Barbara Cubin, What A Class Act

After a debate which, incredibly enough, included Libertarian candidate Thomas Rankin, Representative Barbara Cubin (R-WY) was heard to say to Rankin (a wheelchair user), "If you weren't sitting in that chair, I'd slap you across the face".

The worst part about this is that she doubtless thought that to say she was refraining from assaulting him because of his physical limitations made her seem more classy, not less.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "'If you were the Democratic candidate, I'd actually care what you said.'"\\

A Minor Disaster

It really was only a minor disaster, but only if you keep in mind that I'm not using the word "disaster" for comic effect.

Someone flushed the upstairs toilet and walked away from it, not bothering to make sure that it wasn't stopped up or running through.

Disastrously, it was. Both.

Water poured out onto the bathroom floor. Spread into the hallway. Would have headed down the long upstairs hall except that there was a doorjamb in the way. Ditto for the doorway into Tes' room. It pooled up nice and deep, and then it started leaking down into the pantry.

Now there are newspapers on the floor upstairs, and down. The kitchen is full of stuff pulled out of the pantry to dry. Some things will have to be carefully cleaned, others will have to be thrown out. A lot of stuff is going to have to be put somewhere else, because the cardboard boxes it was stored in are soggy and delaminating.

Oh, well. Could be worse. I have this sudden image of George W. Bush yanking the plunger out of my hand shrieking "Do you want the toilet to win? Stay the course!"

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "When you get a chance, could you soak a sponge in bleach water and wipe me off?"\\

Hoo Boy

Well, that was fun.

These days, a normal weekend is a fairly busy time for me: All 40 hours of my caregiver job are squeezed into three 12-hour night shifts and four hours on Monday afternoon.

This week, I was on the go from 7:00AM Friday until 9:00 AM Tuesday, a total of 72 hours.

Ouch.

Oh, well. Even divided between two weeks, it still means a whole bunch of overtime.

And it was all necessary. As I often say, there is a great satisfaction in knowing that you're doing a job that absolutely has to be done.

But I'm glad it's over.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Touch wood."\\

I'm Tired of Oregon Ballot Measure 43*

*For which, I note, I am no longer Google's number one link. Ah, fleeting fame.

Of course, I'm tired of just about everything, after working 60 hours this weekend, doing emergency fill-ins in my home-caregiver job. But hey, they were nice people, and they needed somebody, and as I've said many times before, there's a profound satisfaction in knowing that you're doing a job that absolutely has to be done.

I wish I was getting more massage business, though.

And I wish the election would be over.

It's over for me already -- I voted on Saturday at the kitchen table, in the new Oregon ritual of democracy. My ballot and Kathe's came in the mail, though Tes and Waldy's didn't. If they don't come in today's mail, I'll need to go down to the Courthouse and try to sort it out.

That reminds me: somebody said the other day that she strongly disapproved of voting by mail, and I didn't have time to ask her why. I'll be seeing her later today, and I must remember to bring the subject up again.

Anyway, about Ballot Measure 43: I was strongly impressed by an article in yesterday's Oregonian. The content is well summed up by two of the subheads: "I'm sorry there wasn't a law in place that forced me to tell my parents" and "It was not having an abortion that changed my position. It was being beaten for it."

Here we have one woman still trying to push off responsibility for her decisions onto Daddy (Big Daddy Oregon, in this case), and one who lays out in the starkest possible terms the consequences of indulging our moral vanity by putting the poisoned Band-Aid of Measure 43 over the festering wound of our dysfunctional culture.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I was going to call that a grotesque metaphor, but really it's more rococo."\\

Stephen King is Scared

of George W. Bush and his gang of incompetent crooks.

But he's come up with something better than pulling the covers over his head: a chain of pre-election Halloween telephoning parties (actually held on the 28th & 29th, so you can still bob for puffer fish with your friends on the big night itself).

Sign up for one in your area.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "It isn't only Republicans who like to jump out and say "Boo!"\\

Rob Brading Is Not Gay Enough for Karen Minnis

Karen Minnis (R-Wood Village), Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, doesn't like having to run against Rob Brading, and it shows in the kind of attack ads she's running.

Minnis wants voters to know that Brading was Executive Director of the Fund For Human Dignity, and that staff resigned citing ethical issues. Sounds pretty bad, huh?

Then it turns out that the "ethical" question was whether a heterosexual should be appointed to run a gay rights group.

I think it's hilarious that Karen Minnis, of all people, would attack Rob Brading for not being gay enough.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Maybe she's afraid she isn't woman enough for him."\\

Kathe Says

Kathe says: Our indoor-outdoor exchange program is now in its busiest season, because the leaves are falling prfusely, and there's nothing like fallen leaves for getting tracked into the house. Not even winter mud makes such a change in our indoor environment. Between sweepings, it gets so the leaves are almost as thick inside as they are outside. Tomorrow: Waldy to see Eloise at the Juvenile Department [we hope just to say goodbye, since he turned 18 on the 4th], Tes to Grandpa and Grandma's place to help move books, John and Kathe go shopping, and the Big Event! Raking! What fun!

