tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159258172024-03-08T00:03:26.793-08:00My Life at the BottomMy life at the bottom.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-72559062253350054912007-03-06T20:14:00.000-08:002007-03-06T20:17:05.741-08:00Dear Rep. John Carter:I am aware that you have toured the facility in Williamson County <br />currently being used to jail immigrants in federal custody awaiting asylum <br />in this country. I am also aware that you have determined that this <br />facility, a former prison, does not violate the provisions outlined in Flores v. Meese. I am <br />shocked by your judgement in this matter. Flores v. Meese stipulates, among other things, than children cannot be housed in prisons. How is the T. Don Hutto facility not a prison? Child detainees wear prison garb <br />and are not allowed to wear their own clothes. Children are detained in <br />small cells for roughly 12 hrs a day. They are forbidden from keeping toys <br />in these cells. They are given one hour of recreation per day and more <br />often than not they are not allowed to spend it outside. They are lined up and counted three times a day. <br />These children have inadequate access to medical, dental, and educational opportunities. <br />Guards frequently use the threat of separating children from their families as punishment.<br /><br />The ACLU has recently filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland <br />Security on behalf of many of the detainees. I ask that you reconsider <br />your stand on this issue and push forward a Congressional investigation <br />into this shameful situation occurring in our own backyard. No one is <br />questioning the right of the Federal Government to pursue its law <br />enforcement goals in relation to immigration. I simply ask that it is <br />pursued in a reasonable and humane manner, especially in regard to the <br />children.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-68517691408610801612007-01-31T06:49:00.000-08:002007-01-31T12:21:12.165-08:00Saturday AfternoonSaturday.<br /><br />I am standing in the kitchen. Ethan is in the bathroom screaming my name. He just had a bowel movement and he needs someone, preferably me, to wipe his ass. Gracie is cradled precariously in one of my arms, screaming for reasons only her 7 month old mind can discern. I hear a gurgling sound and look down just in time to catch undigested formula spurt from her mouth onto my shoulder. With my other hand I hold my cell phone and attempt to listen to the latest voicemail from a disgruntled employee who has been calling me all day, growing increasingly more hostile as he grows increasingly more drunk. My father stands in front of me trying to tell me something but between the screams of the children and the slurring voice on the phone I can't hear him. Something about a plastic container. I point to the phone in my ear in case he doesn't notice it and what it implies, and purposely tune him out. The voice on the phone is describing how much of a bastard I am. My father keeps talking though, and I can tell by the look on his face that whatever he wants, he wants it badly. Suddenly Sam appears, and she moves quickly past my father to the bathroom. I hear Ethan scream that he wants his Daddy but that doesn't stop Sam, and within moments she appears in the kitchen with Ethan in her arms. A look of relief washes over my father and he shuffles as fast as he can past her. The angry voicemail dribbles to an end as the door to the bathroom slams shut. Gracie is now smiling - her lips crusted with white vomit. Ethan whimpers.<br />"What was that all about?" I ask Sam, nodding toward the bathroom.<br />Your father was asking for a plastic container to pee in, Sam says. He had to go to the bathroom but Ethan was in there and he didn't think he could wait. He thought he would wet his pants. <br /><br />Saturday.<br /><br />This my life.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-56711067706969045432007-01-23T20:10:00.000-08:002007-01-23T20:11:37.342-08:00Seriously, lets' get rid of himIn his State of the Union address, the President outlined the "nightmare scenario" that could occur in Iraq if the United States is not successful there. Sadly, the picture he painted is probably true. Chaos will reign in the Middle East if we prematurely withdraw our troops and allow Iraq to fall into anarchy. We must be successful in Iraq. However, this scenario would not even be a possibility had his administration not created it. While there is, and should be, a debate on how to continue our involvement in Iraq, one thing can not be debated anymore: this President and his administration are to blame and they must be held responsible. In any other job, one would be fired for such gross mismanagement. If nothing else, the President's remarks tonight about the state of the war in Iraq should also serve as the primary case for his impeachment. We must demand that Congress move forward in that regard.<br /><br />Seriously, let's get rid of this guy. A monkey would do a better job.