Non-political nonsense...

On a few days of self-imposed exile from all things of the political nature. Sometimes, it's just too much, and it becomes critical to focus on news that doesn't make me want to beat republicans senseless or hurl myself over the edge of the crazy-steep road I now drive to get home...because after all, in the long run, that would not be productive.
Occasionally, one can find comic relief in not-so-relevant news items... like watching Anderson Cooper lose it while reporting on the Gerard Depardieu-peeing-on-a-plane story. Amazing how watching someone else giggle uncontrollably can be utterly contagious. I wonder if we would laugh as much if we were actually on the pee-flight in question. I think I might; kind of sophomoric in that way...
While unpacking some crap I got out of storage, I found another great bit of nonsense I missed the first time around.(anything I have wrapped in old newspapers always takes about 10 times longer to get out and put away; pausing to peruse old headlines is irresistible. It once took me 3 hours to put 8 china place settings away.)  
Headline from an old GJ Sentinel found wrapped around some glasses...
 EX REARRANGES FURNITURE
Seems a Grand Junction man reported to the police that someone entered his home (he wasn't sure if it was a Tuesday night or Wednesday night) and rearranged his furniture... nothing was stolen, apparently he believed that it was an ex-girlfriend who wanted to screw with his head.  Deputies determined there was no evidence of a crime having been committed. Is that because she did a good job?
OK...this tickles me on several levels. He's not sure when the furniture was moved...assuming by the story he wasn't traveling, how observant is this guy if he's not quite sure where his sofa is supposed to be. Is he absolutely sure he had a sofa? Is he absolutely sure he has an ex-girlfriend?
I've been known to be kind of an airhead from time to time, but I'm pretty sure I can remember where my furniture is placed. The reason I know this is that when my husband and I were first married, and too broke to buy new stuff, he would resolve the issue by periodically arranging and rearranging the cast-off furniture we had. Back then, he also used to rearrange the furniture as a form of problem-solving therapy. If he was stressed over a work issue, or trying to figure something out, he'd move end tables and chairs around like chess pieces. That's how I know it's not difficult to remember where your shit is. On more than one occasion, I'd get up in the morning and trip over something that hadn't been there when we'd gone to bed the night before. Once I sent a pitcher of orange juice to an early death by setting in on thin air, because the last time I'd looked, there had been a table where I was putting it. OK...I guess when it comes down to it, I wasn't any more observant than the guy in GJ with the interior-redesigning ex.
I just stayed married to my special re-arranger, but if he pees on a plane we'll have to talk.

WTF?

This makes about as much sense as the tea party.

California Peaches...Colorado Grown...what's wrong with this picture?

But damn hell, they're Colorado Proud!

(Of what, the fact that they came from California? Wait...maybe the peaches and I have something in common after all.)

Donate cash to Debbie Wasserman Shultz in Allen West's name- one way to piss off that jackhole.

Allen West (Asspanda-R-FL) went off on a personal attack on Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, after she dared to challenge the Republicans.  What's good for the goose...Allen West is worthless, unless we use him as a Demo-fundraiser.
She challenged policy, he attacked her personally, so as far as I'm concerned,the gloves are off. Based only on his behavior; he's a fucking fuckball, and we should all (on the matter of principle alone) cough up a few bucks to her re-election campaign, and do it in Allen West's name. He made his attack personal, so that must be what he understands.  To quote someone he'll understand...BRING IT ON....What it's really about is a thinking woman; far smarter and more courageous than he, who dares to have an opinion of her own, and if he were in my house, he'd last about 3 minutes. After we blasted him on policy, he'd have to apologize to women, seniors, dogs and cats, the entire population of  the United States, (sans tea party) as well as anyone with an IQ over 10, and then he'd have to sit quietly and think about all the bad choices he has made. There is simply no room for people like this in the system.
Bottom line...give $ to Debbie Wasserman Shultz because she's got as much heart and soul as Allen West has slime.

Here are some good links:
These people said it better than I did....


http://theleftinme.blogspot.com/


 http://passthedoucheys.com/2011/07/20/allen-west-thinks-debbie-wasserman-schultz-is-despicable-and-should-stfu/

If you really want to piss off Alan West...here's Debbie's site- make a contribution.

http://www.dwsforcongress.com/splash

Then, tell that nasty-assed Allen West what you did....

https://www.allenwestforcongress.com/contact

Way to teach the fucking fuckballs a lesson.

I'm so done here.

I feel dirty...