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Whee."\\

Oregon Ballot Measure 43, The Nightmare Continues

I'm glad to see that more and more voices are coming out against Measure 43.

And I still wonder what I did to become Google's leading authority on the damned thing.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ask again later."\\

Wrong Question

Condoleezza Rice, in an interview on a Detroit radio talk show, made the mistake of asking the wrong question:

Does anybody really believe that somebody would have walked into my office and said, oh, by the way, there's a chance of a major attack against the United States and I would have said, well, I'm really not interested in that information?

The reason this is the wrong question is because the answer is yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes."\\

A Letter From Jake

Kathe's son Jake sent this message to a few people:

First they said there was no radioactivity, now they say "trace amounts". I don't buy it. For sure Kim Jong Il is dangerous, but I think the test was a fake, and the US is lying because it fits Bush's need to continue terrorizing the US population into supporting his power trip.

Here's what I think happened: Crazy Kim Jong Il demanded a successful test. His people know that they could not do it, but needed to find a way to avoid a bullet in the head. So they stacked up a few thousand pounds of TNT in a mine shaft and blew it up. Crazy Kim has no idea at all what's going on, and all his people will lie to him, lest they end up in a camp or dead...

There was no nuclear test.

I say...could be. Really, though, considering how shamefully Bush alternately ignored and provoked Kim, would Bush really benefit from a successful North Korean nuclear test? Or would a failed test cause people to laugh it off and turn their attention elsewhere?

On the other hand, we now know that Iraqi nuclear scientists faked progress toward a nuclear bomb in order to keep their heads, so Maybe Kim and the Party elite are taking a leaf from them. It's possible.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "My cousin thinks so, too."\\

A Letter From Kathe

My wife sent this e-m,ail out to our nearest and dearest:

We just had our regularly scheduled accident down at the corner of 9th and Jefferson. Those of you who have lived here, and some who have not, will recall that we have one of these every week or two.

This one however really caused me to think. They all cause me to think "what idiots!" But this time, the person running the stop sign came from the south. To provide context, 9th is a through street for its entire length of several miles, except at the south end. At Jefferson there's a stop sign, and then two blocks later, 9th comes to an end at the railroad tracks. So people coming from the north have been on a through street, where they didn't have to stop except at traffic lights, and there aren't very many of them. It's easy to see how they might fall into the mistaken idea that traffic on 9th just doesn't have to stop. It's less easy to see how people coming from the south could get this idea.

Moreover, it looked as though the car *had* stopped, and then just driven into the traffic on Jefferson, where it T-boned a vehicle which totally wasn't expecting any trouble, because, y'know, the other car *stopped.*

Next thing you know, I'm thinking dark thoughts about the end of civilization in the US. As follows: It looks as though the driver thought that stopping was some kind of ceremonial requirement, having no connection with real things, and in particular, real consequences. I can see him now, arguing that he's not at fault, because he stopped, didn't he, at the stop sign. I have frequently observed people with new drivers licenses (obviously new, because of their age) making illegal turns and stops, and failing to honor a pedestrian's right-of-way. It's like, having passed the test on which they were required to demonstrate that they knew these things, they were thereafter exempt from having to deal with them in real life. And we've all heard students say, no, they don't know that, yes they had it last year, or last term, but that was then, they don't know it now, why should they?

I think, thanks to "teaching to the test," we've raised a whole generation of people who think that instruction, of any kind, is simply irrelevant to their lives. Even if it's instruction in what they are actually expected to actually do. They just never involve themselves with the actual content of the instruction.

They do instruction differently in other countries. It's remarkably difficult to find out the details because no one writing about education in this country is at all interested in how other folks do it, but when you do, you're apt to think "but that's not right." And then, almost immediately "but it seems to work better than our way."

So I guess what I'm saying is that our failure to do instruction right is affecting, not just how our High school grads compare with those of other countries, but the continued existence of what we thought was our civilization, our anyway our little variation on it. I think, in short, that the US took a wrong turn, some while back, in primary education, and as a result, we're gonna die out. And rightly so.

And what do *you* think?

I think...could be.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Me, too."\\

Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are

The witch isn't actually dead, but let's us little folks all come out and kick her in the shins.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "That's a weird metaphor, John."\\

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "On second thought, make that a queer metaphor."\\

The Return of Ma Bell

Those of us who are old enough to remember the great Bell System monopoly don't care for the idea of the resurgent trust taking control of the Internet.

For those who aren't old enough, see The President's Analyst. It's a work of fiction, but it accurately portrays what it felt like back then.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Those were not good times."\\

The Values Voters Were Right: Character Counts

I admit it, I have clearly underestimated the importance of the personal character and integrity of officeholders in a republic.

It turns out, Washington and Lincoln and FDR really were extraordinary, and extraordinarily good.