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-71786379243566864052007-01-10T19:33:00.000-08:002007-01-12T09:41:49.879-08:00What we don't know when we don't know historyTonight the President outlined his plan for Iraq. His plan has many tenants, most notably an increase in troop strength (by keeping troops longer and deploying troops on deck earlier), a change in tactics away from search and destroy style operations toward clear and hold tactics, and an increased reliance on the Iraqi military and government to police and govern their own country. The latter point he stressed often, and the implication was clear that his own patience in waiting for the Iraqi people to take over their own affairs was wearing thin. While Bush made a point early in the speech to take responsibility for the debacle in Iraq, he also made it clear that at some point the Iraqis themselves had to be held responsible for the ongoing disaster that is their country.<br /><br />I am now convinced that there has never been a Presidential administration so ignorant of history (both distant and recent) in my lifetime. I am also convinced that if Congress does not move forward and impeach this man, then our entire system of government has failed.<br /><br />Let's forget about the fact that the entire invasion of Iraq was based on questionable intelligence concerning weapons of mass destruction that many key members of the administration have gone on record as saying they didn't believe and expressed reservations about, but felt pressured to publically agree with (most notably Collin Powell). Forget that. Put it out of your head. Let's instead start by taking a look at the key presumption of the administration that after the invasion we would be able to bring democracy to Iraq and create a model country in the middle east that would serve as a beacon of freedom to the rest of the region. <br /><br />This assumption ignores not only the current global situation, but the entire history of mankind. No country on Earth, with the exception of the United States, has been able to accomodate an ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse population without oppressing and/or marginalizing the minorities. None. Zero. The United States is the great experiment and it only barely works. Even the enlightened souls of Western Europe are incapable of tolerating any widespread diversity (witness the treatment of immigrants in France and Germany or the complete dissolution of Yugoslavia). The nations of the world are, for the most part, homogenous, and those that aren't are in a state of constant war or totalitarianism. For all our faults as a nation, we have finally, after nearly two hundred and fifty years, established a system that treats most everyone fairly. This cannot be said for the rest of the globe, and it seems like an extremely obvious miscalculation to think that we could create such a place in Iraq. Like most of the middle east, Iraq is filled with people whose divisions are rooted in conflicts traced back to the Bible. Short of God his or herself, plopping down on mountain somewhere and clearing this whole mess up, it is unlikely that any of these faith based arguments will be settled any time soon. The most disturbing part of this is that this was painfully obvious to me - an average nobody in middle America - and yet completely lost on the White House brain trust. We should all be very afraid.<br /><br />And Bush's complete disregard for, or ignorance of, history is not limited just to this unbelievable miscalculation. Even something as basic as the military tactics used to fight the insurgents displays a mind-boggling lack of knowledge. The search and destroy type tactics that our troops were using up until a few hours ago were discounted over thirty years ago in Vietnam. Commanders learned then that this type of engagement does not work with an insurgent enemy. In fact, it is commonly agreed that no insurgency has ever been defeated using these tactics. The enemy will always return once the soldiers have left and then kill those who went against them. It is a doomed method that Bush may have been privy to if he hadn't spent his military career AWOL or had actually listened to military commanders. Instead we are faced with thousands of dead Americans and Iraqis, an insurgency that seems to operate at will, widespread hostility toward our occupying force, and a country steeped in anarchy.<br /><br />Finally, it should not be forgotten the brief history of this war and our role in the creation of the chaos we are now demanding the Iraqis step up and take control over. The United States invaded Iraq. The people of Iraq did not ask us to invade their country. We invaded the country, destroyed the infrastructure, and then stood by (in violation of International Law) and allowed the country to be looted and pillaged. We invaded this country with almost no support from the rest of the world and under pretenses that were flimsy at best. It is sort of like the old saying "you break it - you buy it." We broke it and now it's ours. We must fix it and for Bush to imply in his address to the nation that his patience with the Iraqi government is wearing thin is almost offensive. He has no right to demand anything of them. As he said, the mistakes are his. It is clear that this entire operation was a mistake and if he is responsible then he must pay. If he were a manager at Starbucks and displayed this kind of incompetence he would be fired. <br /><br />The only people who I find nearly as offensive as the President are the people who voted