There is a Chinese curse that supposedly goes, "May you live in interesting times". Life since I last filled this space has been that kind of interesting, for damned sure. First came the night that my darling Cathy wound up in the ER after a series of events that ended up with her suffering a concussion so severe that she had a grand-mal seizure. Headaches and dizzy spells persist to this day.
That would have been enough for most folk. As those of you that know me are aware, I am NOT most folk... Next, one of our dogs backed up. Shasta, our 3 year old yellow Lab, suddenly quit eating, started vomiting and got lethargic. Since one of her nicknames is Kangagogo (equal parts kangaroo, gopher and goat), we knew that the next stop was the vet. $2,700 later we had a small plastic bag of hard, smelly, unidentifiable "stuff", Shasta had a lovely new scar and I began to wonder what was next.
I didn't have to wait long. The morning of Shasta's surgery, I went out to my truck and it wouldn't start. After replacing the battery, a week later I took it in for an oil change and got asked, "Do you know that your water pump is leaking?" Then it was new brakes (all 4 wheels). Have I mentioned that it has been an expensive time as well?
Things have calmed down somewhat. There's been good stuff, as well. Managed to spend time with all the family over the winter holidays. Got my world rocked by Avatar. I had a wonderful experience auditioning to become the new Public Address Announcer for the Sacramento Rivercats (our local AAA baseball team). While I didn't make the final audition, the initial callback was a blast! Being in that booth with a microphone in my hand was such a rush! Cathy and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary later this month, and that's a serious milestone given my history as a serial monogamist. My beloved continues to amaze and inspire me in ways I never dreamed possible.
Well, that pretty much brings my life up to date. Lots to look forward to in the coming months, and I hope to resume commentary on whatever leaves tracks on my brain. Stay shiny!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Dragon is Winning
I had occasion to visit my local Emergency Department last night. Everyone is recovering, thanks. While there, I saw a large percentage of the patients treated were there due to conditions that were better suited to an office visit to the family Doctor. Too many of our people are unable to acquire health insurance and are relying on already overloaded Emergency Departments. Part of why President Obama got elected was his willingness to be our knight to fight the dragon that is the American Health Insurance Industry. Unfortunately for us, the Legislative Branch is outfitting our knight with tissue-paper armor and a foam rubber lance.
The news over the last few days has been full of the "compromise" on health care reform. The idea of a true "public option", already mortally wounded, was euthanized for a relative mess of pottage. At least the House passed a bill that had a "sorta kinda" public option and increased competition. The Senate, under the gutless and spineless leadership of Harry Reid, sacrificed American health care reform on the altar of the pimps that are the health insurance companies that have been turning our health care system into a series of exorbitantly priced whores and the American people into the "johns" that are overpaying to be serviced or being forced to do without. The problem is that nobody ever died from not getting laid. People are dying every day from insufficient health care.
Senator Reid has been so preoccupied with placating the conservative members of his own party, the so-called "Blue Dogs", that he has squandered the hard-won mandate of the people. The solution is simple, Senator. You need to grow a set, sit these dipsticks down in your office and explain certain facts to them.
FACT: Most of the American people, according to multiple polls, want a robust public option and the competition that will result.
FACT: The only people that will actually benefit from the current bastard child that is the "compromise" will be the health insurance companies. Not only will people be mandated to buy their overpriced products under penalty of law, but the highest-risk segment of the population (those 55-65 that will eventually be covered by the limited Medicare expansion) will no longer be their responsibility.
FACT: You are now part of the Senate majority. If you want to continue to get your prestigious committee assignments, the nice offices and all the other trappings of being in that majority, you have to do one thing occasionally. That thing is to sit down, shut up and support the party that got you elected when it needs you.
In a perfect world, that would have happened already. Senator Reid's spine, having the consistency of a soggy graham cracker, precludes this scenario. Why is America the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee health care to ALL of its' citizens? Until and unless our elected officials start listening to the voters instead of their corporate contributor$ we will never get the government of the people, by the people and for the people that we have been promised for so long. Write, call or e-mail your Senators and Representatives and demand the health care you deserve. Tell 'em The Amused Geek sent ya.
