but it doesn’t seem to have done much damage to his campaign. I think (hope) a large Democratic turnout will see her through, leaving the residents of the Eastern part of the state permanently pissed off that they can’t elect a candidate because there are too many of us liberals on the West side of the Cascades. Too bad. We subsidize their asses to the hilt, they can stfu.

It seems only fair that I let you know about my web presence. My library website is http://library.bush.edu. There are links to some of my professional and personal blogs from there, and lots of other stuff. (My school has the unfortunate name of The Bush School, but it’s named after a rockin’ woman named Helen Bush, no relation to the bad Bushes.)

I’m gonna go hang out at the mudflats for a little while and scoot around the InterTubes. I’ll check in later…
on October 19, 2008 at 6:44 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

hmmmmm. did i just lose a long post? I’ll check back later to see. bummer.
on October 19, 2008 at 6:45 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

it had a link in it. shite. maybe it went into your spam folder??
on October 19, 2008 at 6:47 pm | Reply angryxer

hang on, I’ll check… hopefully it’s not lost
on October 19, 2008 at 7:18 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

whoa! there it is. okay, i’m off again for a while. gotta go see the happy pie charts at 538. back later.
on October 19, 2008 at 7:28 pm | Reply angryxer

Post recovered! And a welcome one, especially after the revolting comment that just came in for the Colin Powell post. I really don’t think it serves anyone to post something that bigoted. And I just got another wingnut in on the Frank Rich piece, which seemed ok till it angled into what sounded like Jewish conspiracy territory. What is up with people? Those who would express disagreement with some measure of intelligence and principle sure aren’t stopping by much.

Thanks for sending the school link– I look forward to moseying around your blogs when I have a little more time. Sounds like a very cool program you’ve got going on there.

I didn’t realize you were in such a tight governor’s race. Very cool that Biden’s coming to the rescue; I mean, the ticket doesn’t otherwise need to be in Washington at this point really, does it?

Amen to the gift that is visiting other countries. I was in Japan for such a short time, but I love it something fierce. Of course, I know living there would surface a whole host of tough challenges given my gaijin ways, but I have rarely felt such an immediate affinity for a place as I did Kyoto.
on October 19, 2008 at 9:01 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

What? You got some troll-y haters? I went for a look so that I could be suitably outraged, but then I remembered that you moderate. I think the bile is going to get worse in the next two weeks as McCain reels totally out of control. He must be pissed as shit about Powell. I am going to enjoy watching ol’ Maverick be the one to take the whole goddam party down. And Lieberman for good measure.

You lived in Kyoto? I was there once, for an afternoon. Incredible. My son lives pretty close by, actually closer to Kobe. Have you read Hitching Rides with Buddha? My son says it really captures being a gaijin in Japan.

Yes, it was great of Biden to pay a visit to a comfortably blue state in the presidential race. We’ve had a good, long string of Democratic governers, but it doesn’t pay to be complacent, and Rossi is such a creep.

I also spent 4 years in Washington, DC, while my husband was working in the State Department, and I became much more interested in politics at that time. Out west can become be pretty disconnected from national politics, but we lived 6 blocks from the Capitol, and I used to see various and sundry politicos all the time. Lived next door to a NY Congressman for a while. (Remember the winter his pipes froze while he was back home. bad news) I used to scour the Post for visiting heads of state and such, and go hang out to catch a glimpse. Now I am less interested in people of power and celebrity. I just want them to do their jobs and serve the people who put them in office.

AKM’s newest post is pretty funny in an awful way, or maybe awful in a funny way. The voter pamphlets always have some whack jobs in them, I enjoy reading mine. You’ve gotta wonder how they think their crazy statements are going to get them elected.

Okay, I’m off. Tomorrow’s a school day. I have 4 classes of 8th graders and we’re working on critical literacy. Questions like: Who’s story is this? Who benefits from the story being told this way? Whose voice is missing? What is the purpose of this piece of writing? Just because it’s in a book, don’ make it true. And just because it’s on the ‘net, don’ make it not true. And just because *anybody* can edit Wikipedia, don’ mean it’s not a good quick reference tool. And so on. Power to the people, even 13-year-olds. Right on.
on October 19, 2008 at 9:21 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

oops, a couple typos in that message. i hate typos. oh well.
on October 19, 2008 at 10:47 pm | Reply angryxer

Nope, didn’t post the crazy troll. I have a few comments in a holding pattern that I haven’t deleted or posted yet. I guess that makes me an Undecided. A couple were extremely obnoxious, but not as beyond the pale as tonight’s freaky one. Of course, it’s clear that some people are just one-off driveby obnoxious posters, and aren’t exactly waiting around to engage in dialogue.

Never lived in Kyoto, no. (I wish!) It was the kickoff city of a 5-month abroad program I was on senior year of college. Only a week in Japan. Thanks for the book rec! I haven’t read that one. I’m quite the Japanophile as it is; have always been so taken with the culture and aesthetics, and via Zen I’ve read a lot not just on practice but also about people’s experiences over there. And know several folks who’ve spent time at monasteries there as well. Much as I love practice, I’d rather see the country than face the wall during my stay, I think, if I have the chance to go back.

One of my brothers lives in DC; moved there when it was still Clinton country, so I’ve heard similar things from him about the political scene. Seems you really can’t live there long without knowing someone who knows a big ol’ politician. He attended a dinner at Ted Kennedy’s house once, and has shared some interesting stories over the years. It’s too bad that this administration’s uber-politicizing of everything has caused so many longtime civil servants to flee the government. Sure, top posts change, but, as I’m sure you know well, so many people served their entire careers there regardless of the changeups of party. Thanks to Bush & Co, there’s been a massive talent drain, just when we need it least.

Critical literacy! Dreamy. Be still, my English-major heart. What fabulous work you’re doing. It saddens me to think of the millions of kids who never get that kind of learning; and of how many have the opportunity but don’t care enough to engage. Here’s hoping President Obama will start the real fix to the problem, instead of that No Child Left Behind nonsense. One of the best classes I ever took was a course that included learning literary theory via different readings of the Heart of Darkness (Marxist, feminist, deconstructionist… I’m forgetting a few others; it’s been a couple decades) and then we wrote a paper from the viewpoint of our choice. Such a great assignment. When I think of all the complaints leveled against liberal arts educations as irrelevant or impractical, I’d say we’ve reaped the fruits of that disdainful, dismissive attitude. God help us all when basic critical thinking skills become considered elite. An uneducated, ill-informed populace is ever so much more easily manipulated by politicians. Not to mention it gets its collective ass kicked by nations that have properly educated their children.

But I preach to the choir, no? G’night, teach. Happy molding of young minds…
on October 19, 2008 at 11:02 pm | Reply angryxer

ha! I hate typos too. Gotta love the edit feature on one’s own blog. I always silently curse the ones I let slip over yon Mudflats & elsewhere.
on October 20, 2008 at 9:26 am | Reply Wired Differently

Whoa! Burro library! If you dig around on my webpage, click on Sheep to Sweater blog, you’ll see a link to my Ethiopia Reads blog. I lived there from 89-92 (?) and went back 2 summers ago as a volunteer for ER.

My husband took an early retirement from the State Department, so did not have to endure the Bush administration. Some of his friends have stuck it out, but I should think it has been at a high cost to morale and integrity. We were in Jakarta when Paul Wolfowitz was ambassador. He seemed like an okay guy at the time, didn’t reveal his neocon colors until later. Paul, if you read this– you are a total schmuck!

Gotta run. Students on the horizon…
on October 20, 2008 at 2:54 pm | Reply angryxer

Very cool! I checked out a bit of your blog, but would love to read more about the Ethiopia experience when I have more time. Oh, for a less busy week this week. And koinky dinky strikes again– we almost moved to Jakarta when I was in high school (god, what year was Wolfie ambassador? I should look that up). Or, I should say, my dad was working there, living in an apartment, and almost moved the whole family over. I did spend one summer there, which was more than enough for me, given the upheaval of previous moves.
on October 20, 2008 at 3:43 pm | Reply Wired Differently

We were in Jakarta 87-89. A summer in Jakarta? Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun to me, unless there was travel to Bali and other lovely places involved. Jakarta itself sux. I had 2 babies when we moved there, and the third born while we were there. I wasn’t doing much else in those days besides tending children, so it didn’t much matter where we were.