I took another shower, but it didn't help. I even looked at several dozen cute cat videos, did some deep breathing, but nothing is making me feel better. I did this to myself. I brought on the damage...I went to the Faux News website and read a fauxitorial, looked at the results of a fauxpoll (NOT A SCIENTIFIC POLL!) and scanned reader's (I use the term loosely) fauxmments. It was AAAWWWFFFUUULLLL. The people who wrote in were mostly as dumb as a bag of hammers and twice as nasty as used kitty litter.
This is all my husband's fault. It's true. I can totally, completely blame him 100% for the fact that my eyes are burning in their sockets, what's left of my brain is melting, and I threw up in my mouth.
This morning over coffee, he commented that if I didn't check in with the opposition once in a while, then I couldn't comment with any authority on the evils they commit. I supposed he was right. We have a hard and fast rule that there is no Faux News Channel allowed on in our home, and if we are in any public place where it is being shown we either politely ask that the channel be changed or leave. This is fine if it's a commercial establishment, but a couple of weeks ago he was stuck in the hospital waiting area while I had some tests done. The waiting area has about 6 seats and one big TV on the wall. Since we live in a pretty rural (and conservative) area, it's always full, and its generally full of conservatives. It's also not unusual for Faux News to be on. In all honesty, if I'm going in to be scanned or ultra sounded or MRI'd, I'm either medicated or too busy being self-absorbed to focus on  Faux News in the waiting room- and last time my husband got stuck being subjected to 45 minutes of a fraudcast because there was no attendant around to change the channel.
He routinely listens to the opposition- I rarely do, because the stories piss me off;  I have little self-control and start imagining the sounds Rush Limbaugh would make if I repeatedly backed over him with my minivan. I have fantasies about crazy-gluing body parts of Glenn Beck to those of Sean Hannity and taking lots of pictures of it. I wonder what it would feel like to hit Ann Coulter with a paintball gun at really close range.( I ponder whether she really is a man. She has an Adam's apple) I digress... it's not good to feel this way. Not mature- my reaction to conservative talk radio or TV just isn't healthy.
 When my tests were done, and we left the hospital,  I was very glad to still be under the influence of  Valium, because all the way home, my husband recounted the horrible stories he'd been subjected to for nearly an hour on Faux, without the benefit of as much as a mute button.
But I couldn't argue with his point that I can't piss and moan about something if I don't observe it with my own eyes. Dammit. I was curious to see what, if anything, the talking heads at Faux were saying about the News Corp. scandal, and Rupert Murdock. So I  visited enemy territory. As it turns out...they didn't say  much about their own dirty laundry. I did read an insult-the-intelligence-of anyone-who-walks-upright- fauxitorial on how President Obama doesn't know anything about the economy; (the same bullshit about phony job creators, the same reduce government crap) and the comments following were downright scary. It's scary that people are dumb enough to swallow this garbage.  There was a Fauxpoll, which showed that 88% of the readers believe that there is really no problem with the debt ceiling and President Obama is simply using scare tactics. I wonder how many of the respondents are on social security, yet don't believe they participate in any government program?
How long did it take for this portion of the population to become completely disengaged from reality?
How big a role did phony facts and a toy media play in that?
This would all be just fine, except the idiots and the baggers they elected are screwing things up for the rest of us. I've been on the site 4 minutes and I'm sick to my stomach.
Exit. Home. Delete. Help. Quick. CNN. MSNBC. NPR. Get me the fuck out of here. 
Oh, look...a  CNN poll, in which 78% of readers believe that the Bush tax cuts for families that make over $250,000 should be allowed to expire in 2013 as part of a debt reduction package.
Better.
Oh, look, Stupid animal videos.
Better.
Breathe. Shower. Read progressive blogs.
Better.
I'm not going back to Faux for a long time. It's just too, too slimy. At least not until I get another Valium.

Eric Cantor...the brattiest kid on the block

Send a message to Eric Cantor, and let him know we don't approve of his little hissy-fit during negotiations with President Obama. Let him know we don't approve of anything the Repos have been doing, and this isn't high school any more. He should stop lying, and act like a grown up. Oh...never mind...I forgot who I was talking about. Sniveling little brat.
Seriously though...his parents should have given him more time-outs and taught him how to behave. I'd feel like crap if I knew that I raised a little dickhole like him.
Here's a link to his email.
You have to put in a VA zip code to use it. His office zip in Glen Allen is 23060. It works.
 http://cantor.house.gov/contact/

Amnesia... or simply brains of marshmallow fluff?