The news over the last few days has been full of the "compromise" on health care reform. The idea of a true "public option", already mortally wounded, was euthanized for a relative mess of pottage. At least the House passed a bill that had a "sorta kinda" public option and increased competition. The Senate, under the gutless and spineless leadership of Harry Reid, sacrificed American health care reform on the altar of the pimps that are the health insurance companies that have been turning our health care system into a series of exorbitantly priced whores and the American people into the "johns" that are overpaying to be serviced or being forced to do without. The problem is that nobody ever died from not getting laid. People are dying every day from insufficient health care.
Senator Reid has been so preoccupied with placating the conservative members of his own party, the so-called "Blue Dogs", that he has squandered the hard-won mandate of the people. The solution is simple, Senator. You need to grow a set, sit these dipsticks down in your office and explain certain facts to them.
FACT: Most of the American people, according to multiple polls, want a robust public option and the competition that will result.
FACT: The only people that will actually benefit from the current bastard child that is the "compromise" will be the health insurance companies. Not only will people be mandated to buy their overpriced products under penalty of law, but the highest-risk segment of the population (those 55-65 that will eventually be covered by the limited Medicare expansion) will no longer be their responsibility.
FACT: You are now part of the Senate majority. If you want to continue to get your prestigious committee assignments, the nice offices and all the other trappings of being in that majority, you have to do one thing occasionally. That thing is to sit down, shut up and support the party that got you elected when it needs you.
In a perfect world, that would have happened already. Senator Reid's spine, having the consistency of a soggy graham cracker, precludes this scenario. Why is America the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee health care to ALL of its' citizens? Until and unless our elected officials start listening to the voters instead of their corporate contributor$ we will never get the government of the people, by the people and for the people that we have been promised for so long. Write, call or e-mail your Senators and Representatives and demand the health care you deserve. Tell 'em The Amused Geek sent ya.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Eyes on the Prize...
This morning, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After making a very modest acceptance speech, the President announced that he would donate the accompanying cash prize ($1.4 million… chump change it ain’t) to charity. Among the expected partisan shit-storm surrounding this great honor, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele was quoted as saying, “What has President Obama actually accomplished?” Even a staunch conservative named Pat Buchanan called Steele's comments "a Kanye West moment". Let me spell some of it out for ya, Mickey…
First and foremost, Obama ended the eight year era of “cowboy diplomacy” and unilateralism that was propagated by the Bush administration. Instead of “Yee-haw, I’m goin’ in… Cover me!” President Obama relied more on “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Wasn’t that quote attributed to one of the other sitting U.S. Presidents to win the Peace Prize? Teddy Roosevelt, I believe it was. Rather than “stay the course no matter what changes” our President engages other nations, friend and foe, to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Didn’t we have a sitting President that won the Peace Prize for that, too? If you answered Woodrow Wilson, you win today’s no-prize!
Then there’s the whole issue of climate change. Instead of ignorance, denial, repudiation, lies and outright stupidity towards the whole concept of man-made climate change, Obama has acknowledged that this is one of the most important and difficult issues we face as a planet today and has started us down the long road of moving to cleaner and more renewable energy sources. That’s more that any President before Obama has been able to accomplish. Didn’t we have a former Vice-President that got the Peace Prize for his work battling climate change? Al Gore, wasn’t it?
Finally we come to the vast improvement in the world’s view of America. Instead of rampaging through situations trying to hammer every problem into the administration’s image, our diplomatic corps is trying, at the direction of the President, to find peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts. Using the carrot and keeping the stick in reserve. Didn’t we have a former President that won the Peace Prize for helping do just that? President Carter, as I recall. I haven’t even started on nuclear non-proliferation. Hell, Bush couldn’t even pronounce it! Have I also mentioned working tirelessly to undo the clusterfuck that was left by Mr. Bush and his administration?
Does President Obama have a long record of successful conclusions? Not yet. "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century." Some of us feel that, while a bit premature, that if President Obama’s reach does not exceed his grasp, he could wind up wining this august prize again. Chairman Steele, stick to being the poorly trained lapdog to the intellectually deficient and the morally bankrupt. It is, after all, what you do best.