It would be kind of funny to realize that we were in the same far away place at the same time. You, a bored teenager; me, a harried young mother. But at the moment that math is beyond me…

Long day. Looking forward to tai chi, then home and a glass of wine. Sigh.
on October 20, 2008 at 3:45 pm | Reply Wired Differently

Oh, lordy. I forgot the emoticons morph into those awful little yellow things. Sorry.
on October 20, 2008 at 6:22 pm | Reply angryxer

Curiouser and curiouser…. I was in Jakarta either summer of ‘86 or ‘87.

No, Jakarta wasn’t much fun. Hot & humid as all hell, and the restrictions for women going out unattended were deeply annoying. Dad had an apt in the Hotel Borobodur complex. I admit, there was a little bribery to get my resistant self over there– 2 weeks in Australia visiting old school chums was the lure for 3 months on Java. Of course, the trip to Yogyakarta was amazing, as was the week in Bali. But otherwise, the limits on my experiences (jesus, including the incessant skirt-wearing) drove me a tad bonkers.

I’m with you on the wine now. Would love to do the t’ai chi, if only I hadn’t let it lapse. Forget a few of the moves, and the whole thing goes out the window.

Ha. Apparently we also share the same opinion about emoticons; I was so happy when I discovered you could shut off the auto-yellow thingies on IM and go old-school; colon, dash, parens. Not all change = improvement. I still use them sometimes anyway, on Mudflats, and when I had the celeb sighting of AKM over here.
on October 20, 2008 at 7:51 pm | Reply wired differently

Funny, I don’t remember restrictions on going out alone as a woman. And I wore skirts, but also pants (not usually at the same time). No shorts. But of course, even though I was relatively young, I wasn’t a teenage girl.

We had Embassy people living at the Borobudur, too, so I visited there from time to time. Weird.

Yes, I love Yogya. We returned to Indonesia for three years in 1993 (?), to Surabaya, on the north coast of East Java. We used to go to Bali pretty regularly from there, and I got around to some other great places, too. Name drop: My husband was the official escort of Hillary when she visited, and he really liked her.

Ken Adelman? That is truly funny. The Republican Party is self-destructing over Sarah Palin!!!

Did you read that New Yorker piece on how she was selected? She bamboozled those randy neocon f*ckers with her feminine wiles. She is a total piece of work, and they ate it up like Viagra cookies. Rich Lowry, springing a boner over his salmon steak. so. gross.

Okay. Off to msnbc to see Keith’s latest rant and fantasize about Rachel.
on October 20, 2008 at 8:35 pm | Reply angryxer

Well, prolly fine as a woman, but as a teenager? not so much. Or else my parents were just being overly paranoid and the necessity of it was a total lie. That’s nice to know you avoided the pants + skirt combo. An awkward fashion statement, no matter where in the world.

Yes, indeed– weird. I was looking for the six degrees of separation in the wrong hemisphere. Your husband probably knows some of the same people as my dad. The mining industry ran into just a few issues with the Suharto family and its penchant for under-the-table deals. (Not that I’m thrilled about the whole industry my father was in, either. But the project he was involved with for the most years had ecological sustainability & repair as a major concern.) Father o’ angryxer has travelled much more extensively in Indonesia than yours truly, including Surabaya. Regular Bali excursions? Just a wee bit o’ envy there.

Nice name drop!

Viagra cookies? Hilarious. Rich Lowry is NEVER going to live his post down. Did you catch Keith reading his gushy comments for about the fourth time a couple days ago? I started the NYer article but got called away by effing real-world responsibilities. Must return to finish it.

Et tu on the Maddow fantasizing? Dear lord, what a lot of competition. I’m off to catch up on the Olbermann-Maddow hours meself.
on October 21, 2008 at 8:09 pm | Reply wired differently

oh, my. It just keeps coming. I allowed myself to get all riled up with the steal the vote video, but at least that message is getting out there in the news. If they (Cheney, Rove, whoever the f*ck “they” are) think they can just walk off with the election this time, I think they’re wrong. Doesn’t mean they won’t try. It’s going to be on film (love the pbs film the vote initiative), and people are going to yell bloody murder. And I think the Supreme Court will be a little more cautious about their decision if it goes to them.

Did you read the piece on Seymour Hersch? I cannot wait.

And I heard Paul Krugmann on Fresh Air tonight. He’s terrified? (He said that at the very end of the interview.)Well, then, we are well and truly screwed. Although personally, I am not afraid. Years of frugal living leave me in pretty good shape. Thank goodness my kids are just about done with college. My husband (with whom I do not live, btw, I moved out 2 years ago– we’re quite amicable, and for various reasons not contemplating divorce– told you I was wired differently) and I have been very good shepherds of our small stash, and since I grew up poor I can do quite nicely on not much.

Off to cheer on the ranter (KO) and lust over RM. Last night I lost my internet connectivity right in the middle of Rachel’s show. I was sad.
on October 21, 2008 at 9:44 pm | Reply angryxer

Steal the vote video? Clearly I’m missing something… Granted, I’m still catching up on Keith-O and Rachel tonight. I’m sure you’re right, though, that the scrutiny on votes is going to be too intense for the wholesale chicanery that the GOP has gotten away with in the last few elections.

Sigh. Krugman was terrified the other week, before the international meeting. The fact that they did what he’d felt was absolutely necessary but he’s still not off the ledge does not bode well. Time to go check his blog again.

I’m glad you’re in a better situation than many of us to weather the economic storm. Two layoffs in three years have not done wonders for my finances, which were already on shaky ground. If the fallout comes to my industry, I’ll once again be one of the first let go, as one of the last hired. Fingers crossed it doesn’t come to that.

Hurrah for amicable relationships, however they are configured; so many of the “traditional” jobbers are absolute disasters, even as they’re touted as moral simply because of what they look like on paper. Heteros have endangered the institution of marriage quite handily on their own without help from the queers, thank you very much.
on October 22, 2008 at 12:47 am | Reply angryxer

Oh. THAT video. Yep, infuriating as all hell. Both Maddow & Olbermann were so good tonight I wanted to post every last segment. Afghanistan, Gitmo, everything– the Republican Party is so utterly indefensible. And yet, some still try. Did you see the jaw-droppingly bad Ari Fleischer interview on the Daily Show last week? Even as conservatives were bailing from the McCain ticket like rats off a sinking ship, the man was spewing talking points that even most of the right-wing set abandoned a month ago.
on October 22, 2008 at 7:54 am | Reply Wired Differently

Marriage. Yes, the sacred patriarchal institution that’s definitely outlived its usefulness. Another topic on which I find myself marching completely out of step with just about everybody. But I’m not sure I want to get into that just yet in this public forum.

Yeah. Ari Fleischer. I liked the economic historian woman. What was her name?

I know there was something I wanted to talk about with you today, but my aging, overloaded brain has temporarily lost the file… Flashlight searching…

Oh, yeah! Look into the response to the Ohio Secretary of State’s blow to republican voter registration fraud. The SoS website got hacked and she got lots of hate mail, etc.
on October 22, 2008 at 7:56 am | Reply Wired Differently

Here’s the link to the CNN piece about it.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/ohio.website.hacked/
on October 22, 2008 at 7:57 am | Reply Wired Differently

post with link about Ohio Sec. of State just landed in your spam folder.
on October 22, 2008 at 9:01 am | Reply angryxer

Got it! Thanks for the spam-rescue heads up. Will have to check out the latest news of right-wing bottomfeeder activity. (Tired… so tired… make them stop.) I was up insanely late last night trying to catch up with news, but clearly there’s so much more to go. Alas for those obstructionary work deadlines.
on October 22, 2008 at 7:20 pm | Reply wired differently

I just listened to the excerpt on Daily Kos of Obama’s Richmond speech from Richmond today. I have real tears running down my face. That’s a first.

Are we really going to take our country back? Are we finally going to stand up to the disgusting swine that have run our country for so long and say NO MORE? We have endured so much hate, greed, disrespect, intolerance, fear-mongering, bigotry, greed and LIES. I have never, ever, in my life voted for a president who I felt represented me.