Why in Heaven's name would ANYONE allow the Republicans to run anything, ever again?
Have we forgotten or do we just not care?
For eight years we had economic policies that dug us into this mess...and now, even while we're smack dab in the center of the crap the Repos and Baggers are making much worse by acting like the most self-centered, grabbiest, I've-got-mine-so-fuck-everyone-else bunch of stupid asshats; there are still people out there who mindlessly embrace budget cuts that will hurt them. And their retired parents. And their veteran Uncle Bob. And their disabled Aunt Betty. And the kids they have in special ed.
 Do they not see that this is the economic equivalent of bending over and getting the Vaseline so they can get screwed by the Koch Bros, Exxon-Mobile, or any number of Wall Street vermin who might be up for shelling out $700 for a couple of bottles of wine for Paul Ryan & friends?
Baggers...you're ignoring reality. And that is really, really stupid. You've lost your grasp on facts, history, and you are ignoring the fact that everything the Repo's have said about job creation and tax breaks for the 'job creators' is a big steaming pile of cow shit. Lots of corporate profits. Not lots of jobs. Lots of obscene bonuses. Not lots of jobs. Repo's have been yowling since the midterms that they were all about job creation...but what have they really been about? More breaks for the most privileged among us, privatizing any damn thing they can get their grubby little paws on, stealing voting rights, closing down family planning clinics, undoing the progress of health reform, acting like religious nut jobs, and doing their damnedest  to legislate what goes on in my very own panties. I don't see much in the way of jobs, though. If the worthless Republican Party spent, oh, I don't know...maybe 15% of the time on job creation that they spend trying to throw roadblocks in the President's way, and obsessing about how I use my girl parts,  maybe the economy wouldn't be circling the bowl. Except for the fact that they suck at everything except kissing hedge fund manager ass, so never mind, I'm probably wrong about that.
But here's what I think...The Republican Party and the Baggers have one worthwhile use. To unite Democrats and Progressives to find common ground and kick their worthless asses out of any kind of public office. That's it. If we can't come together, and start seeing them for what they are...which is the political version of that creepy, perv-y guy who offers you candy to go for a ride in his car...then we can only blame ourselves for what we are unable to accomplish.
That's it...blog topic for next time...HOW TO RE-BRAND KARL ROVE & AMERICAN CROSSROADS AS THAT PERV-Y GUY WITH CANDY???  We all know that's who he really is.

I dreamed there was no more Faux News...

I grew up (literally) in a newsroom. My father was a newspaperman, back in the day when they actually reported the news. Before newspapers were wrecked by MBA's. These guys were an aggressive, surly,  focused-on-the-facts group who seemed irritable more often than not (not to be sexist, but back then, it was mostly guys; the majority of  women at the newspaper handled the society pages...and were really boring...kind of like the Junior League glued to typewriters)
Anyway...you know how some parents park their kids in front of the TV as a babysitter? When I got to go to work with my dad,(always on weekends or holidays when the paper had a skeleton crew and my mother wanted me out of the house) he'd  use the wire service as the babysitter. I was barely old enough to read when he'd park me  in front of a monstrously noisy teletype machine, calling out over his shoulder to  "keep an eye on the AP (or maybe it was UPI) service"  for him, as he'd disappear through the swinging double doors into the 'back shop'. That's where all the good stuff was going on, banks of compositors with editors over their shoulders, marking up, cutting, pasting, chain-smoking and swearing.  Of course the bit about keeping an eye on the stories coming off the wire service was  bullshit...at that age I could probably recognize only one of every three words that flew off those automated keys, as the stories would  keep coming and the roll of paper would grow before my eyes until it unwound on the floor at my feet. Sometimes (if it was after the composing close...we were an afternoon paper, so I knew I couldn't go through those double doors until after 1:00 PM) I'd peek into the back shop and yell to him some of the words I could recognize- as if I was really passing on something of value. I'd shout out  that something was WASHINGTON or NEW YORK or POLICE or KILLING, and wait until he'd come back and pretend to peruse what I'd alerted him to.
What was addictive to me, even back then, was the idea that stuff just kept happening, out there in the world, and my father and his buddies (who cussed so much and always seemed so tense until after the deadline) were doing important work that made it possible to open a newspaper and read about what was going on in the world.
Years later, I was much older, when he had moved from city editor to investigative reporter, I became aware of how much was involved in gathering information, and fact finding. It was a different world back then. No one printed allegations. No one would go with a story unless there were at least two independent sources that were willing to go on the  record. Every time his byline was printed under a series or story, his reputation was on the line. Heaven knows, he didn't earn a great deal, so it was never a paycheck that he stressed over, it was his reputation. That's what caused him to check and recheck facts, to question the integrity of his sources and to make sure he got things right.
At home, we watched the Bill Shadel, Walter Cronkite and the Huntley-Brinkley Report (that's all there was) each night, so he could compare the network reporting, then we'd discuss current events as a  family, so he could make sure we knew what was going on. Not knowing was an unforgivable sin. Not caring was worse.
My father died almost 20 years ago, and in many ways, I'm glad he never lived to see how news organizations have become extensions of  corporate America- or worse, Faux News.
The recent scandals of Rupert Murdock and the subsequent opinions about his potential downfall, including the speculation that the fallout may be so great it could even damage Fox has allowed me to dream...what if...
What if there was no Faux News? What if those lazy fools who rely on the lies that Faux spews daily didn't have them supplying the endless fountain of drivel? What if they actually had to make an effort to READ and UNDERSTAND current events without a rabid, ranting talking head telling them who to hate?
I know...it would be like lopping the tail off a lizard...they'll just grow a new one. Those folks out there who care little for facts will always care little for facts...they'll just click on Brietbart or tune in Rush or some other 'personality' who has a lax relationship with the truth.
It doesn't seem like an accident...the correlation between Faux News' growth in viewership and the dumbing down of the population. It would be a tremendous public service, and benefit to the country if they just went away. I don't think it will happen, either-
But...a girl can dream, can't she?