for him to be re-elected. Bush is, if nothing else, a man of his word. He maintained during the election that he would stay the course in Iraq. That is what he did up until today. You former Bush supporters have no right to be upset with him now. The opposition told you that staying the course was a mistake but you refused to listen. Now you don't like it? Too bad. Kerry may not have been the best alternative but he was not going to continue with the same flawed policies. Maybe next time you should just leave the voting to the people who actually educate themselves to the issues. You are a mindless blob that allows yourself to be whipped into hysterics by fear mongering and patriotic pandering. You equate supporting the troops with sending them off to be slaughtered, and call those who actually want to protect the lives of our fighting men and women traitors. You are the reason that Hitler was the democratically elected leader of his country. You are the reason there is a Wal-Mart on every corner and Jim Belushi on the television. You are the reason that there are men locked up in cages without access to an attorney or basic human rights, and so you are the reason the rest of the world will continue to hate us. You are to blame. Moreso than Bush himself - because you put him there. Without you there is no him. Shame on you.<br /><br />President Bush, and those who insisted on putting him back in power even though it was clear he had misled us and had no plan, hope that by admitting they made mistakes they will then be forgiven by the rest of us. It's a front page headline that Bush actually admitted he made a mistake, as if this act somehow makes the whole thing easier to take. I am reminded of what I say to my son sometimes when he does something after I have warned him not to do it. He is three years old and so his usual plan of action is to simply say he's sorry after misbehaving, assuming that will make it all better.<br />"Sometimes sorry doesn't cut it," I tell him. "Now go to timeout."<br /><br />It's time we put this administration in time out and move forward with the impeachment of President Bush.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-22918422726120694972007-01-06T07:54:00.000-08:002007-01-06T08:02:08.432-08:00Dear Rep. John Carter:Message sent to the following recipients:<br />Representative Carter<br />Message text follows:<br /><br />January 6, 2007<br /><br />Recent actions by the Bush administration in regard to the U.S. Postal <br />Service and the public's right to access Secret Service visitor logs to <br />the White House, are clearly designed to both infringe on the individual <br />liberties of the citizenry while at the same time providing another veil <br />of secrecy for the President to hide behind. The administration clearly <br />has no respect for the U.S. citizenry, either for their privacy or their <br />right to an accountable government. It is increasingly apparent that the <br />Bush administration does not believe that this is a government of, by, and <br />for the people. While we all must pay for the actions of the Bush <br />adminsitration (literally and figuratively), the Executive Branch seems to believe it has <br />no obligation to the American people. It does not support our freedom. It does not value our system<br />of a government that serves at the will of the people. It is this bit by bit erosion of the principles<br />of our Constitution, done under a veil of secrecy from within, that poses the greatest threat to<br />our republic - moreso than any non-existent weapons of mass destruction or perceived<br />terrorist threat.<br />I implore you to support the movement in Congress to impeach George W. Bush. <br />The future of our nation and the presidency depends upon it.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-41267708007761604662006-12-29T10:11:00.000-08:002006-12-29T10:12:14.819-08:00Bite the BulletTaylor has a growth on her leg. You found it while shaving her last night. Removing the growth cost $660. There goes Christmas. They give you a lot of options when you drop her off for the surgery. Do you want her to be given pain meds? Forty extra dollars. How about fluids? Seventy-five more bones. Oh you don’t have to do any of this if you don’t want to – your dog will just suffer that’s all. Why even offer these things as options then? Either you need them or you don’t. You’re the doctor – tell me what is necessary. If I knew, then why am I paying you? What if they had offered these options when you’re dad was in the hospital? Well does he really need the pain medication? How much to just have him bite on a bullet? How important is anesthesia anyway? How much would it have been to simply cut off Taylor’s leg? She’d get over it. Lots of dogs learn to live that way and it would probably keep her off the furniture.<br />You should have asked.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-51333247369304724382006-11-26T19:28:00.000-08:002006-11-26T19:31:35.563-08:00Things We SaySam is trying to teach Ethan to brush his teeth. I am sitting in the other room feeding Gracie but I can hear the drama unfolding in the bathroom.<br />"You have to spit Ethan."<br />"Ethan are you listening to me?"<br />"You can't eat the toothpaste Ethan - you know that."<br />"Ethan...."<br />"Are you listening to me?"