Babylon Station

So how are the really crazed righties reacting to thier "devestating victory over the liberals" by winning 2 out of ten races? Well, let's ask Glen Beck:

"Right. And here's what the ‑‑ forget about the Democrats. Here's what the Republicans should learn. The tea party movement, if you think you're going to run people that are going to be, you know, ACORN wannabes and they're just part of the corruption, part of the system, if you're going to run those people, you can expect a tea party guy to come out, and the tea parties, they'll help you lose every single election. Every single election. Because I for one am not ‑‑ if I believe in the Republican, I'll vote for the Republican. But if you're running somebody who's like part of the system, I'm not interested. I'm not interested. And I think that a lot of Americans are like that. So the Republicans have a choice to make. You can either spend a million dollars trying to destroy a third party accountant, or you could say, wow, this accountant probably would come in within three points of beating the Democrat if we combined our efforts, Republicans and Democrats, spent a fortune, had our candidate then drop out and campaign for the Democrats, we might be able to come in with about a 3‑point margin. You might want to just say, "Maybe we should go with the accountants. Maybe we should go with the regular people." And all you politicians who think you're going to ride the wave of this 9/12 movement, hey, if I can pretend I'm like them, I can get elected. Really? You go ahead and try it. You try to continue the same old stuff, and if you do, you better look out, because not only are 9/12ers and tea partygoers willing to take off their shoes, they're willing to take off their boots, and they'll put it where the sun doesn't shine."

This is far more akin to the Stalin-esque purging of those who did not toe the extreme party line than anything out of the current Whitehouse. If this is what the right wing is coming to, it won't be long before some more pull out their guns.

I have to admit, I'm a bit scared. Anyone who says something like this would never have been given a prominent TV slot on a "news" network, nevermind a syndicated radio show, back in the day.

The rightwing pundits & blogosphere are making a big deal out of the repub victories in the VA and NJ governors' races yesterday. They are crowing of it as a sign that people have lost faith in President Obama and his policies and that this is the beginning of the backlash against the unwanted agenda of the left.

Interesting (especially factoring in the 65-70% of people who want the public option).

Here's why these races were not referenda on Obama's person or policies...

In both states' exit polls, well over 50% or the respondents who voted for the GOP governor choice stated that they approved of Obama and how he was handling the problems facing the country. The governor races were based on local concerns about the state's economy, jobs, and the fact that the democratic candidates were not that great (Deeds was referred to by one self-IDed democrat as a "douche").

Want a referendum on a party? Look to NY-23. The really far right Hoffman and his wingnut supporters drove the actual republican candidate out and forced her to throw her support behind the democrat as the best for the district. Result? The GOP is becoming more radical, more intolerant, and purging their best hopes out. It has been promised that this purge has only started.

And as for supporting the POTUS? The states may have put repubs into state offices, but the national races for congress seats all went to dems. That's a referendum on Obama.

So yesterday was the off-off-year elections....

The GOP won the NJ governorship. I don't know enough about the players there, so I can't say what that might mean for the state.

They also took the VA governorship, along with the lt. gov and attn general offices. Two things that bode poorly for VA voters there, though. First, one big plan to help the state's finances is to sell off the state-owned liquor stores to private interests, raising possibly as much as $100 million. Thing is, this crew has a history of favoring cronies with these sort of deals. Also, that $100 mil is a one time windfall. After that's gone-no more revenue from liquor sales directly to the state. And those profits are what pay for the schools, amongst other things. How are they going to replace that revenue stream without raising taxes? (Which of course no repub would ever do since cutting taxes (at least to the top 10% or so) is the answer to all evils from not pulling in enough tax money to soggy toast)

Also, the new Gov. of VA is a graduate of Pat Robertson's Liberty University, a fundamentalist nut house of "Christian" approved education. {UPDATE: Sorry, Liberty U is the late Falwell's place. I meant Regent U, still nutty, just a different guy running the nuts] His thesis was about how women should be subservient to men in the home, not work, and how heterosexual married folk should be the only ones to get and state/federal benefits as opposed to "gays, cohabitators, and fornicators". Can't wait to see how that works out.

But the hard-core conservative carpetbagger lost in NY's 23rd district, making the 23's representative a democrat for the first time in over 100 years. Sorry Palin, but your attempt to interfere in another state's internal politics has failed. The loser didn't even live in the district and knew nothing about it or its issues!