Because if a cheap little hood like George W. Bush can set himself up as dictator, dismissing Congress and the courts with a wave of his signing hand, and they (and the people) just roll over for him, then clearly a real leader, facing a real crisis, could have made himself Emperor without even trying.

I knew that we who loved democracy were carrying some deadwood, but apparently it's a substantial portion of the population.

The country I loved never really existed, did it?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook unclear."\\

Watching Bush Fade

For several weeks, I have had occasion to join a certain elderly couple at their Sunday breakfast.

The lady of the house begins breakfast every day with a spoken grace, which always includes thanks for the day, intercessions on behalf of family members and a word on behalf of the state of the world.

At first, she regularly called for protection and support for President* Bush. Later, I heard her ask for "wisdom" to be granted to him "to see the way to peace". Most recently, she bluntly asked God to "help us make an end to this terrible, foolish war".

I had heard previously about Bush's support slipping, but now I've seen him losing a constituent with my own eyes.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Seeing is believing."\\

Dennis Hastert Should Resign

Of course he should.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Yes, definitely."\\

Old Joke

Something Kathe sent me awhile back:

Catholicism represents the victory of Peter’s theology over Paul’s.
Protestantism represents the victory of Paul’s theology over Peter’s.
Fundamentalism represents the victory of Paul’s theology over Jesus’.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Please define 'joke'."\\

Armbands For Peace

One more small, seemingly futile gesture you can make to exercise your right (while you still have it) to express your feelings (while you still have them).

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Couldn't hurt."\\

"Oregon Ballot Measure 43"

Man, this is weird. Why on Earth should the first post I made on Measure 43 back in September become one of the most popular hits for the topic on Google?

Who, me? Nobody ever comes to my blog, and now all of a sudden I'm a Google bomb? Weird.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Enjoy it while it lasts."\\

Why Not The Beast?

A Presidential candidate who lets us know where he stands: Zod!

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There comes a time when you've been down so long it looks like up."\\

Happy Birthday, Waldy!

"Waldy! Good morning! Happy birthday! Are you ready to go down to the Courthouse and register to vote?"

"I can't be American until I've had my coffee."

That's understandable. It takes more than that for a lot of people to contemplate America these days.

But, there's one more registered voter today. Maybe he'll help change the situation.

And sometimes I look at him and remember why I tried to talk Kathe into sending out a birth announcement that read "Walden Kelley Burt. 4 October 1988. Let the stars beware."

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Every little bit helps."

Governor Bush Made Texas Number One

* #1 in the Emission of Ozone Causing Air Pollution Chemicals
* #1 in Toxic Chemical releases into the Air
* #1 in use of Deep Well Injectors as method of Waste Disposal
* #1 in counties listed in top 20 of Emitting Cancer Causing Chemicals
* #1 in Total Number of Hazardous Waste Incinerators
* #1 in Environmental Justice Title 6 complaints
* #1 in production of Cancer causing Benzene & Vinyl Chloride
* #1 Largest Sludge Dump in Country

And then he moved on to a new job....

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook hazy -- *cough*!"\\

Dear Darlene

To: Darlene Hawley, member of the 16th Street Neighborhood Association
Subject: Mark Furley

Darlene, I was as upset as anyone when I learned that our neighbor Mark Furley was making inappropriate sexual advances to underage persons at the community center. But I'm even more concerned about the possibility that some of the board members of the Neighborhood Association may have known about Mark's activities and helped cover for him.

I'm asking you to please call for an investigation at the Association's next meeting, because anyone who helped Mark hide his behavior is as guilty as Mark himself.

Thank you.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "As below, so above."\\

This is Bad

Habeas corpus, no.

Torture, yes.

Unspeakable, yes.

God's mercy, no.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook very bleak."\\

Access Does Indeed Equal Life

Or rather, life equals having access to things, in as much as if you're dead, you have no access to anything.

But in this case, we're talking about ready access to complete and unbiased information about HIV and how to avoid it. Young women in developing countries have an especially hard time with that sort of access, even though it's especially important for them, given their rate of HIV infection.

Big surprise: the policies of George W. Bush are making the situation worse, not better.

Please sign this petition. Bush will never see it. He probably won't even hear about it. If he did, the pigheaded bastard wouldn't change his policy. But at least you'll be on record in saying he ought to. And many other people, including those around him, will see it, and be aware of their shame in not doing even as little as you and I did by signing this futile petition.

It might help.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "That's the ticket: look on the bright side."\\

Not Showing At A Theater Near You

Iraq For Sale is a film you ought to see. It won't be showing at any of the usual venues, but it probably will be showing somewhere quite nearby -- maybe even at your place.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Sticky carpet optional."\\

Let's Raise the Minimum Wage

The argument against raising the minimum wage makes perfect sense: employers will eliminate entry-level jobs, prices will go up, and working people will be worse off than before.

It all makes perfect sense, but nobody can cite a state, city or nation, in any decade of history, where it actually happened. Instead, for some reason that nonsensical minimum wage thingy makes life better for everyone. Weird.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Go with what works."\\