<br />"Okay that's it - that's it, I'm serious. You're just not going to be allowed to do this anymore. No more. We're just going to have to figure something else out. I'm serious."<br /><br />After a moment Sam's figure appears in the doorway and we make eye contact.<br /><br />"He's not allowed to ever brush his teeth again?" I ask.<br /><br />And then we both start laughing.<br /><br />"No," she says. "Never again."Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-25360409301952527332006-11-16T21:12:00.000-08:002006-11-16T21:13:26.313-08:00A few days deep and certain things become clear. The end will not be a Life With Morrie. <br />“I only wish I could live another 40 years,” he says at one point. “So I could watch your children do this to you.”<br />There is no wisdom being offered; only anger, bitterness, and regret. This experience will not spark inspiration and life will not be re-affirmed.<br />“Is this why I came to this country,” he wonders aloud. “So I could end up like this?”<br />How easy would it be to just walk away?Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-80417987644432036162006-11-15T21:04:00.001-08:002006-11-15T21:04:14.552-08:00Sam calls 911 and soon the fire department and EMT’s have busted into your father’s home and are on the phone. You’re sister has taken charge at this point and she is on the phone with the paramedics in one ear and you in the other. You have called your brother in Houston and instructed him that he must get in his car and start driving the 160 miles to Austin. <br />“He may have missed his medication,” you can hear Tay telling the EMT. “He has cardio vascular disease and hypertension.” She continues to document your father’s maladies and the various medications he takes for each. This goes on for a few moments and then she says, “Yes, I’m a physician. So is he. He is retired.”<br />Sam call on the other line. She thinks she should go to the hospital. She is the only person in town and someone should be there.<br />“I don’t want you to go,” you say. “I’ve been there during this kind of thing. It’s not pretty. He can be a real mess and there’s nothing you can do anyway.”<br />“I know,” she says. “But someone has to be there,”<br />She insists and before you know it she is arranging for your neighbor Jerri to come over and watch the kids. Tay informs you that the paramedics are en route to the hospital because his blood pressure is dangerously high.<br />“He could have a stroke,” she says.<br />Doug calls.<br />“I’m just leaving town,” he says. “How’s dad?”<br />“I don’t know,” you reply. “Bad I guess.”<br /><br />There is nothing wrong – everything is wrong. The test don’t show anything. Tay says it is the drugs.<br />“He’s a junkie,” she says flatly. “And when he stops taking the pills – or forgets to take the pills – it can be a real problem.”<br />Yeah, you think. No shit.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1163516826501825032006-11-14T07:07:00.000-08:002006-11-15T06:24:30.773-08:00You almost didn’t return the call. You are in Clearwater, Florida working for NBC Sports and you are at the Super Target buying a pair of slacks. You have been invited to a cocktail party at a country club and you had not packed anything other than jeans or cargo shorts. It is your father’s cell phone number that pops up on the caller ID display.<br />“Hey Dad,” you say.<br />Silence.<br />“Dad?”<br />Silence. The call ends.<br />You put the phone in your pocket. Shuffle through a few pairs of grey slacks. You find your size and toss it into the basket.<br />You pull the phone out and dial his number.<br />“Hello?” he says. It is a question. His voice is frail and weak and you know this voice – you know what it means.<br />“Dad are you okay?”<br />“David,” his voice is cracking, you can hear the panic in it. “Is that you? I can barely hear you. Is that you?”<br />“Dad can you hear me?”<br />“I can’t remember anyone’s numbers,” he says. “I don’t know...who am I? I can’t remember anything. I woke up... I don’t know what’s happening.”<br />You are two thousand miles away from him, in the men’s department of a Super Target ,and this is when life decides to fall apart.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1162620043977774352006-11-03T21:52:00.000-08:002006-11-15T06:18:41.462-08:00If you believe the President when he says that John Kerry was actually insulting the troops the other day, then you probably also believe the President when he tries to tell us that Congress - Democrats and Republicans both - saw the same intelligence he did about Saddam Hussein and authorized the invasion of Iraq, thereby being just as culpable as he in this debacle. <br /><br />Never mind that it is now established facts that his administration withheld, manipulated, and lied about that intelligence. Never mind that he deliberately presented Congress and the UN the most dismissed and unsubstantiated intelligence he could so long as it fit his agenda. <br /><br />Is everyone this dumb?Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1160089200595024802006-10-05T15:53:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:41.380-08:00Wal-MartWal-Mart is the 31st largest economy in the world. It has a higher GNP than Ireland or Venezuela. It is the largest private employer in the world.