The real bad news is that once again, voters overturned an existing right already possesed by a minority. Same-sex marriage was voted out in ME yesterday. Since when do we let the majority vote on a minority's civil rights? Or as someone on KOS said,

"The line of bigoted reasoning goes, "You can't be happy because that would make me uncomfortable." That's really just about as low as humans get."

So true, so true.

Last week, Bekah popped a fever. So she was out of school Thurs and Fri. And I was stuck home all day with her, except for a quick trip to the doctor. Not that that's a problem, but I tend to get a bit stir-crazed. I went to fencing at BVFA just to work on footwork Thurs, just to get out of the house. It looks like I might be getting paid to direct for some local RI/MA highschool tournaments.

Saturday, Alex was ill with a cold, so we all stayed home. Well, Bekah went to an allergist app., and I took Alex to the doctor because we were worried about him and his cough. And then it was all rented movies for the rest of the day.

Sunday, both Jen and Bekah were still sick, so, instead of going to the PdF "E" tournament I was registered for, I took Alex to church so he could process with the little kids' choir for the first time.

Yesterday, both kids went to school. And I got sick with a throat cold. You should hear me try to talk.

I hate colds. Actually, we're pretty sure that Bekah had H1N1, but we can't be sure.

Over the last few weeks, I have sent out applications to seven CT school districts along the 395 corridor for a substitute position. You don't need to be certified for that in CT, and it's a good way to get seen and recognized. If they hire me full time, they will assist in the certification process and maybe I can slip sideways into a RI certification by being CT certified.

As of this coming Friday, I will be in the sub pool for four districts; North Stonington, Plainfield, Thompson, and Killingly. All require fingerprinting, done by a central clearinghouse (and Plainfield wanted a drug test for some reason).

And yesterday, I did my first teaching in over five years for Thompson. For fifth graders!

Actually, it was pretty easy, basic babysitting for the missing teacher. But the last period I actually had to teach language arts to her class. The topic? Introduction of the idea of direct object in speech relative to the action verb. I think it went OK.

Somewhere in my house, there is a dead bat in a ziplock bag.

Strange? Well, not too odd for me. The poor thing was hanging on the side of my shed and must have gotten caught in one of the recent freezes. It was dry and mummy-like. So I brought it in to show the family and Bekah wanted to take it into school, so I put it in a bag and put is somewhere "safe". Now I can't find it. Crap....

The other oddity of the past weekend was my time in a well. There is an unused well just by my porch, attached to a back up pump (which I don't know how to use) and covered over with a nice wooden decorative well cover. One of the nice metal insets went missing recently, and since the wood is getting rotten (the next job for me), we assumed that it had fallen into the well.

So Saturday, with a friend's help, Jen went fishing for it with a strong magnet on a string. That determined that there was only two, two and a half feet of water at the bottom, so with a neighbor's cheap ladder down the side of the shaft, I donned a bathing suit and went down. I had to climb the rock sides the first few feet, but I got down to the bottom without incident.

That water was cold. Really cold. And they had to take the ladder out so I could bend down and feel about for the thing. More cold. Certain parts of my anatomy crawled right up into my armpits in fear. And the metal piece wasn't there. But I got to climb down into a well.

So today, I cashed another check. And the weird money?

Another Eisenhower bicentennial, a Kennedy bicentennial half dollar, and 16 silver Kennedy halfs!

I am now sure that some kid found their parent's collection in a sock drawer or on the dresser and used it to buy something dumb. And now I have it.

At least until one of my kids does the same to me. There is such balance in nature.

Remember when the GOP and the pundits on the right were all about "America First", and if you're not going along with everything the POTUS wants, you're unAmerican?

So what's with the cheering over Chicago not getting the Olympics? Yes, it has never been held in South America before. Yes, Rio is a heck of a town. So I'm not surprised that they got it; but the economic influx to the U.S. would have been good, and I was rooting for my country. As we all should be in cases like this.

But the right sees this as a victory over Obama.

So much for the "pro-America" party. Looks like loyalty for them is only to party and being against the left.

Jackasses....

This weekend, Bekah got her ears pierced!

She was nervous, but didn't cry out or weep. So now she's got two blue titanium earings to clean off. The look pretty cute.

