"This message was paid for by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth."
"I'm George W. Bush, and I approve this message."
"This message was paid for by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth."
"I'm George W. Bush, and I respectfully decline to approve this message."
He won't do either one, of course.
He lacks the character, integrity and moral courage to do either one.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Monday, August 16, 2004
Rock Garden
Some years ago, my daughters Michu and Biftu created garden beds alongside the front porch, bordered with bricks and planted with various ornamentals. In recent years, they've been pretty much ignored, even before the girls moved away.
Meanwhile, a couple of houses in our neighborhood have acquired gorgeous gardens consisting primarily of inanimate objects, running heavily to potsherds, burnt-out headlights and other objects that can be made to lie more or less flat.
Now I have converted one of the girls' old beds, giving it a layer of sand over the dirt, and spreading various materials over it: a spill of red clay flowerpot fragments, a handful of shards from a painted pot, fragments of a broken cinderblock, the bed of marbles that had once formed the base for a floral arrangement.
Today, Kathe and I were walking downtown when we happened upon a place where ther facade of a building had been removed, preparatory to putting on a new facade, and saw remnants of the facade before last, which had included big slabs of black glass. We salvaged some small chunks of the glass, and now there's another little shoal, amongst the other fragments.
I thought about putting down a spill of pennies, but I thought that might activate people's wishing-well circuits, and they'd be throwing in coins of their own.
Meanwhile, a couple of houses in our neighborhood have acquired gorgeous gardens consisting primarily of inanimate objects, running heavily to potsherds, burnt-out headlights and other objects that can be made to lie more or less flat.
Now I have converted one of the girls' old beds, giving it a layer of sand over the dirt, and spreading various materials over it: a spill of red clay flowerpot fragments, a handful of shards from a painted pot, fragments of a broken cinderblock, the bed of marbles that had once formed the base for a floral arrangement.
Today, Kathe and I were walking downtown when we happened upon a place where ther facade of a building had been removed, preparatory to putting on a new facade, and saw remnants of the facade before last, which had included big slabs of black glass. We salvaged some small chunks of the glass, and now there's another little shoal, amongst the other fragments.
I thought about putting down a spill of pennies, but I thought that might activate people's wishing-well circuits, and they'd be throwing in coins of their own.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Summertime Idyll
With the street torn up out in front, we're a good deal more isolated than we used to be. With no traffic going by out in front, it feels as though we were living in a cul-de-sac.
My 15-year-old son Waldy dug a firepit in the back yard, and his friends have been coming over and hanging out around the fire for much of the summer.
Tonight, it's actually cool enough for the fire to be something more than a frivolous prop.
Fall is coming. The Oregon State students will be back, bringing with them noise and traffic and money. The busy but enjoyable nights when it seemed all the punky kids in Corvallis were in our back yard and our kitchen will end. I'm going to remember this summer fondly.
My 15-year-old son Waldy dug a firepit in the back yard, and his friends have been coming over and hanging out around the fire for much of the summer.
Tonight, it's actually cool enough for the fire to be something more than a frivolous prop.
Fall is coming. The Oregon State students will be back, bringing with them noise and traffic and money. The busy but enjoyable nights when it seemed all the punky kids in Corvallis were in our back yard and our kitchen will end. I'm going to remember this summer fondly.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
No on 9 . . . 13 . . . 36 . . . .
The anti-marriage amendment to the Oregon constitution is nothing too surprising. Certainly nothing new. There's an organization in Oregon, it used to be in the news all the time: the Oregon Citizens' Alliance.
Every year or so, they'd have a new ballot measure, trying to find some way to stick it to the faggots. None of them passed, but they did have one lasting effect: anti-gay crime always rose during an OCA campaign.
I am not looking forward to the Measyre 36 capaign. People are going to die because of it.
Every year or so, they'd have a new ballot measure, trying to find some way to stick it to the faggots. None of them passed, but they did have one lasting effect: anti-gay crime always rose during an OCA campaign.
I am not looking forward to the Measyre 36 capaign. People are going to die because of it.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Going to School
I'm taking courses at Linn-Benton Community College ( http://www.linnbenton.edu ), hoping to get into their nursing program. Right now, I'm in BI232, Anatomy & Physiology II.
Yesterday, I gave a presentation on the pineal gland, which was fun because of all the silly nonsense people have posted online about the "third eye" (fnord). I set up my presentation in the form of a Yahoo! group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pinealgland . That was fun.
Today I do another presentation, this time on hemochromatosis, in the same format: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newhemochromatosisgroup . HC is a subject rather closer to my heart, since my dear Kathe suffers from it herself.
Setting up Yahoo! groups is fun, and easy enough that even one as inept as myself can manage it.