I am a late-comer to Obama. I had hopes for Hillary, even though she’s damaged goods. I wasn’t at all sure about this Obama phenom, and I’m still afraid he won’t be able to deliver. But I listen to him, and I listen to Michelle, and I even listen to old pol’ Joe Biden, and I can almost believe them.

My first presidential election was 1972. I voted for George McGovern. In 1976, I can’t even remember. Probably Jimmy Carter. 1980– the lines were too long and I went home. 1984- Christ Almighty. Walter Mondale. 1988 – Michael Dukakis? WTF??? 1992 and 1996. Bill Clinton. Yeah. By now, how can you even tell the difference between a Republican and a Democrat? I can’t even talk about 2000 and 2004.

Can it be possible that my beautiful, beloved country is about to make the leap out of this horrible age? Did you read the comment about the 4 generation family that voted in (Idaho?) and the 90-year-old grandma collapsed coming out of the booth, not quite believing that she had lived to vote for a black man for president? Maybe that’s an apocryphal story. But just imagine how it would feel to really, truly say– I voted for someone who I believe in. Who represents me. Who will be a just and ethical president. Who will be a compassionate leader. Who will respect us. Who won’t work to enrich his friends at the expense of the country.

Okay. As Jon Stewart would say, settle down.

I saw a glimpse of my America just now. I won’t forget it.
on October 22, 2008 at 7:24 pm | Reply wired differently

And I made a donation tonight to Darcy Burner, Democrat running for Congress against Dave Reichert in the district that includes Bellevue, where Bill Gates lives. Not my district. I’m represented by the fabulous Jay Inslee. Definitely Red Country. I have not donated to the Obama campaign. This is the first time I have ever donated to a political campaign. Ever.
on October 22, 2008 at 8:23 pm | Reply angryxer

Wow, you’re on fire tonight, wd. Tremendous post; thank you. I just watched one clip of Obama in VA and will go look for more of it. These are strange times indeed– the Democratic hope that dare not speak its name, given precedent. We are predisposed to brace ourselves against expectation. But I see Obama standing tall, speaking of unity and honor, while McCain only speaks to the worst in Americans. The Republican Party is truly the party of false idols– invoking God and country for its own political gain; sowing division, hatred, and intolerance to further an agenda that will leave the country ever more bankrupt, both monetarily and socially. The choice has never been more clear– and who knew just a couple months ago in what new ways the lines would be drawn. Obama, the steady one, the one with judgment, McCain the angry and unhinged.

What a tremendous thing that you’ve felt a real connection to a political leader for the first time after all these years, and that you were moved to donate to a local election. I’ve never been engaged to this degree either; and we’ve seen this shared sense of excitement, the need to stand up to fight and repudiate all the ugliness, finally and soundly. It’s still a hard race but something’s very different this year. Obama is fairly well guaranteed to disappoint in some respects; presidents have to mediate their agenda with Congress, and navigate the rocky shoals of political reality. In fact, while some right-wingers attack him for being so “leftist” (ha) many hard lefties have been turned off him entirely because of his pragmatism. But we so urgently need honor restored to the office of the president, we need someone who will deal fairly and smartly with the world, and you know he’s our man. McCain presents a horrifying alternative–not just more of the same, but (who knew it was possible?) worse.

Just think. Two more weeks. I’m not just relying on Obama’s inspiring character–I’m relying on his bitchin’ ground game and team of lawyers taking on GOP voter suppression and DOJ politicking. Smart. Prepared. End game.
on October 22, 2008 at 9:18 pm | Reply wired differently

I’ve calmed down now. But I watched Chris Matthews take Nancy Pf. down and found it distasteful. Sarah Palin doesn’t get it, but Nancy’s not that stupid, and she wasn’t wrong. What’s wrong with Nancy is that she’s decided that she needs to go down with the ship. Not that I feel sorry for the scrawny-necked disgrace…

And, guess what? Joe Biden will be doing a lot more than is outlined in the Constitution. You think he won’t be schmoozing it up with his old colleagues in the Senate, influencing legislation? Except it’ll be for a good cause, so it’s okay.

Actually just had a visual of Sarah walking the halls of the Senate Office Buildings, lookin’ to be all influential with policy-makin’ an’ stuff. Doors silently closing as she approaches, clicking of the red stilettos on the parquet floor, dragging Piper behind her. Staffers pretending not to be there when she knocks. Duck down behind the desk! Don’t even breathe until you hear her walk on down the hall!

Thank you for using the word bitchin’. Haven’t seen that in writing since my junior high yearbook. And damn right about the ground game. Fi-fuckin-nally.

Crap. Here it is all late again, and me dragging my sorry keister out of bed a little later every morning.
on October 22, 2008 at 10:44 pm | Reply angryxer

You don’t sound so calmed down (not that I thought you were worked up in a bad way before, mind)… I’m not exactly sure what has you so ticked off abt Matthews, & why the Biden comment. Admittedly I am so sick of what’s-her-pface at this point that I didn’t have it in me to go another round tonight with the latest clip. I do think Palin’s perpetual inability to articulate the office of the VP is a serious red flag about how she is conducting herself and how she intends to in the future. And, of course, that certain abuse of power scandal in AK seems ever so relevant here. Schmoozing with legislators is one thing; lawbreaking & coverups another.

Happy to reacquaint you with bitchin’– really, not since jr high? Did you miss the whole 80s valley girl resurgence, or what? Of course, back then no email, so I don’t suppose the occasion to use it in written form came up much. (Dear Grandmama, I am writing to thank you so much for the bitchin’ sweater you sent with the embroidered flowers.) Yes children, there was a time before email…

Keister! speaking of words not seen in written form in ages… nice one

Yowza on the Palin visual. Was that an early Halloween scare? Totally worked.

K, off to try to squeeze in Maddow before bed, though I’m totally exhausted. Not getting enough sleep either. Keith-O bugged tonight; I skipped about half the show. Maybe she can redeem my evening.
on October 23, 2008 at 7:56 am | Reply Wired Differently

I think what has me ticked off with Matthews is his aggressive, bullying manner. Never been a fan of that. Mind you, Nancy, as a representative of the campaign whose Vice Presidential candidate consistently reveals an appaling lack of understanding of what her potential duties are, is a legit target, but those shoutin’, bullying ways are exactly what the Obama campaign would have us move away from. And it’s one reason why Rachel is so appealing and refreshing. She knows her stuff, refuses to be intimidated, makes her point, but doesn’t look like an asshole doing it. And (also) when Matthews let Michelle Bachmann hang herself the other day, he didn’t have to bully her or shout her down. It was much more effective than his encounter with Ms Pfff. Much to the delight of her Elvish Democratic opponent Elwyn Tinklenberg (love that name).

This is not about sexism, or toughness, or even intellectual dexterity. It’s about how we are expected to talk to each other in this culture, how personal insult and baseless attack have become the norm, and how the idea of civil discourse has just about been lost. The so-called debates were certainly not about discourse, they were merely opportunities to recite large logs of stump speech. Where are the opportunities for respectful conversation (besides here)?

Re. Biden– I wasn’t refering to anything Biden has recently said, just saying that of course he’ll be using his connections in the Senate. That’s the ‘experience’ thing. I think there *is* a world of difference between how the former Senator, VP Biden will occupy the office, and the maturity of his understanding of the separation of powers, and the backwoods, uninformed, outside-the-beltway approach Ms Snowbilly brings to the table.

Yeah, I skipped much of Keith last night, too. Testosterone poisoning. Yecch. Watching all these angry men is starting to wear on me.

Okay, I’m on the clock. Gotta run.
on October 23, 2008 at 9:34 pm | Reply angryxer

Hey Seattle,

Tired greetings from Oaktown. Thanks for your further thoughts on the Matthews exchange; I’ll have to catch up with it this weekend. I saw that AKM had posted and was very happy about him calling out the campaign, so I will have to see if my reaction splits the difference between you.