Thank you, Betty Ford.

We lost Betty Ford at 93. Not much to say, except she was a class act. Courageous lady, came down on the right side of issues... faced her challenges from alcoholism to breast cancer with little concern for the secrecy that was the standard of the day. She did a great deal to give others the strength to face those issues...how many women got breast exams because of Betty Ford? How many of those afflicted and in pain saw her face addictions and realized there was hope on the other side?
Bigger than any political designation...but folks on both sides of the aisle could learn from the way she conducted herself.
Quite a First Lady.
 

Outraged Florida protesters... put your money where your mouth is

I don't get 'concerned' citizens that feel the need to paint up some signs, proclaiming they are so upset by the Casey Anthony verdict that they have to cry, scream, and shake their fists.
One pathetic excuse for a mother even bragged about the fact that she left her family behind (somewhere in the Midwest) so she could fly to Florida to watch the proceedings and hear the verdict in person.
Maybe her kids are better off with worthless mom a 1000 miles away, because what kind of priorities does this woman have to have?  Note to protesters...in case you weren't aware; national stats on child abuse show that nearly five children die in the US of abuse or neglect on a daily basis.
No one is saying this isn't a tragedy.
If you are really, truly as heartbroken over the death of this little girl as you profess to be, put the fucking sign down, shut the hell up, get off your asses and do something to make a difference. Try putting some energy into preventing the next case...or would you just rather wait for an ugly crime to unfold so you can have something else to feign outrage over? Instead of spending your cash on airfare and hotels, you could donate it to a children's shelter. Work a hotline. Help with education and intervention.  Put your time and money where your big stupid mouths are.
Oh...I didn't think so.
Useless pieces of sneeze.
This reminds me of the Right to Lifer's who I used to run into outside of Planned Parenthood. They profess to love the babies, but for all their 'protect life' rhetoric, just like the rest of the right wingers, they don't give a fig about the babies, once they're out and breathing oxygen.
The same people who expound on the sanctity of life are the first ones to slash the funding, essentially paving the way to starve and cut medical care to those very same little babies they say they love so much. Life is sacred? Money where your mouth  is. And while we're on it, why do the life is sacred folks always support the death penalty? Sick bastards.
I'm a hypocrite about a lot of stuff. I'll be the first one to admit it. This isn't one of them. We volunteered at Planned Parenthood, because although on a personal level, I don't believe abortion is a solution, I'll fight until the day I die to protect the right of women who aren't me to make their own choices. It's not complicated. I figured it out and I'm pretty simple. I only get to decide for me.  If you don't believe in something, don't do it. But stay the hell out the your neighbor's uterus. On another note...it's funny how we never ran into any of those anti-choice protesters being foster parents, providing meals or giving respite care to stressed out new parents with real live babies. How's this...if you all want to do the outrage thing, then you have to do the heavy lifting that comes with it. It's more than a hefting up a square of poster board on a stick.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should...

