Unitarian Jihad

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: The Venerable Claymore of Loving Tolerance. What's yours?

B's reply

One of my theories is that the extremist Republicans (lead by Newt Gingrich) did such an amazing job of tarnishing the Clinton presidency, that the way was paved for Bush ... meaning that most people who were taken by the Gingrichs/Limbaughs/Falwells/etc. didn't even have to know who the hell Bush was to simply not vote Democrat in 2000 (and man did Clinton leave them a lot of money to play with!). It was the perfect coup. They made it seem to the common worker folk, ex-urbanites, and the Jesus clowns that ever since GHW Bush was in office, the country had taken a moral turn for the worst (worse?) --- therefore, the Bush name combined with the Republicans' heavily funded smear campaign basically handed him the white house. All the groundwork was laid between '96 and 2000 -- as per usual in his life story, Bush didn't have to lift a finger (and other than that, why would they nominate such a blatant idiot for president? Because Karl Rove and Andrew Card have SO much damning shit on Bush that's locked away -- he wouldn't dare do anything other than what they say -- all his records from his Texas Governership, all his father's records, and anything he's done since 2001, locked up in the name of national security ..... AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!).

To expound on my little theory (or thought thread), I was in a buddy's garage last Friday (Bob "Never-Ever" Fales, my Best Man) with a few of his neighbors. One guy (about 40 years old maybe), a construction worker, married, told a story of how he went to Germany to visit his nephew who was stationed there after a tour in Iraq. They went to London and he was going on about how the dollar was worth $.50 to the pound, so they couldn't do much (they went to Planet Hollywood!) ... BUT, then he kind of sighs and says, "Man, our economy is in rough shape ... blah blah blah ... China, Russia ... blah blah blah ... everybody I know is starting to feel the hurt ... (and here's the clincher) ... I tell ya, if Bush doesn't get his act together and people get sick of being lied to there's going to be a fucking Democrat in the white house in 2008." I just kind of stood there silent with my mouth open and couldn't even respond. That is the depth of the Republicans' smear campaign witnessed out there in the wild ... Bush could rape his wife and kids and he'd still be loyal to the Republican party. I don't get it. I can only hope for a modest trend of common sense (and a fair voting process) to sweep over enough people to win an election in 2008. It's insane either way.

So, there's my rant for the day. The local paper wasn't in yet at the store, so I'll take a look on my way to work.

Cheers (as they say),

B

Email to B

Glad someone else is up too. I was just trying to write a post to my blog when I noticed an email. I set up the blog back in October but tonight's post is only my second one. I haven't felt inspired since that first night when I was totally pissed over something W said in the debate.

Is it just me, or is this country going to hell in a hand-basket? And doing so happily. Everyone is so busy seeking entertainment that they don't pay attention to what's going on around them. Debbie & I were having a conversation/debate last week, talking about the dipshits & how everyone seems OK with the current political situation. (Not everyone but I think you know what I mean.) How can so many people vote for an asshole who's only claim to fame prior to his political life was that he deserted the National Guard & bankrupted 3 corporations? (No one would have even considered him for office if it weren't for who his Daddy was.) How can so many people be so enamored of someone who "never gave a second thought" to executing more people than any US governor in history? How come people vote for a candidate whose policies are clearly in opposition to their own best interests? Who claims to be a Christian but acts in totally un-Christian ways? I just don't understand.

Scout & I have exchanged emails on the looming oil situation. Now that I think of it, that's what D & I were debating. It's just crazy. As a small business owner (which I am) I can deduct the entire price, up to $50,000, for any vehicle that weighs over 6000 pounds. Now anything that weighs that much is getting 15 MPG at best. On the other hand, if I buy a Toyota Prius that gets 60 MPG plus, I might get a maximum tax credit up to $2500, depending on my income (meaning that if I make too much I get nothing). How does that make sense? The heavy vehicle deduction was designed to help people in the farming & construction industries. Then some slick CPA figured out that he could apply it to any small business & the IRS let it pass. Now the auto industry is actually making SUVs heavier so they qualify for the deduction. Duh!?!?

I recently sent an email to my Senators & Congressman re. the Alaska oil fields situation. Only one of them bothered to respond--with a form letter. (To be fair, my email was also a mass form letter.) Kay Bailey Hutchison told me that she was concerned with the US's dependence on foreign oil. She said that the Alaska fields, according to experts, might yield up to 16 billion barrels of oil. This would be a significant help in moving us away from our dependence on foreign oil & she was dismayed that the energy bill did not include opening the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to drilling. I didn't respond but I wanted to tell her that even if there were 16 billion barrels that that meant only 8 billion were pre-peak and profitable for Big Oil. I didn't point out that many experts only predict 4-6 billion barrels. I didn't point out that we already consume 7 billion barrels of oil per year in the US and by the time we see any oil from the ANWR fields it would be less than 12 months supply. I didn't write back & say that increasing the CAFE standards by 4 MPG would more than make up for what we could pump out of the Alaskan wilderness. Would my comments make any difference to someone who's made up their mind?

Then there's the whole issue of our shrinking rights as citizens.

This is the shit that keeps me up at night.

How you doin'?

J

What's up?

OK. It's 11:00 pm on a Tuesday night and the people I've been playing with on another blog aren't out.

We've been doing some fun political stuff (even though it's a pre-wedding site) and I've been having lots of fun. So I checked in tonight & no one's there.

Time to come up with my own shit.

Here goes.

I moved from Minnesota to Texas over Labor Day weekend 2004. That means I've been here about 8 months now. The blog is called what it's called because that's how I feel. The stranger in a strange land.

People are people where ever you go but Texans are unique in many ways. I've travelled all over this USA but only in Texas do you see more state flage than US flags. The Texas flag is on cars, flying over near every business, on 4 out of 5 homes. It seems to be everywhere I look. If it's not a flag, it's a Lone Star. Sometimes it's both. I know that Texas was it's own country for about 10 minutes but why do they still carry such pride? It's freaky and scary to me.

Also, I've never seen so many ads for cosmetic surgery and dentistry as I have here in TX. I went to the dentist for a cleaning and they tried to sell me braces (I'm 48) and whitening treatments.The women in my area all look like Stepford wives--perfect breasts, perfect butts, perfect smiles, etc.

I just don't get it. Oh, well....

"A culture of life."

OK, so I've watched both Presidential (and the VP) debates. In the first debate President Bush declared, "All life is precious," in reference to our dying troops in Iraq. Tonight he talked about "a culture of life" when talking about embryonic stem cell research and abortion. He speaks often about cherishing, preserving, promoting, and honoring life. It's usually in reference to the unborn or when he's talking about his "tough decisions" regarding the war and putting young men in harm's way.

My question is, Mr. President, if you truly believe all life is precious, how do you justify the fact that you've sent more people to execution than any Governor in history? Do you only believe in the sanctity of embryonic life? You claim to be a Christian and tell us you are guided by your faith in all your decisions. The Christ I've read about was a man who preached forgiveness and compassion. A man who stopped an execution in-progress by challenging the executioners with "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." I'm sorry, Mr. President, but your brand of Chrisitanity bears no witness to anything I've read in Scripture.