I’m too braindead to do any more of the work I brought home tonight, so will have to get up early. But perhaps time for a quick swing through the Daily Show before bed…

Yesterday did feel hard for some reason, moreso than this ongoing, everyday landscape of hard. Which was why it was time to bring out the kittens. I talked to another fellow dishraggy Democrat today; so many people I know are on their last nerve. I wish I could get some hard data (oh, pollsters?) on the psychic toll this freaking race has taken. Enough already!
on October 23, 2008 at 9:44 pm | Reply angryxer

Oh, I also haven’t been able to bring myself to watch the McCain-Palin interview with Brian Williams. Did you brave it?
on October 24, 2008 at 8:16 am | Reply wired differently

Oaktown, You been biddy! Nice posts.

I am sooo tired, and soooo glad it’s Friday (and payday). Normally I don’t have trouble sleeping (at the moment), but I was wakeful last night, lots of little monkeys jumping around in my head– not *bad* monkeys, but frisky li’l devils. So I overslept my alarm by, mmm, a lot. No longer having a morning person partner, it’s all on me now. Yikes!

I watched a wee bit of Mr. Big Anchorman Blowhard and the Odd Couple, but couldn’t stomach more than a few clips. She does seem to be pulling out into the left lane in preparation for zooming past McToast into 2012, but I think a nice little impeachment at home will send that plan into the ditch. I think we (thanks to AKM) know a lot more about what’s brewing up there than she does. It’ll be the November 5 Surprise!!

My favorite laptop teevee this week has been The Daily Show. Monday’s show was pretty incredible. Why do I not take offense at Jon Stewart’s over-the-topness? Well, I don’t care for his fake reporters messin’ with people as they sometimes do (even though the ‘victims’ often richly deserve it, e.g. Ms Keller, the current Wasilla mayor, and everyone else in that amazing little piece). I don’t know– I claim the Right to Be Inconsistent. I believe that’s in the Constitution somewhere…

WTH is going on with the Stevens jury???
on October 24, 2008 at 2:13 pm | Reply wired differently

Ashley Todd story. (bangs head slowly on computer monitor)

pleasemakeitstop
on October 24, 2008 at 6:17 pm | Reply angryxer

Why thank you, Seattle. Had to keep up some appearances of still being a timely blogger! (time to play catch-up again now…)

Whew. Thank god it’s happy hour. Gin & tonic raised in your general direction. Hurrah for one more round of Daily Show & Colbert ready and waiting. (Maybe I can steel myself to go back and watch C’s interview with Frum, but I’m holding a serious grudge against that man since the Maddow incident. I’d also read he’s declared contempt for said Daily Show & Colbert in the past, so I’m mystified about why he even went on. Lagging book sales? jerk.)

Most vivid image of the monkeys. Any chance they’ll settle down as the weekend approacheth? Or are they general election monkeys?

I’m with you on the Stewart assessment. I don’t think it’s so inconsistent– Stewart’s over the top is not like Matthews or Olbermann over the top. He doesn’t get as obnoxious as his reporter crew does. I was really enjoying the Jason Jones/Samantha Bee segment on the undecided voters right up till the end when they let their little control group have it. Crossed the too-obnoxious-to-be-funny line, in my opinion, which is a shame when the piece was astounding enough on its own, hearing those people give their moronic undecided reasons (seriously. not a cogent argument among the lot. Cue John Oliver’s segment on the Stupid Vote.)

And then there are the crazies of the week, ripe for the comedic pickin’s– no idea WTH either, with the Stevens jury and Crazy Todd. Maybe SNL can do a skit with all of McCain’s crazy fans; he’s got quite the following by now.

Oh yes, and I really must go back and post the Wasilla bit from the Daily Show. I was posting so many vids that day that I held off, but it’s really a keeper. The mayor was just astounding. And see– right there; for once Jason played the straight man, thank heavens, instead of yukking it up, which made it all the better.

Ok, time to go mosey around the intertubes…
on October 25, 2008 at 8:43 am | Reply wired hussein differently

Ahhhhhh, a full night’s sleep and no alarm to oversleep.

Finished filling out my ballot last night (had to consult the pamphlet on judges and such) and am going to walk it over to the post office today.

I have a comment about the mormon who wrote to Sullivan. If s/he really thinks “The Church is normally very apolitical and prides itself on staying above the fray,” s/he is TRIPPIN’ and just. plain. wrong. That church is one of the most insidious political forces operating in the world today. Yes, in the world. It’s the fastest growing church in the world, thanks to its relentless stream of ‘garment’-wearing, white-shirted, bicycle-riding bots. Scratch the surface of many conservative politicians and operatives and you’ll find a mormon connection. The fact that Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader should send shivers down your spine. His first allegiance is to the church.

The evangelical whack jobs like the ones SP is affiliated with are bad news, but they’re kind of obvious, easy to spot. The mormons are much better camouflaged and therefore much more dangerous.

In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me that this ’shocked, shocked I tell you’ letter writer is just a plant.

yech. the worst of the worst. F*ck them and their stockpiles of chocolate chips so’s we can all have a little treat during the apocalypse. (This from a recent local npr affiliate report on mormon food stockpiling.)

Okay. Umbrage-meter in the red zone! Care Bears– CARE!
on October 25, 2008 at 10:42 am | Reply angryxer

Right you are about the Mormons being far from apolitical. I know that. So while I’m not sure how he/she could be that blind to the Church’s previous political activism, I very much doubt the writer’s a plant. The Church has been pretty damn unapologetic for its stance on Prop 8. Sully has amped up his Prop 8/LDS posting of late, more of which I will be quoting here, and one of the most recent posts noted that this campaign was really over the top, even for the LDS, in how it was pressuring members to be involved in Yes on 8. I need to read the whole Salt Lake Trib article he referenced, but by some accounts, it’s the worst division over a political issue in 50 years.

The other paragraph I really wanted to post from said writer, but that would’ve been nearly the whole thing (as if Sully would care–I’m not exactly crimping his readership), was on the deep irony of the Mormons having left the United States for Utah to escape marriage “persecution” by the government, and then onto Mexico when Utah became U.S. territory. So they’ve got a lot of fucking nerve to be taking on this issue.
on October 25, 2008 at 3:54 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

Say what? A rent in the mormon fabric? Now that’s some good news!! I’m gonna go watch me a couple movies you got posted over yonder. Later…
on October 25, 2008 at 6:26 pm | Reply wired differently

Okay, I’m going to have to come clean.

Although I really appreciate the efforts of those two well-intentioned mormons to be inclusive, I have to say that on the subject of marriage, I agree with the eloquent Twistyfaster. She is the proprietress of the I Blame the Patriarchy blog, and here is her take on the sacred institution.

http://www.twistyfaster.com/2004/08/marriage-blows-chunks.html

Yes, I know. I am married. to a man. So where do I get off? Well, 28 years ago I didn’t didn’t think as creatively as I do now, and I didn’t see all that many appealing options to marriage, and there was this guy with whom I knew I had a destiny, and I just assumed it was marriage. As it turns out, he was indeed meant to be the father of my children, as the stunning success of that enterprise demonstrates. At this point, as long as it still provides an advantage to the children for us to be married, I will shamelessly exploit my hetero privilege. Even though, lo and behold, I have turned out to not actually *be* hetero. Oops. Maybe I should stand on my principles and get divorced. But I’m not going to. Not yet. I can, however, guarantee that this will be my only marriage. You may now feel free to call me a hypocrite.

What I really want is what Twisty describes. Any couple, any threesome, any other self-identified domestic unit should have the same tax breaks, the same visitation rights, the same everything, for whatever length of time that unit exists, that is now afforded only to heterosexual ‘families’ in all but 3 states. This sad relic of the moment that people with penises realized they had a role in creating life, and that the only way they could protect their patrimony was to own the bearer of that life as a sexual slave, needs to GO, at least as a social construct with legal privilege. Marriage should be strictly a religious rite, available to those who want it and qualify by the standards of their faith, but without any special legal rights attached to it.

However, since we’re still quite a way from that point of view becoming at all politically viable, in the meantime I say FUCK NO on Prop 8, and I appreciate the efforts of mormon apostates in the effort to defeat this hateful proposition.

Told you I was wired differently…
on October 25, 2008 at 8:08 pm | Reply angryxer

Hey wired differently,

I appreciate you sharing your views; I’m always interested in considered discourse on a wide range of topics, and sadly I get more trolls than visitors with anything intelligent to contribute.