Yesterday, I gave a presentation on the pineal gland, which was fun because of all the silly nonsense people have posted online about the "third eye" (fnord). I set up my presentation in the form of a Yahoo! group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pinealgland . That was fun.
Today I do another presentation, this time on hemochromatosis, in the same format: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newhemochromatosisgroup . HC is a subject rather closer to my heart, since my dear Kathe suffers from it herself.
Setting up Yahoo! groups is fun, and easy enough that even one as inept as myself can manage it.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Happy Birthday
It's my birthday. I'm 44. I'm coming up fast on my 20th wedding anniversary, too.
Looking back on it, I wish I could go back to there, to the summer of 1984, when I sat at Kathe's kitchen table with all five of her kids (including two now deceased), and played Anomaly with several incomplete decks of cards mixed together. And five kings of spades.
Since going back to then is not actually an option, I guess I can settle for being very, very glad that I have spent the last 20 years here at Blackberry House, with Kathe, and that if they have produced nothing else worthy of note, there are those four swell kids (all still living) we raised together,
Looking back on it, I wish I could go back to there, to the summer of 1984, when I sat at Kathe's kitchen table with all five of her kids (including two now deceased), and played Anomaly with several incomplete decks of cards mixed together. And five kings of spades.
Since going back to then is not actually an option, I guess I can settle for being very, very glad that I have spent the last 20 years here at Blackberry House, with Kathe, and that if they have produced nothing else worthy of note, there are those four swell kids (all still living) we raised together,
Monday, August 09, 2004
August Ninth
9 August 1945 -- Nagasaki bombed
9 August 1974 -- Nixon resigns
What will 9 August 2004 for be remembered for? Well, probably nothing, but you never know.
9 August 1974 -- Nixon resigns
What will 9 August 2004 for be remembered for? Well, probably nothing, but you never know.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
They're Going to be Sorry
In 1859, the constitution of the new state of Oregon provided that no person of Afrcian descent could reside in Oregon, on pain of flogging. The provision was never enforced (neithe ron black people living here already, nor those entering the state), but it reamined in the text of the Constitution, an embarrassment, until it was removed in the 1920s.
The people of Missouri now find themselves in a similiar situation, with same-sex marriage prohibited.
It may happen in thirty years, or ten, or five, but one day the people of Missouri will have to shoulder the embarrassing chore of repealing that amendment. They're not going to enjoy the task.
This November, Oregon will be invited to jump off the same bridge. I can hardly wait.
The people of Missouri now find themselves in a similiar situation, with same-sex marriage prohibited.
It may happen in thirty years, or ten, or five, but one day the people of Missouri will have to shoulder the embarrassing chore of repealing that amendment. They're not going to enjoy the task.
This November, Oregon will be invited to jump off the same bridge. I can hardly wait.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
"Friends of Saddam"?
There's a blog called "Friends of Saddam", devoted to denouncing people the author believes deserve that title:
http://www.acepilots.com/unscam
Oddly enough, it doesn't make any mention of Saddam's friends Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, or Donald Rumsfeld. If you don't think Rummy was ever Saddam's friend, look here:
http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/index012003.html
http://www.acepilots.com/unscam
Oddly enough, it doesn't make any mention of Saddam's friends Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, or Donald Rumsfeld. If you don't think Rummy was ever Saddam's friend, look here:
http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/index012003.html
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Don't Ask, Won't Tell
Let me see if I have this straight:
1) George W. Bush is running for President based on his glorious, miraculous record as our "war President".
2) Anyone who questions Bush's policies or criticizes his record of performance is unpatriotic and endangering the troops.
Of course, the second part only applies to other people, since Bush himself has never yet admitted to ever making any mistakes at all.
I think it has something to do with his being in a state of grace, within which it is impossible to do or think incorrect things. Certainly, it's been clear for a long time that Bush lives in a space, a universe, very different from ours.
Yep, he's our Warp Resident, all right.
1) George W. Bush is running for President based on his glorious, miraculous record as our "war President".
2) Anyone who questions Bush's policies or criticizes his record of performance is unpatriotic and endangering the troops.
Of course, the second part only applies to other people, since Bush himself has never yet admitted to ever making any mistakes at all.
I think it has something to do with his being in a state of grace, within which it is impossible to do or think incorrect things. Certainly, it's been clear for a long time that Bush lives in a space, a universe, very different from ours.
Yep, he's our Warp Resident, all right.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Colin Powell
Colin Powell flew to Iraq to let the people know that the foreign occupying power that controls the natural resources of their sovereign and independent nation is spending all that money with only the Iraqi people's best interests at heart.
Really, Mr. Secretary? Do we have your word of honor on that?
*Sigh* That's a very clever comment. It makes me very sad to make it.
Really, Mr. Secretary? Do we have your word of honor on that?