First and foremost, Obama ended the eight year era of “cowboy diplomacy” and unilateralism that was propagated by the Bush administration. Instead of “Yee-haw, I’m goin’ in… Cover me!” President Obama relied more on “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Wasn’t that quote attributed to one of the other sitting U.S. Presidents to win the Peace Prize? Teddy Roosevelt, I believe it was. Rather than “stay the course no matter what changes” our President engages other nations, friend and foe, to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion. Didn’t we have a sitting President that won the Peace Prize for that, too? If you answered Woodrow Wilson, you win today’s no-prize!
Then there’s the whole issue of climate change. Instead of ignorance, denial, repudiation, lies and outright stupidity towards the whole concept of man-made climate change, Obama has acknowledged that this is one of the most important and difficult issues we face as a planet today and has started us down the long road of moving to cleaner and more renewable energy sources. That’s more that any President before Obama has been able to accomplish. Didn’t we have a former Vice-President that got the Peace Prize for his work battling climate change? Al Gore, wasn’t it?
Finally we come to the vast improvement in the world’s view of America. Instead of rampaging through situations trying to hammer every problem into the administration’s image, our diplomatic corps is trying, at the direction of the President, to find peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts. Using the carrot and keeping the stick in reserve. Didn’t we have a former President that won the Peace Prize for helping do just that? President Carter, as I recall. I haven’t even started on nuclear non-proliferation. Hell, Bush couldn’t even pronounce it! Have I also mentioned working tirelessly to undo the clusterfuck that was left by Mr. Bush and his administration?
Does President Obama have a long record of successful conclusions? Not yet. "I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize," he said. "I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century." Some of us feel that, while a bit premature, that if President Obama’s reach does not exceed his grasp, he could wind up wining this august prize again. Chairman Steele, stick to being the poorly trained lapdog to the intellectually deficient and the morally bankrupt. It is, after all, what you do best.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!
Fox commentator Glenn Beck has been bloviating for what seems like forever about his precious "9.12 project". Now, in fairness, the 9.12 project website has a disclaimer distancing itself from "the Glenn Beck Program, Glenn Beck, or any radio station, Cable TV Network, etc. ". A little farther down the page you will find a small shrine called the Glenn Beck Feed, however. For those who have better things to do than listen to the lies and innuendo that these neocon nit-wits spew, the stated goal of this gaggle's website is to be "a place for you and other like-minded Americans looking for direction in taking back the control of our country." Some of them marched in Washington, DC over the weekend. I noticed some disturbing trends...
First was the size of the crowd. I've heard claims of upwards of 500,000 by Beck and the Fox bozos. Judging by the authenticated pictures I've seen, that number is off by an order of magnitude (Lop off a zero for you non-math geeks).
Second was the obvious level of hatred in the crowd. I don't think Ive ever seen a group of people more riled by fear and outright ignorance. Even at the height of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I didn't see people espousing violence against any American, even (or especially!) Muslim-Americans. I'm willing to bet the Secret Service will be putting in a lot of overtime just based on some of the signs I saw on the news.
Third, and scariest of all, was the make-up of the crowd. I have yet to see a picture, ANY picture, of a single person of color attending this hoe-down. No black, brown, yellow or red faces whatsoever. Just an unbroken stream of white, most of them looking to be in need of a bit of health care. One person (and hats off to them) even went so far as to dub this the "Great White Waddle". I'm old enough (barely) to remember (from TV) the racial struggles in this country in the 1960's. The last time I saw a crowd this white being this angry at a black man there were hoods involved.
All of this got my brain running on its' hamster wheel. These people don't want government-run health care but are unwilling to give up their Veteran's and Medicare benefits, think that they have "lost control of 'their' country" just because America elected a black President and think that social justice equals socialism. I think it is high time for these crackers to form their own country. Let's call it "Cracker Nation", a nation built on fear, ignorance, hatred and deceit.
Think about it... a place where all these people that are afraid of people that are different from them can go and be out of our hair. Fixed Noise can be their Ministry of Dis-information, Lou Dobbs for Immigration Minister and of course: Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!