On this issue, I will respectfully disagree with vehemence. Or at least with Twisty’s articulation of it. I’m fully aware of marriage’s origins, but I think her wholesale rejection of baby with bathwater is just ridiculous. You can drive a mack truck through her arguments. What would she have to say about two lesbians wanting to get married? That they’ve been suckered by the patriarchy? That’d be rich. And saying that it’s just for the tax breaks is reductive nonsense. The fact that she is so utterly disinclined to consider any positive aspects of the institution, flawed thing that it is, mystifies me. I am so, so, deeply glad I’m not her, if she believes “romantic love” is nothing but an invention. What a dismal worldview. No thanks.

One of the most emotional days of my life was the day I attended weddings at SF City Hall when Newsom began the revolution in 2004. I watched so many couples get married; was witness for one of them, took photos for another, since thousands of people were there without friends or relatives in the crazy rush and uncertainty of those days. I watched two men, who’d been together longer than I’d been alive, sob as they got married. They said they’d never expected the moment to be as overwhelming as it was. The sentiment was reflected everywhere I looked. So if Twisty wants to deny the emotional, psychological, religious, and symbolic weight of marriage–well, it’s a free country. But Jesus Christ, she even mentioned a poodle. Just what we need; a Rick Santorum enabler. What’s the benefit of giving any old random relationship tax breaks? Don’t see it.

Twisty’s a fundamentalist at the opposite end of the spectrum from the religious right. I don’t have time for either. It strikes me as a willfully ignorant, aggressive intolerance. Her insistance that monogamy is nothing more than a construct of the patriarchy is just out and out bullshit. Some people are naturally monogamous, some aren’t. I would say serial monogomy is probably more the norm than anything. Reading craigslist “marrieds for marrieds” in the casual encounter section is quite the fascinating sociological study. Usually the reason people are looking elsewhere is that their marriage is on the rocks, or that the sex just isn’t there anymore, and they’re not willing to talk about it and don’t want to leave a partnership they otherwise value. So my bigger problem is with the shrill morality around monogamy, when we know that the rate of people cheating on their spouses is at least as high as the divorce rate. What if the expectation of honesty in relationships was the thing we truly valued? Now that would be a revolution.

Sorry if you feel like I’m stomping on someone whose viewpoint you really relate to. I don’t consider you a hypocrite for staying married. Why toss something that’s worked for you and your family? I’m glad if you’re discovering new ways of being in the world that feel liberating, but I have to tell you, I don’t think that just because people want to get married means they’re suffering from a lack of creative thinking.

I don’t know if I’ll ever find that one person I want to pop the question to, but given my deeply romantic streak and penchant for soulmate material, it may happen some day. But even if it doesn’t, I want everyone to have that right, and I will fight for it. When I was in DC one year for one of the national LGBT marches on Washington (‘94, maybe?) I ran into one of my brother’s gay friends on the street who said he wasn’t going. I asked why, and he said “because I’m not being repressed.” In the interests of keeping the peace and because I didn’t know him from Adam (or Steve), I didn’t read him the riot act, but what a fucking narcissistic worldview. So some of us are lucky to live places where we can be out and not worry about losing our jobs or getting beaten up. Many aren’t. I’m glad that I know a few straight friends who feel as equally invested in gay rights, who feel in their bones that none of us are truly free as long as anyone is denied their rights.

Ok, off the soapbox; I did hear you that you’re a No on 8 supporter as long as things stand as they do in this imperfect world, and for that I am grateful.
on October 25, 2008 at 10:54 pm | Reply wired differently

I hear you. And I respect you. And I also was very happy for the couples who were (and still are, and I hope will continue to be) able to fulfill their life’s dream to marry.

I had a whole long post written, but I can’t seem to say what I want to say. I’m sorry you were offended by Twisty. I didn’t want to offend you.

I guess I just wish there were something else– something shiny and new and inclusive and egalitarian and not tainted by religion, that didn’t have such a long history of being bad for women. That bathwater is not so good.

Again, I apologize for offense given.
on October 25, 2008 at 11:00 pm | Reply angryxer

Hey, stay with me here! No offense taken. I welcome your long post, so please don’t take my response to mean I don’t want to engage. Au contraire. I know it can be hard to find the words to express these issues that contain multitudes; I struggle with it myself. But I’d much rather we have the conversation than not, even if we can’t always hit perfect pitch in how we’d like to say it.
on October 25, 2008 at 11:51 pm | Reply angryxer

Likewise, no offense meant from my end.

I should add that I am actually pro-religion; granted, the corrupting influence of institutions and fundamentalists upon religious practice has been appalling lo these many centuries. It’s one of the things that will keep me angry and speaking out long after this election is over. But I’m not actually one to say I espouse spirituality without religion. I could go on a pages-long riff about this, but the shorthand is that we saw a move away from traditional religion in the 70s and 80s, which had some upside, but overall clearly didn’t work out so well, as evidenced by the major shift back to traditional religion in the 90s, and by some of the glaring failings of the New Age movement.

The heart of every major religious tradition contains the same principles–which makes religious wars all the more ridiculous. You and I may have major disagreement on this point, but I see the benefits of tradition, of form, of the container and transmission of spirit. Of course, I align most closely with the mystics and contemplatives of religious practice, which is about as far as you get from the organizational aspects of religion. But sincere, searching everyday practitioners like the Mormons in those videos I posted give me great hope for the human race. Even if I have pretty strong opinions of the not-so-positive variety about the whole Mormon faith. We are nothing without integrity in our daily lives. (Which of course people can have without religion; I hate the presumption that agnostics or atheists lack a sense of ethics.)

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie Trembling Before G-d, about gay Orthodox Jews struggling to live within their faith. The gay community overall, at least in years past, has generally turned its back on religion, and not understood devout practitioners who wanted to say within a religion that would persecute them. But I get it completely. Those of us who are compelled to lead a life of practice don’t really have a choice in the matter– any more than we do about being gay. I’m lucky to be drawn to one of the more tolerant world religions, but it’s not something I could really change up if it were less tolerant. There is still the wrestling with millenia of patriarchy, of course, but progress is happening, and the connection to thousands of years of spiritual effort remains the bright thread that draws people in.

I know this is straying from the conversation, but it is of a piece. I remember sobbing about the young gay Mormon, Henry Stuart Matis, who committed suicide in 2000 during the LDS’s push of Prop 22, because he felt he couldn’t reconcile his faith with his gayness. Likewise with the Catholic church’s scapegoating of gay priests in the aftermath of the abuse scandal (even though pedophiles as a general rule aren’t gay, and they damn well know it). We may hate the smallness and cruelty of religious hierarchy, but it doesn’t erase the positives of religion. At least in my equation. I am rarely more furious and hurt than by the accusation that gays are immoral, when some of the most spiritual people I know are gay–and when some of the most hypocritical, immoral acts I’ve ever seen perpetrated in the name of religion are by heteros. And yet. The gays still go to church, and the synagogue, and the zendo, and the mosque.

And there’s my unsolicited 2 cents. Thanks for kicking around here; I hope you’ll continue to add your thoughts as you’re so moved. It’s been great to have more sustained conversation than the hit & miss on Mudflats.
on October 26, 2008 at 8:30 am | Reply wired differently

I’m still here. You’re right, we are very far apart on the issue of religion, except that we agree that one does not have to believe in god to be ethical.

I saw Trembling, and I feel for folks who struggle to reconcile contradictory truths in their lives. I have first-hand experience with that, although not with religion. Our remarkable left brain needs to create stories that help us make meaning of our existence, and I think that’s where religion comes from. Since humans do it pretty universally, I guess that’s a kind of truth.

Religious, ethnic, political and other kinds of identities help us to feel connected to each other. The problem for me arises in an outcome of group identification. It creates Otherness. This was brought home to me some years ago when I attended a religious rite of passage for my niece. My sister had converted to that religion, perhaps out of sincere belief, but I think more importantly, in order to satisfy her husband’s desire to be able to pass the lineage to their child. I understood the importance of the ritual– becoming a full-fledged, adult member of the tribe. But as I sat there I also heard this message loud and clear: We belong to the tribe, you do not. My children and I, and the smattering of Other in the room, were consciously excluded. The line was drawn.