 I am NO fan of reality television. Given the fact that it's the equivalent of a TV weed patch, choking off more and more well-written programs (Hell, it's even killing off  poorly written programs), because after all, it's cheap, and the audience seems to have an amazing capacity for stupidity. As long I can hit the 'off' button, except for that asshat Donald Trump, it never bothered me all that much.
Perhaps because I've grown so accustomed to ignoring all reality shows, I had no idea how out of control things have gotten. Watching rude, ignorant people behaving badly brought us Jersey Shore and  Sarah Palin's Alaska. Easy enough to avoid. But collectively, reality shows have ruined cooking, dating, singing, dancing, and a whole bunch of crap I don't even know about. But someone really needs to explain this latest one to me...The Nail Files???
Seriously,  why do we want to watch a program about a fucking nail salon? Because the owner is a bleached blond and has big tits? Is that all it takes now?(Trust me, tits are way overrated. I've been told repeatedly mine are pretty impressive...so what? Unless that salon owner can balance a bottle of OPI 'Thrill of Brazil' Nail Lacquer on her nipples, it's not worth a show.) Are we all supposed to be whack-ding because celebrities get their nails done there? This is just sad... Americans are blaming President Obama for the sorry state of affairs in the US, without a clue about what the Repo's are up to, but a reality show about a nail salon is big stuff. I don't even know where to start.
I'm a country girl now. I no longer have my nails done. But, for the 18 years I had standing 'fill' date for those awful acrylic nails, sitting in the salon for 45 minutes was pure torture. As far as boring, it was worse than a trip to the DMV, because in order to survive the ordeal, you had to check your brain at the door. Plus it smelled really bad. Chemically-bad.
It isn't like we're talking about http://juanitajean.com/  where the smartest kids are hanging out at the World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc. (One of the coolest non-blogs ever) Oh no...it's nothing like that.
This was created by the woman (forgot her name) who is responsible for bringing us Jersey Shore.
Ick.
You know what I think a would make a good reality show? Dropping Exxon Mobile Pipeline CEO Gary Pruessing into the middle of the Yellowstone River without a paddle or a life vest. And then make him do some clean up with his own two hands. I'd watch that. Let's make Paul Ryan live on an average retiree's Social Security, and follow him around the grocery store, gas station and pharmacy to see how well he'd do. That's my kind of reality. Or maybe make Jeff Emerson, who is Aetna's head of Health Care Management, spend some quality time navigating around their circular voicemail system, trying in vain to get a procedure covered, bill paid, or problem solved. He's in charge of managing costs and improving access to affordable effective health care. I wonder if he deals with the same system as the rest of Aetna's customers. If so, he's not spending much time working...he's on hold. I wonder how many viewers would tune in to see that?
Probably not too many, they're all too busy watching for tits.

Happy Fourth of July!

To everyone out there, Happy Fourth!
I'm just taking a second (in between baking) to appreciate that freedom of speech translates into the knowledge that the dumb-ass I had the pleasure of following after the parade this morning has every right to wear that idiotic 'Palin 2012" T-shirt...even if it was scarcely long enough to cover  his butt-crack. (Do you have a visual? Be very glad the blackberry was out of reach!)
On the other hand,  I get to come home, throw yet another cake in the oven, and drop a line about how it boggles my my mind that anyone who can actually walk upright would be seen wearing a shirt supporting Sarah Palin. Driving back to the house we passed a car bearing  a bumper sticker that made me feel like our little town wasn't totally being invaded by morons....It read..."Bachmann/Satan- 2012" in that red, white & blue stars & stripe-y typeface.  I'm sure the owner of the old Subaru had it made up special.
Someone after my own heart. If I hadn't seen that, & just had to deal with the influx of Repo's from out of town, I might be tempted to just turn on the gas, leave the cake unbaked on the counter, and stick my head in the oven. But, I do love my country, and I do love the freedom to disagree.  Let's go on to fight another day....Have a good one!

If recent letters to the editor are an indicator, we're fueled by greed and stupidity.