My daughter's growing up! *sigh*

So, having passed the FOC referee exam for foil & sabre, and in need of a practical, I realized I've only fenced sabre twice, dry both times.

So last night at Blackstone Valley Fencing, I took up the sabre seriously for the first time. I actually wasn't as bad, or as hurt, as I expected. Ann told me that it was usually the experienced saberists who got bruised, since newbies tended to make wild slashes, but I was actually well in control and focused. It didn't stop me from losing every bout I had, but I did better than I did when I initially took up the epee.

So on this very fine "talk-like-a-pirate day", we went up to Boston to meet a co-worker of Jen's from the main, French company who has just moved to the States from Israel with his wife and three kids (2, 5, and 7). Since they know no one in this country, Jen wisely decided to have us go up to meet them at the Boston Common, welcome them to the North East, and generally have a good time. Did I mention the kids only speak Hebrew at the moment? Well, that doesn't matter to kids, and soon all were having a great time, walking about, riding the swan boats, playing at the playground.

And wouldn't you know it? It was also the Boston Hempfest, celibration of the Lamb's Bread and all-around craziness. And I was there...with my kids. So no craziness or even browsing at the environmental/literature/politics booths for us. But the show was funny. Some people really shouldn't smoke that much if they can't handle it (in public, at least!).

When I cash a check at the bank, I always ask if they have any "weird" money. Money that you don't see much; $2 bills, dollar coins, half-dollars, stuff like that. Once I got a silver Kennedy half-dollar that way.

Today? I got a $2, some golden dollar coins, some regular half-dollars, and ten Eisenhower (big) dollar coins, nine of which were bicentennials! Looks like some fool, ignorant of the value, turned in someone's collection for paper.

Yesterday, I did a huge amount of stuff around the house. I trimmed the bushes by the driveway, removing the debris. I shifted some unsightly remains of the old trash bin out of sight. Then I removed the three AC window units from the bedrooms back to the basement for the winter. And while making those trips, I did two loads of laundry and carried a full basket upstairs.

I mailed off a request to Trinity for my transcript so I can apply for sub jobs at CT schools and a temp certification here in RI. I also put in a new faucet nozzle in the bathroom downstairs, discovered that the faucet itself was crap, and bought a new one to install today.

And then I tried to fix the squeak in our bed-frame. At which point, trying to lift the mattress and part of the box-spring, I wrenched my shoulder rather badly. Pain. Lots of aching pain.

Luckily for me, a good friend, the mother of one of my godsons, has her doctorate in physical therapy and worked a miracle on me last night. Still sore today, but at least I can move it. So now to see if I can cope with that faucet...

Do you remember a time when thinking and education was prized in this country?

Bekah has become increasingly interested in cooking lately. Especially cakes. She has become addicted to FoodNetwork shows, Ace of Cakes and the contest shows (like Chopped).

So she and her Mom have been making cakes. Her family/friends party had a cake that looked like a volcano, complete with decorating gel lava pouring down. I wanted them to a add a village (with Monopoly houses, perhaps) and fleeing villagers, but they wouldn't. And for the party at the Natural History Museum in Roger Williams Park (you didn't know that was there, did you?) for her classmates, they produced a cake in the form of a pyramid. It came out great!

Abd don't forget: Saturday the 19th is National Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day!

When Bush was making speeches, the democrats would jump up and applaud with the rest, even when he was setting up something they were against. It wasn't so much the man, but the office they were showing their respect for.

Last night, that respect for the office was totally lacking on the part of the repubs and even some "blue dog" democrats. The most egregious case was Rep Joe Wilson (R-SC) who shouted "You lie!" when the President said that the health reform bill would not provide coverage for illegal immigrants. (By the way, there is a specific clause in the versions of the bill that denies coverage for "undocumented immigrants", so it was Wilson who was lying) Well, Wilson definitely was pandering to the nutjob base and got his face in the news. At other times the GOP booed, hissed, scoffed, and waved signs. Eric Cantor was even playing on his blackberry, and that after promising that repubs would "pay close attention during the speech."

This is horrible. If the left acted like this at a Bush speech, they would be removed, censured by congress, and we would be hearing calls for their resignation on Fox (which, by the way, completely ignored the outbursts and rudeness while blasting Obama for being overly partisan). What happened to the conservatives' calls for respect and dignified behavior? Is this what the minority party has come to? And when they are back in the majority (which will eventually happen unless they dissolve completely), what will they say if the left does anything like this?