All kidding aside, this wave of scared white people scares me more than almost anything that came out of the Bush administration. Frightened people in large groups worry me, and when people like Beck, Dobbs, O'Reilly and Limbaugh use those fears to agitate scared people it amounts to nothing more than incitement to riot, pure and simple. Wait a minute... plying on fears and ancient hatreds... those tactics sound familiar... THAT'S IT!!! The same tactics Osama binLaden used to incite the 9/11 attacks!
And so we have come full circle. Amazing, isn't it. I think Sinclair Lewis said it best. "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Two excellent reasons to be wary of excessive patriotism and religion, don't you think? And if you don't think, why are you reading this?
First was the size of the crowd. I've heard claims of upwards of 500,000 by Beck and the Fox bozos. Judging by the authenticated pictures I've seen, that number is off by an order of magnitude (Lop off a zero for you non-math geeks).
Second was the obvious level of hatred in the crowd. I don't think Ive ever seen a group of people more riled by fear and outright ignorance. Even at the height of the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I didn't see people espousing violence against any American, even (or especially!) Muslim-Americans. I'm willing to bet the Secret Service will be putting in a lot of overtime just based on some of the signs I saw on the news.
Third, and scariest of all, was the make-up of the crowd. I have yet to see a picture, ANY picture, of a single person of color attending this hoe-down. No black, brown, yellow or red faces whatsoever. Just an unbroken stream of white, most of them looking to be in need of a bit of health care. One person (and hats off to them) even went so far as to dub this the "Great White Waddle". I'm old enough (barely) to remember (from TV) the racial struggles in this country in the 1960's. The last time I saw a crowd this white being this angry at a black man there were hoods involved.
All of this got my brain running on its' hamster wheel. These people don't want government-run health care but are unwilling to give up their Veteran's and Medicare benefits, think that they have "lost control of 'their' country" just because America elected a black President and think that social justice equals socialism. I think it is high time for these crackers to form their own country. Let's call it "Cracker Nation", a nation built on fear, ignorance, hatred and deceit.
Think about it... a place where all these people that are afraid of people that are different from them can go and be out of our hair. Fixed Noise can be their Ministry of Dis-information, Lou Dobbs for Immigration Minister and of course: Glenn Beck, President of Cracker Nation!
All kidding aside, this wave of scared white people scares me more than almost anything that came out of the Bush administration. Frightened people in large groups worry me, and when people like Beck, Dobbs, O'Reilly and Limbaugh use those fears to agitate scared people it amounts to nothing more than incitement to riot, pure and simple. Wait a minute... plying on fears and ancient hatreds... those tactics sound familiar... THAT'S IT!!! The same tactics Osama binLaden used to incite the 9/11 attacks!
And so we have come full circle. Amazing, isn't it. I think Sinclair Lewis said it best. "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Two excellent reasons to be wary of excessive patriotism and religion, don't you think? And if you don't think, why are you reading this?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Students and Technology
The Constant Reader knows of the high esteem in which I hold my beloved wife, the Lovely and Talented Cathy. Her latest project is another stunningly wonderful idea. She has started podcasting and a new website, Student Tech. This podcast covers all the nifty technological goodies she has found helpful in her quest for her doctoral degree. It also shares ways to save money and blow off steam with low-cost fun, since keeping your sanity is just as important as gaining an education.
In addition to learning all kinds of stuff, you will also get to hear the beautiful voice of the woman that is the light of my life. Check out Student Tech and tell her The Amused Geek sent you!
In addition to learning all kinds of stuff, you will also get to hear the beautiful voice of the woman that is the light of my life. Check out Student Tech and tell her The Amused Geek sent you!
The Lion Sleeps
America lost perhaps its' greatest liberal champion last night. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy lost his battle with brain cancer. This man, born to wealth and privilege, never ceased to battle for the rights of those less fortunate. Kennedy spent more that 47 years in the U.S. Senate and left his stamp on every major civil rights and anti-poverty legislation presented to that body. He will be missed.
It seems ironic to me that the darkest day of his career may have done more than anything else to extend Senator Kennedy's life. His brothers, John and Robert, came to early ends in possesion or pursuit of the nation's highest office. Ted could have easily become President had it not been for the tragic "Chappaquiddick" incident. He remained in the Senate and probably did more good for the disabled, poor and under-privleged over his long Senatorial career than he ever could have in a four to eight year Presidency.