*Sigh* That's a very clever comment. It makes me very sad to make it.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Out in the Yard
My son Walden dug a firepit in the back yard, his friends scavenged abandoned couches, and they made it quite a pleasant place for them to hang out on summer evenings.
Now, with the street in front of the house torn up, there are no cars going by, and almost no foot traffic. So the kids are using it as an extension of the house. It's really quite cozy.
I feel as though I could get used to living on a cul de sac. No wonder the things are so popular.
And I could definitely get used to having the kids hang out here. I like them.
Now, with the street in front of the house torn up, there are no cars going by, and almost no foot traffic. So the kids are using it as an extension of the house. It's really quite cozy.
I feel as though I could get used to living on a cul de sac. No wonder the things are so popular.
And I could definitely get used to having the kids hang out here. I like them.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
A Serious Concern
Oregon used to have an organization called the Oregon Citizens' Alliance, which ran anti-gay ballot initiatives year after year.
Well, the OCA is still out there, but it's a spent force, hasn't had a measure on the ballot in a good long while.
Now, though, there's a Coalition to Defend Marriage or something like that which has managed to get an anti-gay measure on the ballot.
It won't matter much whether it passes. As with the OCA's measures, it would be thrown out of court at the first challenge.
What causes me serious concern is the grim statistical fact that whenever the OCA was running one of its campaigns, incidence of violent crimes against people perceived to be gay increased dramatically.
You could pretty much count on at least one murder.
How many lives is it worth to "send a message" about the proper place of homosexuals in our society?
Well, the OCA is still out there, but it's a spent force, hasn't had a measure on the ballot in a good long while.
Now, though, there's a Coalition to Defend Marriage or something like that which has managed to get an anti-gay measure on the ballot.
It won't matter much whether it passes. As with the OCA's measures, it would be thrown out of court at the first challenge.
What causes me serious concern is the grim statistical fact that whenever the OCA was running one of its campaigns, incidence of violent crimes against people perceived to be gay increased dramatically.
You could pretty much count on at least one murder.
How many lives is it worth to "send a message" about the proper place of homosexuals in our society?
Monday, July 26, 2004
Kids Need Parents
Studies have shown that children are happier, healthier, get better grades, are less likely to get in trouble with the police, have fewer cavities, &c., if they have a mother and a father.
This piece of news has been widely reported.
Very widely.
Less often mentioned is the fact that children also do better if both of their parents are white.
Apparently, nobody feels a pressing need to make that fact the basis for public policy.
This piece of news has been widely reported.
Very widely.
Less often mentioned is the fact that children also do better if both of their parents are white.
Apparently, nobody feels a pressing need to make that fact the basis for public policy.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
WMD Found in Iraq!
The Iraqi newspaper al Sabah reported on Wednesday that nuclear-tipped missiles had been found in a hidden bunker.
Matt Drudge, of course, repeated the story in his usual breathless fashion.
The report was false, and was quickly discounted.
Matt Drudge has nothing further to say on the matter. Of course.
I finally figured Drudge out: he's the new Jeanne Dixon. He passes on every wild tale he hears (or rather, every wild tale that reflects badly on people who are on Drudge's enemies list), and when, once in a decade, he actually relays somethign that's actually true and newsworthy, he gets credit as a great investigative journalist.
He has standards, of course. Like the National Enquirer, he never actually makes stuff up himself. Someone else has to make the assertion first.
Which does at least put him on a higher level of journalistic integrity than, say, the Bush Views Channel.
Actually, I just checked: not only has Drudge not posted a retraction of his report that Elvis has found WMD, he's even deleted references to it from his web site. Tom Lehrer fans will appreciate *that* gesture.
Matt Drudge, of course, repeated the story in his usual breathless fashion.
The report was false, and was quickly discounted.
Matt Drudge has nothing further to say on the matter. Of course.
I finally figured Drudge out: he's the new Jeanne Dixon. He passes on every wild tale he hears (or rather, every wild tale that reflects badly on people who are on Drudge's enemies list), and when, once in a decade, he actually relays somethign that's actually true and newsworthy, he gets credit as a great investigative journalist.
He has standards, of course. Like the National Enquirer, he never actually makes stuff up himself. Someone else has to make the assertion first.
Which does at least put him on a higher level of journalistic integrity than, say, the Bush Views Channel.
Actually, I just checked: not only has Drudge not posted a retraction of his report that Elvis has found WMD, he's even deleted references to it from his web site. Tom Lehrer fans will appreciate *that* gesture.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Fair and Balanced
I feel about TV news the way I do about unproven herbal remedies: rather than having the government try to control content, we should empower the government to require clear, honest and complete labelling, and let people decide for themselves what they want to swallow.