I have seen this drawing of the line many times here in the US and in other countries. It’s why Ethiopia and Eritrea are, despite the huge intersection of their identity and interests, two, hostile countries. And it’s why I very consciously avoid identifying myself with very many labels. Woman. Okay, I’ll go there. Mother. Definitely. Those umbrellas are pretty big, and there’s a lot of variety in what we imagine those words to mean. Beyond that, it gets iffy. My profession? Hmm. Think about what pops into your head when you read the word ‘librarian.’ How many of those things are true about me? My molars grind every time I read about Sarah Palin’s ’sexy librarian’ image. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people tell me I don’t fit their idea of a librarian. Thanks? I guess?

Anyway, let us rejoice in the ADN endorsement of Obama, the black man who was conceived in a white woman’s belly, the Christian with a Muslim name, the orphan who’s family to us all, the man who loves and respects women, and who takes the time at a critical moment in a historic campaign to give a loving aloha to his tutu.

We have, with this election, the real possibility to turn the tide on the forces of divisiveness, hate and fear. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this incredible movement.

So let’s keep talking.
on October 26, 2008 at 11:44 pm | Reply angryxer

Home again, at last. The rare day away from the intertubes…

Ah, Otherness. My constant companion for as long as I can remember. It may be that no matter where I grew up I would have felt it; some people seem wired to that sensibility in this world. Whether as innate disposition or a particular constellation of parenting, I don’t know. But certainly shoving off to foreign lands at age 6 began my long journey of self-conscious Otherness. Coming out added another dimension to that fundamental discomfort in the world. Any wonder that I was drawn to the religious tradition whose fundamental teaching is that we are all connected and the self/other dichotomy is illusion?

But I don’t necessarily have problems with labels per se. Some feel limiting, some do not. I could tell you I’m a Pisces, an INFP, a 4 on the enneagram, because while they don’t explain the whole package, they are a convenient shorthand for how I move in the world. In fact, for me those typologies helped explain the sense of otherness already felt, and added some positive context where negative had long reigned supreme.

What do think when I hear “librarian”? About my most excellent high school librarian and art history teacher. About the great NYT article a couple years back on the next generation of librarians breaking some of those old stereotypes. There was never any one “type” in the libraries I went to, so I’d think it odd for people to have any fixed notions on that score. The “sexy librarian” thing just makes me roll my eyes, as some subset of the many male fantasies out there. (Tho’ I really don’t get the label with Palin. That woman, with books? Puhleeeease.)

But your point is very well taken, of course. The “gay” label bothers me because I always worry about what judgments people will slap onto me (particularly that “immorality” bit) without regard to who I am as a person. And the history of wars and discrimination against the “other” is a long and bloody one indeed. The thing that needn’t be automatic is the fighting and intolerance amongst different groups. I know some of these centuries-old enmities seem intractable, and yet in our lifetime we’ve seen the wall come down in Germany, apartheid dismantled in South Africa, and peace brokered in Ireland. All things that once felt impossible to overcome.

I really don’t do Pollyanna, but I maintain a stubborn belief in progress and the better impulses of our species. That belief is sorely tested often, of course, in the face of barbaric acts across the world. As wretched as McCain’s campaign and the GOP has been, we are seeing more people repudiating those tactics than falling for them, thank heavens. As you wrote so beautifully above, those uniting impulses are prevailing, as evidenced by record crowds and energized turnout for Obama– and I’m sorry for the people who deride that unity, who scoff at hope, because it does speak to our best qualities, which have been sorely compromised by a decade of right-wing toxicity.
on October 29, 2008 at 8:13 pm | Reply wired differently

Hi,

Hella busy at work this week.

Did you see this? It was referenced on Celtic Diva’s blog.

http://www.bentalaska.com/2008/10/write-to-marry-day-gay-alaskans-say-no.html

Things just keep getting weirder out there in the Sarah Palin-sphere and elsewhere (Joe the Plumber weighing in on foreign policy, WTF???), and although I am not in the habit of wishing my life away, next Tuesday can’t come soon enough for me.

BTW, did you see the clip of Chris M. talking to douche royale Tom DeLay, who was subsequently taken to the cleaners, with all due respect, by Debbie Wasserman-Schultz? Very satisfying.

Hope you’re well.
on October 29, 2008 at 10:04 pm | Reply angryxer

Evenin’,

Likewise, too damn busy over here as well. As evidenced by thin posting ici. Nice link there; looks like I’m behind the curve on Write to Marry Day. Mind you, I’ve done several No on 8 posts this week. I did just find the Ellen refuting Palin vid for the occasion, at least.

Joe the Annoying Guy. That’s all he is now. I just watched Keith-O for the first time in several days following the Obama 30 min ad tonight, and he had a segment on all of the latest Joe absurdity. I’d like to think we’ll have an Obama landslide and Joe will quickly fade back into obscurity. Hey, a girl can dream.

No, I didn’t see DeLay v Wasserman! ooh, where? Maybe on Maddow? I’m heading back over yonder to finish watching. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of Ms. FLA so far.
on October 29, 2008 at 10:29 pm | Reply angryxer

Well, duh– which is to say, it obviously must’ve aired on Hardball, where I never venture. But I didn’t think you watched the show– or perhaps I drew the wrong conclusion about that based on your reaction to his last Nancy Pftttttttttttttp exchange.
on October 29, 2008 at 11:36 pm | Reply angryxer

Oh my god. I can’t believe I just sat through DeLay’s hateful flat-out lies. What a fucking asshole. I mean, really. Where do these people get off?? How is someone who wants to repeal the Bush tax cuts a Marxist? What on earth basis does he have for saying Obama is lying and will raise taxes instead of cut them? Just the biggest load of horseshit. And what on earth was that crazy point he was trying to make about the Constitution & Supreme Court? How does someone who leaves in disgrace manage to have this kind of platform again? Sigh. I actually wish Debbie had dismantled his b.s. arguments more than she did. Nice comeback indeed, though.
on October 30, 2008 at 8:01 pm | Reply wired differently

o.m.g. I can’t take much more of this. anxiety about this election is spilling over into my workplace, making it a pretty miserable place to hang out.

my high point today, though, was 15 minutes of bliss at elementary lunch recess, as a radiant, golden gaggle of 3rd and 4th grade girls descended upon my sacred space to cut and stitch cloth and old, felted sweaters, knit, read, and offer their pure, child energy as a balm to my soul.

ack, you’re right. no way do i normally watch hardball. the clip was provided by one of the indefatigable mudflats gang. i could barely get through mr. fecal matter delay’s spew, but i knew i had to hold out to get to see our gal deb.

i think i have the strength to watch keith and rachel– so glad tomorrow’s friday. not even thinking about it being halloween. can’t muster an ounce of enthusiasm for it.

i feel like i’m in endless labor. can we please get this thing over with!!
on October 31, 2008 at 10:30 am | Reply angryxer

Hurrah for your high point. That’s great. Wonderful to have an uplifting break from this election crap, which is fraying every last nerve. Speaking of uplifting, did you see that AK human obama logo video? Made me very happy.

I got caught up last night on Daily Show x2 and Colbert x2. Didn’t watch Keith (anything good ‘uns there?) and was too knackered to make it through all of Rachel’s show, which I’ll have to do tonight, but I did see her Obama interview. I thought she did very well, and I wish it could have gone longer. She seems like a great one to ask hard & direct questions– and I thought Obama was both comfortable and eager to engage with her.

Likewise, no enthusiasm for Halloween here either. Plus it’s supposed to rain hard (fine by me; we need to break this drought). All I want to do is go home, have a hot shower, climb in bed with teevee laptop, and sleep waaaaay in tomorrow.

Something’s messed up with my vodpod/WordPress button, so I can only post YouTube vids directly through WordPress. No Daily Show, Colbert, or SNL, which is killing me. Are any of your blogs WordPress? Have you ever run into that problem? (I’m on IE) This is such lousy timing, when I really want to be posting much more comic relief.
on October 31, 2008 at 4:45 pm | Reply wired differently

TeeeeGeeeeEiiiiEffff. I am toasted to a golden brown.

Walked down to Fred Meyer (not the mega kind they have in Wasilla, just old fashioned leftover from when Freddie’s was just the Northwest version of, well, I can’t think of an equivalent in Cali) to buy a single bag of discounted candy. Payday. I love Payday. Only as an alternative to chocolate, but the good chocolate was all gone.