<br /><br />Forty percent of Wal-Mart employees must turn to state funded (that means you and me) health insurance because Wal-Mart refuses to provide it for them. Wal-Mart has recently introduced a wage cap in order to encourage long-term employees to quit (instead of getting fired and then applying for unemployment) so that lower-paid workers can be hired to replace them. Wal-Mart requires a majority of it's employees to be part-time and on-call, available to work any shift at any time (and ineligible for benefits). Forget trying to plan for a babysitter. Forget trying to have a life. Any attempt at unionizing Wal-Mart workers so that they could negotiate a better situation for themselves is squashed by the company.<br /><br />If you get a job at Wal-Mart you are expected to buy the $13 khaki pants that are required for your job. No discount is offered.<br /><br />I can't ask people not to shop at Wal-Mart because the reality is that for many people, those most hurt by Walmart's wage and hiring practices, Wal-Mart is the only place they can afford to shop. It is the perfect exploitation machine. Wal-Mart keeps wages low so they can sell goods cheap. Other companies need to compete and so they do the same. The only jobs available become Wal-Mart jobs and so the market is flooded with low-wage people who can't afford to shop anywhere else but Wal-Mart. It is a self-perpetuating monster. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the five members of the Walton family will receive $500 million dollars as a direct result of the Bush dividend tax cut. They are all billionaires who inherited their fortunes and so their families benefit to the tune of billions by the repeal of the inheritance tax. <br /><br />And on and on.<br /><br />I own Wal-Mart stock. I didn't choose to- it was just something that my stock broker bought on my behalf. I am going to ask him to sell it today. Please do the same.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1159670841078713062006-09-30T19:30:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:41.285-08:00ClarificationIt may be important to mention that even though I wage a heap of criticism upon the U.S. government, I believe very strongly that America, as a nation and idea, is the best hope for this world. The United States is the single most powerful entity in the history of the world and we have acted with a restraint and benevolence never before witnessed in human history. Most of the countries on this fragile planet are governed by tyrannical strongmen whose level of corruption and greed are far greater than that of our own leaders and if given the type of power we hold, would rape and pillage this world for worse than Haliburton has. Tribal and religious warfare wages throughout the third world and Asia, where often immigration is severely restricted (as in Japan where there is NO immigration). While Europeans like to sit around and pass judgment on our humble gathering of colonies, it is worth mentioning that Spain, England, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany and all the rest were not so kind to their neighbors (or the rest of the world) when they had their moment in the sun. Crusades? Spanish "discovery" of the New World? Roman Empire? African Colonialism? Third Reich? Anytime someone comes looking for Jews on that continent they are ready to hand them over in the blink of an eye. Today Muslims throughout the EU are treated as second class citizens generations after first settling there, kept separated in ghettos and not afforded equal rights under the law.<br />The United States, with all its problems, is the greatest melting pot of ethnicities, races, and cultures on this planet and for the most part we exist in peace within these borders. Nowhere else on the planet is this true. Nowhere. <br /><br />But I still think George W. Bush sucks.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1158987212650595802006-09-22T21:40:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:41.212-08:00In the NewsAccording to the most recent National Intelligence Estimate, the war in Iraq has spawned a new generation of radicalism and played a key role in the increased threat of global terrorism. Contrary to what the administration tries to tell us, we are less safe because of our invasion of Iraq.<br /><br />What a surprise! A western government invades a sovereign Arab nation and it spawns terrorism and an insurgency? How could this be true? Say it ain't so. <br /><br />Well listen up.<br /><br />According to the UN, there is more torture going on in Iraq now than under Saddam. Conservative estimates place the number of civilian casualties since the invasion at over 130,000. Electricity is still unreliable, fuel (in an oil rich nation) is scarce, crime is rampant, and for all practical purposes we have abandoned half the country to chaos and civil war. Nineteen year old soldiers, plucked straight out of of special ed classes in rural Kansas, hit the ground in Iraq totally unprepared for the cultural landscape. Ignorant of the values and traditions of the Iraqi people, it is impossible for them not offend. Add to that ignorance, the obvious problem with giving a nineteen year old boy a machine gun and unlimited power and you have a recipe for trouble. <br /><br />Even though a majority of this nation has finally come around to