It's lovely here this time of year, except for the people. Well, not all the people suck. Just some of the people. Well, actually only a few...the ones who write foaming-at-the-mouth-right-wing-ranty-too-stupid-to-live letters to the editor to our local paper, The Delta County Independent.
Lately, there's been a rash of mean, republican-y opinions that pretty much consist of the viewpoint that anyone who gets Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance Benefits, or any type of food stamps or public assistance is a good-for-nothing freeloader who doesn't deserve to live. Oh, and according to these brilliant citizens and patriotic Americans, we must never feed, clothe, educate or provide any kind of humanitarian care to any person who may be here illegally.
The reason why this a post rather than an official letter to the editor? Because I want to respond  without an editor, and let my asshole flag fly. My response to the collective letter-writers who want to 'recycle Congress, force food stamp recipients to make better choices, kick out immigrants, and scold the 'freeloaders' on 'entitlements' is, " FUCK YOU, you dimwitted Faux News watching knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing morons!"
First off- your letters all bitch and moan about welfare recipients, but never once do any of you mention those on the receiving end of corporate welfare, or big fat tax credits, or other government subsidies. (No it's only people who need a little help feeding their kids they have a problem with...for the record, I learned from a woman who works for the county that here, food stamp recipients have to work for their benefits if they are able-bodied. One more reason these letter-writers are full of shit)
One of the letters complaining about food stamp recipients came from Eckert, CO.  The same Eckert, CO where a few folks received  1,355,540 in farm subsidies over the last ten years. The author of the letter wanted all recipients of welfare and food stamps drug tested quarterly. Does that include recipients of farm subsidies and corporate welfare? I'll bet they never considered that. I have no problem with my tax dollars helping support family farms. In fact, I think the idea of supporting sustainable family farms that bring us clean, healthy food should be hailed. But it frosts my cookies to hear greedy, selfish, stupid people vilify those below the poverty line in order to justify their fear and hatred of brown people, or Latin people. There's been a lot of disdain for the unemployed in these letters as well, but no mention of the employers who kick their employees to the curb for a few dollars more profit.  Mostly these hate-letters describe the thoughts of  weak-minded individuals who are afraid of change and can't wrap their pea-brains around the fact that limited government does not look like mandatory drug tests for poor people,  or forced sonograms for women choosing to exercise their right to control their own bodies.That would be BIG government. Big, intrusive government. (See what happens to people when they park their dumb asses in front of Glenn Beck? Thank heaven that's no longer an option!)
 They think of education as a 'freebie' and like food and basic medical care it's something that we should deny to people who are not born here. Lets stop and think about the real cost of denying an education to anyone's kids...  Think about what an entire segment of the population that is denied an education does to us as a nation. Kind of sounds like what the mullahs embrace, doesn't it?  In fact, all the ideas put forth by these 'good Americans' sound far more like they came out of the mouths of the Taliban.The question I'm pondering is, how much damage are we going to allow these morons to do before we pull the rug out from under their entire tea party movement, with an overwhelming, "No thank you, we're not buying your bullshit!"?
These people and their pathetic views are an example of  how far our morality has eroded. In bad economic times, people show their true colors. It's not pretty. Makes me ashamed these people live here in Delta County.  Idiots who don't have the slightest idea what they are talking about now speak with authority on the growing deficit. They weren't thinking at all of the deficit until the good people at Faux News told them to, now they can't get their minds around anything else. Except who to blame..it always comes down to blame, and its never Bof A, or Exxon, or GE...its never the CEO's who aren't creating jobs, they're shipping them overseas so they can collect a bigger bonus. It's always the fault of the poor people, or the brown people, or the Federal employees, or the medicare recipients, or the environmentalists because they protest  having OUR air and water poisoned. It's never the fault of the Republicans who walk out or hold up the vote, or have a fake filibuster..it's always the fault of the Democrat in the White House...but enough is enough. You greedy sonsofbitches are the minority, and we're not going to let you get by with this bullshit, not one more day. Fun's over. We're coming to crash your tea party.

Wildlife in a small town.

We don't live in town, but if we did, there'd only be about 1600 people there. But no, even that thriving metropolis would be too crowded...we live a few miles outside of Paonia, on a remote (don't get me wrong...its absolutely the loveliest place you could imagine!) road in the hills, peppered by just a few homes. And lots of deer. And recently inhabited by a huge hawk. The latter is causing me a problem because we have a small dog; one I'm thinking would be just about the right size for a snack, which means every time the dog needs to be 'peed' one of us has to stand right over him to insure he doesn't become an appetizer.
Supreme dog vigilance is a small price to pay for living in such a beautiful and serene spot. However...I was having a conversation yesterday with a local guy who is much smarter in the ways of wild things than I am. Imagine my shock when one of the first things he asked after arriving at the here was whether we saw the muddy bear prints coming up the road on the way to the house. Dopey me, I thought those paw prints belonged to the big dog next door. Turns out, a bear was traveling from one mesa to another, and took the road less traveled...ours.
Here's a pic of the road the bear crossed...the prints got washed away in this morning's rain, and I wasn't going to do anything more than lean out the window to snap this with my blackberry.