Your labors are done, old lion. Rest well.
It seems ironic to me that the darkest day of his career may have done more than anything else to extend Senator Kennedy's life. His brothers, John and Robert, came to early ends in possesion or pursuit of the nation's highest office. Ted could have easily become President had it not been for the tragic "Chappaquiddick" incident. He remained in the Senate and probably did more good for the disabled, poor and under-privleged over his long Senatorial career than he ever could have in a four to eight year Presidency.
Your labors are done, old lion. Rest well.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Tyranny of the Wingnuts
In the days since I've last updated this missive, a disturbing trend has come to the fore. People (and I use that term loosely in this case) staring at the President's birth certificate still claiming that he's not a citizen, Medicare recipients railing against "government run health care" and the right-wing screaming meemies (This means YOU and your kind, Plush Windbag!) spewing talking points that are intellectually bankrupt and morally reprehensible.
It seems like the airwaves are filled with people shouting bullshit at the top of their lungs under the impression that volume can replace truth. On the news recently I saw elderly person after elderly person crying about how a public insurance option would mean that old people would have to die rather than get the health care they deserve. Do you honestly think that a country that specially designed a government-run single-payer healthcare system JUST for the elderly would make these same people end their lives due to a lack of healthcare? What color is the sky in your world? You sure don't live here! By the way, all of you who are screaming that America doesn't have a government-run single-payer healthcare system just for the elderly, it is called Medicare.
This mess is so pervasive that there is even a name for it. They are called "astroturf movements" because they claim to be coming from the "grass roots" but are fake. The Republican party is behaving like it believes that this is what the people want. Take that lying and barely literate village-idiot-of-the-tundra (could Dubya and she be related? Scary!), Sarah Palin. She is blathering on about how the Obama healthcare plan would create panels that would decide whether a citizen would live or die when, if Palin had the intelligence and integrity to read the actual bill, she would know that what is being offered is voluntary end-of-life counseling to the terminally ill. Palin, you lying guttersnipe, you have no room to chastise the press for "makin' stuff up"! Senator McCain, your selection of this moron didn't kill your campaign, but it did put it out of our misery.
The Constant Reader will know that I am a recent but devoted convert to liberalism and social justice, and I want to ask a favor. Please write, call, email or send a carrier pigeon to your Senator and your Congresscritter telling them that you want healthcare reform WITH a public option, and tell them that The Amused Geek sent you. I especially want you to write if you have the ill-fortune to live in a Congressional district represented by a Republican. I don't have much of a following, but perhaps we can make the Geek voice heard!
It seems like the airwaves are filled with people shouting bullshit at the top of their lungs under the impression that volume can replace truth. On the news recently I saw elderly person after elderly person crying about how a public insurance option would mean that old people would have to die rather than get the health care they deserve. Do you honestly think that a country that specially designed a government-run single-payer healthcare system JUST for the elderly would make these same people end their lives due to a lack of healthcare? What color is the sky in your world? You sure don't live here! By the way, all of you who are screaming that America doesn't have a government-run single-payer healthcare system just for the elderly, it is called Medicare.
This mess is so pervasive that there is even a name for it. They are called "astroturf movements" because they claim to be coming from the "grass roots" but are fake. The Republican party is behaving like it believes that this is what the people want. Take that lying and barely literate village-idiot-of-the-tundra (could Dubya and she be related? Scary!), Sarah Palin. She is blathering on about how the Obama healthcare plan would create panels that would decide whether a citizen would live or die when, if Palin had the intelligence and integrity to read the actual bill, she would know that what is being offered is voluntary end-of-life counseling to the terminally ill. Palin, you lying guttersnipe, you have no room to chastise the press for "makin' stuff up"! Senator McCain, your selection of this moron didn't kill your campaign, but it did put it out of our misery.
The Constant Reader will know that I am a recent but devoted convert to liberalism and social justice, and I want to ask a favor. Please write, call, email or send a carrier pigeon to your Senator and your Congresscritter telling them that you want healthcare reform WITH a public option, and tell them that The Amused Geek sent you. I especially want you to write if you have the ill-fortune to live in a Congressional district represented by a Republican. I don't have much of a following, but perhaps we can make the Geek voice heard!
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