MoveOn.org is petitioning the FCC to force Fox "News" Channel to drop the slogan "Fair and Balanced". This is merely a political prank, of course, but it does have a serious point.
http://www.moveon.org
MoveOn.org is petitioning the FCC to force Fox "News" Channel to drop the slogan "Fair and Balanced". This is merely a political prank, of course, but it does have a serious point.
http://www.moveon.org
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
da Vinci Days in Corvallis
The annual da Vinci Days celebration of art and science gets a little smaller and crumbier every year. It makes me sad, and I wonder what the problem is.
This year, they had a row of OSB panels set up, with simple designs painted on them, and the public was invited to add to them with brightly colored paints. A municipal coloring book, in other words.
But, one of the panels wasn't bad -- it showed Nut, the Egyptian goddess of the night sky, arching over the Earth, looked kind of nice, so when I saw the sheet where you could sign up to take a panel home with you, I signed up for it.
And I won, and now I'm working out how to set it up in my massage studio.
Only thing is, somebody apparently didn't recognize the figure as representing the night sky, so her body is yellow-orange, and her stars are red, blue and yellow, which leaves her looking like a second-string superhero flying through the blue-black night. Weird.
But I kind of like it.
This year, they had a row of OSB panels set up, with simple designs painted on them, and the public was invited to add to them with brightly colored paints. A municipal coloring book, in other words.
But, one of the panels wasn't bad -- it showed Nut, the Egyptian goddess of the night sky, arching over the Earth, looked kind of nice, so when I saw the sheet where you could sign up to take a panel home with you, I signed up for it.
And I won, and now I'm working out how to set it up in my massage studio.
Only thing is, somebody apparently didn't recognize the figure as representing the night sky, so her body is yellow-orange, and her stars are red, blue and yellow, which leaves her looking like a second-string superhero flying through the blue-black night. Weird.
But I kind of like it.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
My New T-Shirt
Actually, it's not new -- I bought a package of white T-shirts months ago.
What's new is, it has bnow been decorated with red, blue and black Sharpies, and now bears the proud political statement:
Kerry '04 -- He's not Bush!
*Shrug* That about sums it up.
What's new is, it has bnow been decorated with red, blue and black Sharpies, and now bears the proud political statement:
Kerry '04 -- He's not Bush!
*Shrug* That about sums it up.
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
It's Easy to Get Discouraged
This is not a happy time. This war stinks.
But it's the only war we've got.
It was years before I understood what that phrase means, that it wasn't just cynical nonsense.
Everybody wishes they were fighting World War II -- preferably as the Allies.
You could make a case that the current idiocy is the result of W wanting to re-enact Daddy's war (or Daddy's war as seen in Uncle Ron's movies), cramming the real 21st Century world into his fantasy template, ignoring how bad the fit was.
I feel sorry for W. I really do. It must be hell, going through life never actually accomplishing anything, wishing you could be a real aviator like Daddy, or a real businessman like Daddy, or a real politician like Daddy, or get elected President like Daddy, only to have it always go wrong somehow -- getting into flight school with Daddy's help and going through the motions until you wash out, having to be bailed out by Daddy's friends, letting Daddy's friends buy you a ceremonial seat, letting Bro's political machine steal the Presidency for you.
Honestly, it must hurt a lot. Evne those of us who have stood up on our own and lived our own lives know the feeling: the nagging suspicion that we're just playing grown-up, that the real grown-ups will notice at any moment what we're doing and step in.
I do feel sorry for W, and I shudder to think of how he may fall to pieces at any moment under the burden he carries.
Just one more reason to get him away from that big desk.
But it's the only war we've got.
It was years before I understood what that phrase means, that it wasn't just cynical nonsense.
Everybody wishes they were fighting World War II -- preferably as the Allies.
You could make a case that the current idiocy is the result of W wanting to re-enact Daddy's war (or Daddy's war as seen in Uncle Ron's movies), cramming the real 21st Century world into his fantasy template, ignoring how bad the fit was.
I feel sorry for W. I really do. It must be hell, going through life never actually accomplishing anything, wishing you could be a real aviator like Daddy, or a real businessman like Daddy, or a real politician like Daddy, or get elected President like Daddy, only to have it always go wrong somehow -- getting into flight school with Daddy's help and going through the motions until you wash out, having to be bailed out by Daddy's friends, letting Daddy's friends buy you a ceremonial seat, letting Bro's political machine steal the Presidency for you.
Honestly, it must hurt a lot. Evne those of us who have stood up on our own and lived our own lives know the feeling: the nagging suspicion that we're just playing grown-up, that the real grown-ups will notice at any moment what we're doing and step in.
I do feel sorry for W, and I shudder to think of how he may fall to pieces at any moment under the burden he carries.
Just one more reason to get him away from that big desk.
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
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