But I don’t think I’ll get any kids. I live in a slightly sketchy neighborhood, in the back end of a house– MIL. I find it quite welcoming, but I think the folks who have kids in my neighborhood take them to carnivals or to higher rent locales. Plus, true to Seattle’s rep, it’s a rainy day here, too.

Nothing earth-shattering on KO. Rachel was stoked to talk to Himself Barry Hussein Obama, the radical, communist-socialist, Muslim, baby-killing, pigtail-pulling, anti-American, foreign-born, father of two black children by a married woman scalliwag.

I couldn’t bring myself to watch the Infomercial. I hate stuff like that, I don’t care who does it.

Did I tell you I teach with someone who went to school with our future prez at Punahou? For real. Knows how he got that little scar in the middle of his forehead.

Yeah, I liked the Anchorage performance art with plastic rain ponchos film. And did you see the one of Charles, the old African-American man who volunteered in Denver and ended up getting to meet Obama? Oh, that was sweet.

My blogs are blogspot. Very basic, very old school. Weird, calling any blog ‘old school’. Pictures, text, basta.

‘K. Early dinner. Reheated (delicious) tortilla soup, maybe 2 glasses of whatever red is open, probably a Payday for dessert. My kind of Friday night.

Later…
on October 31, 2008 at 10:53 pm | Reply angryxer

Hiya toasty,

Hope you’ve been able to enjoy several hours of decompression by now, with vino and Payday chaser, and are feeling a little less crispy. Mmmm, tortilla soup sounds delish.

Very funny description of That One. You weren’t missing much with the infomercial; not much there that hasn’t been seen elsewhere. It got more touching towards the end with the focus on his family, but overall, I’m not sure whose opinion it might’ve changed. I’d thought it was going to be more along the lines of him addressing the nation (based on what? a whole lot of nothing?), so was disappointed when it turned out to be more of a packaged production. I did see the vid of Charles, yes. A friend sent it to me. Must dig it out of yonder email and post it.

O joy… back in bed HQ at last. I’ll see how many more rounds I can make of the intertubes before exhaustion calls it a night. Too much to play catch-up on. Could use some Daily Show R&R for sure–but ew, I see Bill Kristol is the guest. Think I’ll have to skip that for the moment.

Bonne nuit…
on November 1, 2008 at 8:22 am | Reply wired differently

Oh, I *do* enjoy the simple pleasure of waking up on a Saturday morning and Not Getting Up.

I’m going to go out on a limb here, and admit to more than a passing interest in things metaphysical, such as astrology. I found an article yesterday on our having entered a period of Pluto in Capricorn. I’ll pass on a teaser from it”

“As the underworld god enters Capricorn, he will test the structures, institutions and leaders in the search for transformation of the social order. Yet, in doing so, he will stir up strong feelings and ties of blood as family or tribe struggle to find a place in the social or institutional whole.

In the coming years we will see many present tensions or conflicts escalate as the inner family or tribal group resists the control of social and political mechanisms and authorities. Ancient loyalties of blood and belief will set one part against the rest. If an alliance can be negotiated then all will be well. If not, there will be departure, separation or violent struggle against the prevailing regime.

Conversely, the division may go in the opposite direction. Pluto in Capricorn will bid people to say ‘goodbye’ to family, tribe or race as they part from their parents or roots to find a new place in the world of power and organization. They will take new responsibilities and make a useful contribution to a social order that gives them a new identity and a new sense of belonging.”

Let me know if you’d like the link to the whole piece.

My favorite intertube tee vee bit from last night’s viewing was Samantha Bee’s rant from the October 28 (?) Daily Show about *air quote* women’s health.

I also watched, for the first time, Colbert (he’s too weird for me) with Sherman Alexie, whom I’ve seen speak here a couple times. I’d say that Sherman kicked ass– left Colbert speechless. The times I’ve seen him, Alexie loves to set up the audience by being really funny, then totally sticks it to them. And why not? All you have to do is go to downtown Seattle to see the consequences of our own genocide. The ruined remnants of the indigenous people. Alexie doesn’t romanticize Native Americans, but you know, even just plain folks don’t deserve what they got. Or what the Tutsis of Rwanda got (echoing still in the current Congo rebellion), or the Cambodians under Pol Pot, or… whoa, how’d I get off on this tangent?

I’ll be working with students in the winter term on their big US History research papers. They have to choose a topic from before they were born. I think I’ll see if I can’t get one of them interested in the Loving v. Virginia case. Thanks to your post of Samuel Jackson’s ad for bringing it to my attention.
on November 1, 2008 at 2:21 pm | Reply angryxer

At last. A day where I don’t need coffee to crowbar my body & mind into action (not that there’s much in the way of visible activity going on over here, mind you). The sky has been dark all day, the rain continues to beat down, and I am decidedly convalescent through it all.

Oh, speak to me of astrology. I first had my chart read about 8 years ago, coinciding with a hellish Saturn return. (I’d like to line up all those astrology skeptics and see what they say after they’ve had their chart read by a skilled astrologer.) It was such a profoundly, eerily accurate reading that it launched a whole new world of inquiry for me. I’m particularly familiar with ol’ Pluto, having just gotten my ass kicked for two-plus years by a Pluto square natal Pluto & Sun. With all this election insanity going on, I forgot we’d passed out of Pluto’s Sadge retrograde and are finally back in Capricorn for the long haul. By all means, please do send the link to the whole piece.

I did see the Sherman Alexie interview, which was great. I’m glad he was on. I don’t know if he kicked Colbert’s ass as much as Colbert wanted him to talk… I totally understand your feelings about Mssr Colbert; I used to feel the same way. Still do sometimes. He seems to go for the jugular most often in his Better Know a District series, wherein I feel the conversation is far more squrim-worthy than funny. But I’ve seen him be outright adorable and demonstrate a lot of heart through the persona (more than he used to, I think) and at times he’s far funnier than the Daily Show crew. It’s clear in a lot of interviews that he has great respect for people and isn’t particularly interested in playing “gotcha” through it. He was adorable with Madeleine Albreight earlier this week, and she obviously gets a kick out of him. You never really know how the interview bits are going to unfold. I didn’t think Alexie stuck it to Colbert or the audience very hard; maybe he was playing nice for nat’l TV.

Nice to think of Virginia v. Loving getting attention with a new generation that probably has never heard of the case. Did you catch the news when Mildred Loving died this May? I read these couple of NYT articles about her back then:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/opinion/14wed4.html?scp=1&sq=virginia%20vs.%20loving&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/us/06loving.html?scp=4&sq=virginia%20vs.%20loving&st=cse
on November 2, 2008 at 10:18 am | Reply wired differently

Wow. Interesting articles. I think I will be able to easily get a student interested in doing this topic. A few years ago I suggested the ERA to a student and it was wonderful to see her become engaged in something about which she had no inkling. Working with kids is a constant reminder that history is like a non-stop conveyor belt (visual of the I Love Lucy chocolate factory episode). Last summer I watched a PBS show about the Sixties with my 19-year-old neo-hippie son and he was amazed. Actually, I was, too, as I remembered how much was packed into those few years (including assassinations that just didn’t seem to stop).

I forced myself to listen to the bogus Sarkozy phone call. Jaw-dropping. Nothing more to say.

Here’s the Pluto in Capricorn article.
http://www.astrologycom.com/plutocapricorn1.html

Later…
on November 2, 2008 at 2:14 pm | Reply angryxer

So good to know some young ‘uns are still getting engaged by history, especially given that whole bound-to-repeat-it problem we’ve been so plagued by.

Thanks for the article; will read it during the much longed for post-election breather. I started on the Sarkozy phone call but couldn’t bring myself to keep at it after about minute one. Jam-packed with inanities. Hilarious that they pulled it off, though. Is Palin’s assistant that dumb and/or hubristic that she’d expect Sarkozy to be on the line? Sheesh.

Ok, have to go try to get back to some work today, and concentrate on something besides my Prop 8 freakout.
on November 2, 2008 at 6:48 pm | Reply wired hussein differently

Holy 14th Amendment, Batwoman! You’ve been busy. Good to see that bigotry is getting its bad self called out in my dear second home state.