the realization that this was a colossal mistake, our President continues to argue we should remain in this war because it is part of the war on terrorism. While it goes without saying he will dispute the findings in this report, any thinking person knows the truth. And if he does do the extraordinary and acknowledge the catastrophe he has created, he may resort to this favorite line of reasoning to justify our continued exploits in the region:<br /><br />"But now we can fight the terrorists over there instead of over here." <br /><br />I hear this line tossed out all the time by supporters of this debacle. Now imagine if you are an Iraqi, living in the midst of this terror, how that sounds? Any wonder why they want us to get the fuck out of their country? Any wonder why they believe that we don't value an Iraqi life as much as an American life? Any wonder why they hate us?<br /><br />How an entire segment of the population and government didn't see the writing on the wall is mind boggling. Especially since we only had over six hundred years of history (going back to the Crusades) in which to find a dozen previous instances where this type of thing didn't work out.<br /><br />The entire Middle East was fabricated at the turn of the twentieth century by the British and the French as they carved up the spoils of the Great War and their defeat of the Turks. Lines were drawn in the sand and nations were created with almost no regard for the cultures, tribes, and religions existing within those borders. Many of the disputes that exist amongst these various people were and are centuries old. The only reason they weren't killing each other in Iraq before now was because since their independence (Iraq was freed by the British in 1961) they have been ruled by strong and powerful leaders who didn't put up with any nonsense. Is this the type of country I would like to live in? No. Did Saddam do terrible things to his people? Yes. But the notion that every nation should have a free democracy is naive at best and negligent at worse. Democracy in Palestine means Hamas. Democracy in Lebanon means Hezbollah. Democracy in post-WW1 Germany meant Hitler. Arabs and Jews are killing each other over an argument outlined in the OLD TESTAMENT! Are we so stupid that we think giving people the vote will make all their differences fade away? Voting is not a panacea. The vote can also be used by a majority to tyrannize a minority. History has proven this again and again. Democracy does not work for everyone.<br /><br />The justification for this war was intelligence that most everyone in the intelligence community didn't believe was true. It is clear that this administration had some other reason to go to war. We will never know what that really was. And so, as much as democracy won't fix things in Iraq - it can be used to fix things here. Approaching these mid-term elections, we need to stand up and vote against ANYONE who voted in favor of this war. Republican or Democrat. Get rid of them. We had a chance after September 11th to rally the world to our cause and we blew it by focusing our efforts against an innocent people: the people of Iraq. The argument that Saddam was a bad guy is an argument that can be levied against at least a dozen other leaders and was not a justification to invade that country. Our own soldiers are dying, Iraqis are dying, and we are quickly turning the entire Muslim world against us. I realize Bush did not have oral sex with an intern, but I imagine that a couple hundred thousand wasted lives, several billion dollars, and the loss of our nation's security is at least as immoral as a blowjob. Urge your Congressman or woman to support articles of impeachment against this administration and let's show the world that while the American government may be arrogant and ignorant, the American people are not.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1158939477197230702006-09-22T08:37:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:41.116-08:00Having a child forces you to consider things about your own childhood and more importantly the relationship you have with your parents. As a result of this self-reflection, you asked your mother at what point you stopped getting along with your dad. You are consumed by the worry you will somehow create the same relationship with your own son. She considered this for only a moment before she told you she didn’t really know. <br />“You didn’t always,” she said."You used to sit by the door and wait for him to come home - just like someone else I know does for you now."<br />“Yeah, I know,” you said. “But it seems as if I had a problem with him for most of my life. It's like aftera certain point we were almost incapable of getting along. Did he do something I just don't remember? I mean, it had to be something right?”<br />“I don't know what happened,” she replied, seeming to seriously consider the question. “You know – the two of you are very alike in a lot of ways – you realize that don’t you?” <br />“Yes,” you said. "But i still don't thik that's the only reason." <br />Silence.<br />“He was always very inflexible,” she said. “Nothing was ever good enough. Everything could have been done differently – better. That can be hard for anyone to take much less a little boy.”