I've been completely freaking out, no longer willing to go for long walks in the hills, and now even nervous about going out at night to pee the dog. I am not chicken shit about everything.

There are some combative situations where I am perfectly capable of handling myself. Taking on a classroom full of unruly 3rd graders? Cake. Navigating TSA agents, snotty clerks at airline or rental car counters, making sense of strange cities...not a problem; could do it in heels. Presentation to a hundred self-important graphic design students? With handouts? And Q & A?  Watch me.(past life in territory sales cures many fears) Battling crowds at the half yearly sale at Nordstrom? In my sleep. In fact, with the help of Ambien, I think I  have shopped it in my sleep.
But none of that stuff is any sort of prep for dealing with a bear. On some level, I'm pretty sure the bear has moved on. But animals are unpredictable. How many times have the damn deer waited until just before you're ready to pass before they bound out in front of your car? How many times to we get visited by raccoons or skunks or big scary birds or fox, or coyotes, or mountain lions?
Give me batshit city crazy anytime...I can handle that with far more grace. (Once a horribly unbalanced homeless woman accused me of having sex with her husband in the public restroom in SF...I just apologized and told her I didn't know he was her husband. She left me alone) But you start bringing furry things with big claws and teeth that do not respond to smart-ass and I am totally screwed.
Today I had a doctor's appointment and forgot to bring a book for the waiting room. I passed the time waiting for the doctor reading "Guns and Ammo".(It was that or Parenting Magazine) After looking at all the pretty pictures of guns, I was thinking that if we're going to live in the middle of wild kingdom, perhaps I should learn how to defend myself. But then the next page I flipped to was an article on one type of bullet vs. another type of bullet; and contained all kinds of disgusting descriptions of features and benefits. The features and benefits all involved metal ripping through flesh, and I realized I may yell at something, and maybe throw a rock or two... but don't think I have it in me to shoot at something that's alive.  Maybe I should just focus on learning how to make a really big noise, and take my walks in the city park.  All of a sudden, I'm kind of homesick for a really crowded Hertz counter.

And people say I'm an ass...

Going through old crap & found this...a friend emailed it to me some time back. Perhaps to serve as a warning for me to watch my P's & Q's where family is concerned. (click on the pic if you can't read it)
Today, I resolve to be a bit less bitchy...

Some progressives need a reality check.

OK. I get that a whole lot of the left is pissed at President Obama. Fine. I'm not jumping-through-hoops-crazy-wild over everything that comes out of the WH these days, but I sure as hell am not going to have a hissy-fit, waste a vote and smooth out the road for the Repos and those Tea Party jerk-offs who support them. 

Stop, take a breath and think about angry you are now, and what life would look like with one of these in the White House... 

Look, I would prefer that President Obama handle some issues (the war, DADT, Bush tax cuts) differently.

Here's my big but... as badly as I may disagree with this administration on certain issues, there is NOTHING that will improve by allowing  more Republicans to hold power, or pissing away a vote on someone who doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting elected-(Nader...hello?) The fact that by nature, getting  Democrats and Progressives to read from the same page is like herding cats, could make life a cake walk for our enemies. And by enemies, I mean the right wing nuts.  There's an old saying... Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line. We should have learned in kindergarten is that while we're not the only ones that can expect representation, if we take stay home, we can expect even less. If you're pissed off, work for a solution, don't refuse to participate. For those who think all candidates are the same- I politely disagree. Here's why... reproductive rights, civil rights, fighting the privatizing of social security, medicare, prisons, public schools, etc., health and safety regulation, worker's rights, are just few reasons to support Democrats- or vote against Republicans. Call me a simpleton, but wipe out all of those, and here's one reason that could trump all the rest. Supreme Court appointments. I don't care what other arguments are made for holding back support. We've seen what the recent Republican Supremes have done to the laws in this country.  Get a clue. And while you're at it, offer up some suggestions, support some viable representation on a local, county, state, and federal level that will move our people forward, not backward. It won't happen at all if you stay home. That's for sure.

sick kitty + sick laptop+ missing kids = no posts.