Bekah turned 9 yesterday! Hard to believe, it has all gone by so quickly. We spent the day at 6-Flags in MA to celebrate, about 5 hours all told. Both kids went on their first coaster rides (small, Catwoman's Whip), along with several other rides. Alex has no fear, but Bekah has some limits. I managed to pop a small blood vessel in one eye on even these "tame" rides, so I think the big coasters may be out of my future.

Last week was the first full school week, and it looks like the kids have some great teachers. Well, we know that with Alex, since he has the same teacher that he had for two years of pre-school! He's done so well under her that I have no qualms about it. Bekah's in fourth grade now. Her first activity was making recycled paper for bookmarks about recycling to be given to the other kids in the school.

I asked last week if the students would be seeing today's "controversial" presidential address to students about the importance of academic effort. They are leaving it to the teacher's discretion. I will be quite upset if neither of my kids get to see the POTUS talk about setting goals and achieving through personal effort. We all know how patriotic that is if a Repub says it, but socialist indoctrination if said by a (black) Democrat.

So many things to do this week. Need to prepare to remove old furniture before delivery of the new tomorrow. Need to finish staining the swing set out back. Need to contact the RI Dept. of Education about a "provisional" certification so I can sub in local schools; contact CT schools about subbing; fill out forms at RIC to actually try to get my MAT... Oh, yeah; I need to paint the porch, too.

On September 8th, the President will make a speech on TV and on line to the nation's schoolchildren.

During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

So the President of the country wants to appeal directly to the students about the importance of working in school and making effort, and not just letting academics wash over them. That's good, right.

Well, yes. But not to some. The John Birch Society (wow, they still exist) wants every one to to keep their kids home and have a family day.

I wouldn't send my child to school on September 8, unless I had a strong death wish for America. On September 8, President Obama will be broadcasting a prepared speech to every school child, grades K-12, in America. On September 8, Obama the Change Agent begins his takeover of the schools…but not with my child, and hopefully not with yours.

And they're joined by Michelle Malkin, who ties it into the brainwashing of children on issues like gay marriage, immigration, and stale toast. And there are many others saying we need to avoid exposing our children to the magic mind control hypnotism that Obama apparently can send through the screen.

And these people, who are saying keep your kids away from school to avoid hearing encouragement from the President, claim that they are the "true" American patriots. If anyone had suggested this when, say Reagan, or either of the Bushs sent out taped messages to school children, we'd be anti-American traitors. It must be that he's doing it live.

What a bunch of morons. They could have used a bit of educational support, I guess.

Yesterday, an individual posted a response to my letter about talk radio parity. Here is what the "gentleman" wrote:

"In response to [the] Aug. 20 letter (“No on-air liberals”): The reason there are not that many left-wing talk shows is because there is no market for it. Bad ratings cannot generate enough advertising to keep them on the air.

Who wants to hear all day about how bad America is and how we need more socialism?

It’s called the marketplace. Freedom and free markets are things liberals will never understand or agree with. They want the government to force you to listen to things that are not popular but are destructive of your freedom, just as socialists and communists force you to read, hear or watch their propaganda on their state-run news outlets.

As long as there are free markets, liberal programming will never dominate.

Those who want 24-hour-a-day socialist talk should move to Venezuela."

Lovely.

First, stop telling us to leave the country if we want our different opinions heard. When we say we want liberal talk, we get yelled at for wanting to silence conservative talk, being anti-first amendment, and told to shut up and leave. See the inherent contradiction?

Second, We don't have a true "free market". With mass, national, deregulated corporate ownership of stations, that is just not the case.

In many markets, progressive talk does outrate their conservative rivals. And yet they keep disappearing. Ohio's progressive talk got turned to sports and lost half its listeners. Boston's first progressive talk got converted to spanish music, one of several in that market, and we are to believe there was a bigger need for that? There are plenty of examples.

From the comment thread at the paper, it is obvious that this guy is one of those people who believes fascism is a leftest thing because the nazis called themselves "national socialists". Labels are not history.

Here is a simple to understand, straight-forward explaination of why the public option, or even single payer is needed, a good idea, and nessasary.