<br />“I remember drawing a picture of a football player catching a ball,” you said. “The only comment he had was that a wide receiver would never wear the number 53.”<br />“You were a very good artist,” Mom said.<br />“I know,” you replied. <br />Silence.<br />“What an asshole,” you whispered<br /><br />Later you call him. <br />“Hey Dad.”<br />“Hello, how are you?”<br />“I’m fine. Listen, are you coming over this weekend?”<br />“I was planning on it.”<br />“I need some help with something.”<br />“The toilet? You told me remember, you bought a new seat...”<br />“No, no. I was on my thing yesterday, my little...oh what is it called?”<br />“You’re scooter?”<br />“Yes. My scooter. And I ran into the door. I knocked it off the hinges.”<br />“You knocked the door off the hinges with your scooter?”<br />“Yes.”<br />“I see.”<br />“You’ll need some screws and maybe a drill.”<br />“Okay.”<br />Pause.<br />“So Dad what else is going on over there?”<br />“Well, I’m trying a new product. It’s to help with my bowel movements.”<br />“Really. How’s that working out?”<br />“Pretty good, pretty good.”<br />“That’s great news Dad, really great.”<br /><br />And then there are the conversations you have with your own son.<br />“Are you staying here today Daddy?”<br />“No pal, sorry, but Daddy has to go to work.”<br />“Oh.”<br />“I’m a working man.”<br />“No!”<br />“No?”<br />“No!”<br />“Then what am I?”<br />“You’re my Daddy!”<br />“That’s right pal – first and foremost I’m your Daddy.”<br />You like these conversations quite a bit.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1156858180746074562006-08-29T06:24:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:41.027-08:00<span style="">There<br />is wireless internet on your flight to Korea. You use Skype to phone home via<br />the internet just so you can have this conversation:<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Hey!”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Uh...Hey.”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“I’m<br />calling from the plane!”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Is<br />everything okay?”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Yeah<br />– isn’t this cool? I’m using the plane’s wireless internet to call you. How do<br />I sound?”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Uh...okay<br />I guess. Sort of chopped up.”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“So<br />what are you doing?”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Nothing.”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“Can<br />you believe I’m calling you from the plane using the internet?”<o:P></o:P></span><br /><span style="">“No,”<br />Sam says. “I can’t.”<o:P></o:P></span><br />"Crazy..."<br />"Yes."<br />"So what are you doing?"<br />"Nothing."<br />"I'm flying over the Pacific."<br />"I realize that."<br />"This is wild."<br />And on and on.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1149996755136771722006-06-10T20:29:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.928-08:00CollapseMy father called tonight to tell me that he received a quote from a roofer. It will cost $4700 to fix the roof on his house. I<br />informed him that since he has no job, income or prospects, and since I don’t have $4700, I will have to take some time consider our options. <br />“Well I guess you could just let the house collapse,” he said dryly. “You could just let it fall down on top of me.”<br />The irony that this was probably the best idea he'd had in twenty five years and we were incapable of acting upon it was not lost upon me.<br />“I’m going to let you go,” I said. “Have a nice evening.”<br />And then I hung up the phone and went back to making dinner.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1147320504549643402006-05-10T21:07:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.851-08:00I have a son. He is the most wonderful thing in the world and I probably have nothing to do with that. I didn’t even want to have children. My marriage was perfect before he was conceived. At least, that’s what I tell myself. When my wife was pregnant she would say things like, “I’m afraid things are going to change after the baby is born” and I would say, “Of course they are. If you didn’t want them to change why did you get pregnant?”<br />That is the wrong thing to say by the way. I figured that out even before the therapist told me it was.<br />And so when the baby was born my wife hated me. She was terrified at the responsibility that came with being a mother and she felt like I had abandoned her. I guess I had. I was scared too, I just didn’t want anyone to know it. I was a jerk because I was so scared. I wish I hadn’t been but I can’t change it now. Sometimes I don’t think she will ever forgive me for that. She says she does but I don’t always believe her.<br /><br />Our marriage is better now. It’s not like it was though – I’m not sure it could ever be. A child does that. It demands all your love and affection and so at the end of the day you are sucked dry. There’s nothing more to give.