Bad news...the old laptop died. New one ordered and delivered. Husband (aka: Guardian Angel) set up (YAY!) all the crap I am too stupid to deal with.  
Traumatic Mom news...having to put Visiting Adult Son back on a train to CA so he could return to his real life. He's thrilled; me...not so much. (although no one will hear me complain about getting to watch something besides that damn history channel)
Good news... ailing kitty, Anthony Francisco Fabrisi (official occupation: Extremely Bad Cat- but you can't tell from the pic where he's sleeping peacefully snuggled with his cat family) came back from the vet good as new.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm a simple soul. Broken computer + broken cat+ returning our son to California  = operating off the grid until the son gets settled, cat is healthy and computer issues are dealt with.
I have immense gratitude for Dr. Vincent  (we call him St. Vincent) in Paonia, CO; who healed our beloved kitty; Josie & Rick at Radio Shack in Paonia; who found what we needed and  made us feel like we weren't living in Siberia,(they always go above and beyond!) and to David, for listening to me scream like a 4-year old when I couldn't get my old system up and running,but more critical than that, providing aid and comfort while I was in denial of having an adult child with an actual life, and having wacko Mom issues.
He set aside my bad humor, ignored the fact that he's missing the kids, too, and in reality, is not all that  fond of my wicked, evil cats who have been known to do bad things to his Hawaiian shirts, plus he put an amazing amount of support into getting broken stuff (including me) fixed.
Other news...someone else will have to decide if it is a  good thing or bad thing... but we'll survive to post another day. 

He's seen better days...





In a land long ago and far away, in a slot that time forgot...

Some think he failed because no one actually wanted to look at the rat bastard. Some think it was simply because he had no format. Others contend that it was the fault of the 'liberals' who stuck him in the late, late time spot. Most of us don't give a shit, we're just glad he's no longer on our television machines. 

Could we really be lucky enough to have history repeat itself and be in a 'radio-free-rush-zone' in the near future?

Don't know if I can be that optimistic, but I do like the fact that Arbitron's (radio ratings) report on 5/23/11 had Limbaugh's audience down 33% over last year. Maybe it's the beginning of a trend, and the dittoheads are starting to peel away like the facade on this building. One can only hope...

Memorial Day

 Please honor those who should be here with us today, but are not.  Remembering the dignity, dedication and bravery of those who serve, and paid the ultimate price need not get lost in the politics. The sense of loss is personal for each of us, because the missing, wounded and fallen soldiers are far more than just names and statistics. They are our kids, our brothers, sisters, mothers, dads, aunts and uncles. They are family. They are all our family. Maybe, when that becomes a greater part of the collective consciousness, we'll have to say good-bye to fewer of them.
To the members of the military; active and retired...Thank you for your service.

1000 miles and a few thousand feet

California moping again, probably because this time of year used to mean hitting the beach, or at least making the most of my life as a river rat.
The view out the back door used to look like this...

 

And the critters we'd get to see on our morning sail would be a couple of these guys...

They'd spend all day in the sun, and bark hello if it wasn't too much trouble.

The scenery is still amazing... but what a difference 1000 miles and a little over 5600 feet make.

Here's today's view out the kitchen door...

And this gal comes up to say hi almost every night. Sometimes she brings her girlfriends. They're waiting for the garden to grow so they can have fresh appetizers.

Just needed to take a 'bitch break' from the real world.  At least I didn't post pictures of my kids.

And the hits just keep on comin'

According to a story on  MSNBC's Decision 2012 today, Tex-ass Governor Rick Perry and his haircut may throw a hat in the GOP nominee ring. That's about all they can throw, since it is widely known that like Bush before him, Perry is 'all hat and no cattle.'
This just gets better and better, with the start of the Sarah Palin 90 miles of bad dirt road tour. She'll probably burn through staffers and folks to write her road tweets faster than that big bus burns through diesel, and when you figure in what they'll spend along the way at Taco Bell, she's absolutely doing her part to jump start the economy.
All we need now is a Bachmann press conference on second amendment rights, so she can  wave a semi-automatic from a bell tower somewhere, and the nut-job parade will be complete.
Speaking of the stellar red team...what could Newt possibly have charged 500,000 dollars worth of, in those little blue boxes, that he's now so hell bent on keeping a secret? It's not like Tiffany sells diamond-encrusted (ow) sex toys, unless they have a double-secret-probation-catalog that only goes out to their best corporate clients. Damn, the only client thank you's I ever got from Tiffany were  a couple of key rings and a paperweight. Maybe that's because...never mind.
The sheer lunacy  of these people is almost (not quite) entertaining enough to make me forget how much I'd like Tim Pawlenty to choke on his words the next time he refers to medicare, social security, education, infrastructure or ANY government expenditure other than military spending as 'sacred cows.' T-Paw, you're an idiot if you think you can refer to voters as sacred cows, and not get trampled by the herd. It can't happen soon enough.