I’ve been trying to stay off the ‘puter today, but it’s hard. The Mudflats comments section has gotten a bit unhinged, but yet, I cannot seem to pull myself away. Mudflats, I cain’t quitcha!

Back to the astrology topic: I’ve had my natal chart done, too (Cancer sun, Aries rising, Leo moon, lots of fire and water, a little air, and no earth), and I’m coming up on my own second Saturn return. I got married during my first. I know it’s gonna twist my head around backwards, but I take some comfort in knowing that’s going to happen, as opposed to having the 2 x 4 upside the head the first time. I’m also into the Tarot, and I draw a card every day. Right now, election aside, there’s a lot of challenging stuff happening. I thought I was maybe going to get a breather for a bit, but it seems, well, it seems not. Thank goodness I’m not afraid of hard work.

I really like your blog. I don’t know if you get more readers than the number of comments indicate, or how you feel about it, but I appreciate your presence in cyberspace.

I am a little ambivalent about our ongoing conversation being in public, but I’m still willing to do the uberscroll to carry on. I’ve been in other online communities where I’ve gone off list with a person, and we’ve conversed in a more private setting. There’s a woman in Ontario (the Canadian one) whom I consider to be a mentor and a very close friend, whom I’ve only met twice, briefly, irl. Gotta love those intertubes!

Anyway, the next 48 hours are going to be excutiating! I’m going to a friend’s house Tuesday evening. I’m hoping that the news from the east coast will be so definitive and landslide-y (channeling Rachel) that we’ll be able to drink the bottle of champagne I bought for no particular reason.

Although I guess it will take a little longer to see what’s up with prop 8. I’m glad the NO blitz is on. Are there lots of pro 8 ads? Hard to even imagine… Man, I hope the religious right gets its ass kicked right across the board. I’m fucking sick of them and their hater ‘morality’. shit.

Okay. Yikes. Only 6:45. Guess I have no excuse to not fold some laundry.
on November 2, 2008 at 7:56 pm | Reply angryxer

Ha! nice opener. Yes, my nervous energy has been channeled into a blogging tic today. Funny that the Steve Young post is taking off now, far more than any others. Geez louise people, if it takes a former 49er great for you to vote no on 8 (even tho’ technically he’s not speaking up on it)– fine, I’ll take the vote however I can get it. I’m actually very surprised that there haven’t been more celeb endorsements out of Hollywood, and I’m pissed that Ahnold is AWOL. All I can say is, thank god for Patrick Guerrero, who went to visit the No on 8 office to check out the campaign, found it in shambles, and took it over last month.
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid64738.asp

I don’t have a TV, so I have no idea how fast & furiously Yes on 8 ads are running, but given their 20+ million bucks, I’m sure there have been many.

Ooh, what’s up on Mudflats? Define “unhinged”? I haven’t had time to keep up on comments for quite some time now.

Well hello, fellow water/fire gal. I’m Pisces sun, Cancer moon, Sadge rising, little air and a couple pain-in-the-ass earth sign contacts in the ol’ natal chart that still confound. I’ve heard that Saturn returns need not be miserable affairs, if one’s Saturn stuff is already well integrated. Which god knows, mine wasn’t. And still isn’t. I’ve got awhile till round two. I started exploring Tarot during my layoff corridor (2 in 3 years, during the aforementioned Pluto fun, squaring natal Pluto 10th/Sun 4th, dontchya know), though I’ve not gone there lately. ‘Twas quite the run of 9 of Swords, Death card, and Tower card… koinky dinky? I think not.

Thanks for your kind words about the blog. For sure, the comment numbers are paltry compared to readers; I’m over 11k on hits, which in the blog world is peanuts, but it seems pretty good to me considering I only hung out my shingle two months ago. However, there’s no telling how many of those visits are one-hit wonders; it would be nice to know what percentage of the dailies might be regular readers. For all I can tell, it may be a whopping five people. Anyhoo, thanks to WordPress tags and the occasional link elsewhere, it’s nice to know I can reach a broader audience on some topics than just the people who give a damn about my blog.

Will happily jump off the about page… stay tuned.

I’m still deciding between a couple of different options for Tuesday night. For sure, it’s imperative to secure some good compadres to ride out the returns with, and to have some good food and drink at the ready. For what I hope is NOT a freaking marathon again this year. Just this evening I was thinking about picking up a bottle of champagne. Great minds, etc..

Excruciating is the right word, indeed. I’m distracted out of my gourd. Patience and steel, as Mssr Sullivan says.
on November 3, 2008 at 11:40 pm | Reply wired differently

Had a late night at school. Being a private school we host open houses a couple times a year for prospective students. Not my favorite thing to do, but I do like getting a paycheck…

Then I had to catch up on Mudflats. Shit! Much news today– amazing Troopergate development. I hope that’s not the end of it. I think not. Alaskans seem to be pretty pissed. And the ‘medical records.’ That whole thing stinks.
Unhinged: lots of high school-type chit chat, beaucoup emotion, some running off after red herrings, da kine stuff. I’m still a bit of an addict, but I’m looking forward to a little less hysteria after the election. When I first found the site, right after the SP selection, it was very quiet.

Thank god for Patrick Guerrero. And god damn the fucking mormon church. They have been my un-favorites for ever so long. Many, many CIA agents are mormon. I know this from my time as a State Dept. spouse. I’m not much given to conspiracy theory, but they really do have a plan to take over the world. mofos.

Okay, it’s way late and tomorrow’s a big day.

See you on the other side, xer.
on November 4, 2008 at 8:55 am | Reply angryxer

yikes! overslept after late-night proposition-reading cram session and obsessive online surfing (including a rare mudflats conversation). running off to vote…. fingers crossed for 8. i think obama’s going to knock this one out of the park. later!
on November 4, 2008 at 10:29 pm | Reply wired differently

Gen X! Not angry, for the moment. I can’t believe how this feels, and it’s not just the champagne.

I just got home.

Looks like the reptilian Repub governor wannabe in my state is going down.

Looking for info on Prop 8.

It feels so good. I had no idea.
on November 4, 2008 at 10:52 pm | Reply angryxer

Enjoy the night, wired differently. I would be there right with you if Prop 8 weren’t ahead by so much. Without the threat of discrimination being written into the constitution by a slim majority of bigots, I’d be celebrating wildly. Oakland is going ecstatic, and all I find myself wondering is how many of the people out there celebrating equality voted to make me a second-class citizen.
on November 5, 2008 at 6:22 am | Reply wired differently

First thing I looked at this morning was the LA Times. It’s not looking good. The only consolation is that some serious soul-searching will have to be done very publicly. The insidious role of religious institutions in civil affairs will be challenged, and this ain’t over yet.

That said, it’s a bitter-sweet morning.
on November 5, 2008 at 8:58 am | Reply angryxer

“It’s not looking good” is quite the understatement.

Soul searching by whom? Bigots aren’t big on introspection.
on November 5, 2008 at 10:29 am | Reply Wired Differently

Okay, I just had a flash.

This will be challenged immediately. It will work its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. By the time that happens there will have been at least 2 Obama appointees. It will be dealt with at the federal level on the basis of the 14th amendment.

Whether bigots search their souls or not…
on November 5, 2008 at 10:36 am | Reply angryxer

We’re talking YEARS. We’re talking second-class citizens in CALIFORNIA, the nation’s leader in civil rights, which has never stripped rights from its constituents. How does something this fundamental not require at least a two-thirds majority vote?
on November 5, 2008 at 7:23 pm | Reply wired differently

I know there’s nothing redeeming about this. So for now I will say simply, I hear you.
on November 7, 2008 at 9:48 pm | Reply angryxer

Thanks, WD. I went seriously down for the count with grief the day after, which has now given way to white-hot outrage that it has come to this. I am heartened by the protests that have begun and only if the lawsuit on 8 fails will I succumb again to despair. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But I haven’t felt this pissed off at hetero bigots since the early 90s or so. Game fuckin’ on. 18,000 marriages hang in the balance. If those are annulled, look out. This is a mighty different situation from all those other states throwing preemptive man&woman clauses into their constitutions.
on November 8, 2008 at 2:28 pm | Reply wired differently

I finally checked my email.

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