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1146458531196840182006-04-30T21:40:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.773-08:00My father is disabled and broke and lives on a social security check that totals about $1300 a month. His prescription drugs cost him almost $500 a month. My brother Doug and I own the house he lives in and we pay the mortgage. Because he is considered indigent, and unable to fully care for himself, the State provides a maid to come and clean his home twice a week. He also receives a free meal every day from a charity. He says the meal is horrible and so he gives it to the maid. I’m not sure that’s legal. The maids change frequently – the state doesn’t pay very well and the turnover rate is high. His current maid has epilepsy and my dad found her lying on the floor of his bathroom having convulsions. I asked if he was going to complain and he said he wasn’t. <br />“She's nice,” he said. “I don’t want to cause any trouble.” <br />My father keeps all his medications on the kitchen table. All $500 a month worth. He takes everything from anti-depressants to pain-killers. He takes Prozac and Oxycontin. Once he told me that the maid was always cleaning around the table and it drove him crazy. <br />“Maybe she's stealing your pills,” I said.<br />“I never thought of that,” he replied.<br />Now my father counts his pills every day. His memory isn’t that sharp and sometimes he thinks he’s missing pills when he’s not. <br />I inadvertently created a monster.<br />He still won't complain about her though.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1145935581021338332006-04-24T20:24:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.672-08:00When I was in high school I was in a rock band. We played cover songs mostly. We didn’t have a name because we<br />couldn’t ever settle on one. Every time we tried to come up with something the discussion would quickly degenerate into each of us trying to one up each other on the most ridiculous name we could think of.<br />“Let’s call ourselves the Anus Lovers,” said Kirt.<br />“How about the Monkey Fuckers?” added Mike.<br />There were four of us in the band:Kirt, Mike, Gavin, and me.<br />Kirt and Mike are dead now. Mike died first, then Kirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <br />They both died from drugs, though in different ways. I never really thought drugs were a problem but since I have two friends who died from them maybe I‘m wrong. <br />At Kirt’s funeral I said to Gavin, “This is the part of our band’s VH-1 Behind the Music documentary where you and I reunite and take the band out on the road again as a tribute to our dead friends. We rise like a phoenix from the ashes of our despair.”</span><br />Gavin laughed. Kirt was his older brother but it was still funny to him.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1145715695190743742006-04-22T07:19:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.605-08:00My father is 73 years old and he<br />lives alone. My mother left him twenty years ago. He has no idea why she left.<br />One night he asked me if I knew and I told him I had no idea. <br /> <o:P></o:P><br />I do have an idea though. I do. Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1145551174016926842006-04-20T09:37:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.518-08:00My father moved to America from Greece because he saw Elvis Presley in the movie <span style="font-style: italic;">G.I. Blues.</span><span style=""> Seeing Elvis have such a good time with the American Army made him consider the idea that there was a bigger, better world outside of his tiny village of Kastoria. If he hadn’t left Greece he never would have<br />met my mother and I wouldn’t exist.</span><br /> <o:P></o:P><br />Thanks Elvis.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1145406479036267282006-04-18T17:26:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.422-08:00My mother has reminded me that though I may not recall being coached in personal hygiene, she did hand sew my<br />1st grade munchkin costume, attend all my little league games, and bail me out of jail my junior year in high school without telling my father about it. That I never wanted for anything but still managed to feel neglected is only one of the curious aspects of my childhood. There are many others, as I’m sure there are for most people. It probably has to do with being a spoiled brat.<br /><br />My family moved to Houston from Philadelphia when I was five years old. My father thinks that was the first<br />mistake our family made. “I never should have taken your mother away from her family,” he told me one night as we sat drinking wine on my back porch. It was summer and the air was thick with black flies that seem to permeate the air at<br />that time of year. They kept dive-bombing into my glass like tiny black kamikazes. I hate those flies – even more than I hated that guy who gave me those bullets.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1145071158439219192006-04-14T20:17:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.322-08:00The other day I asked my sister if she remembers our parents instructing us how to brush our teeth, comb our hair, or even take a bath. My sister’s response was that she sometimes thinks we were raised by wolves. I don’t know if that means she does or doesn’t remember.<br />I know I don't remember.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15925817.post-1145018794019184682006-04-14T05:44:00.000-07:002006-11-15T06:18:40.237-08:00When I was eighteen years old my<br />father gave me his steel-blue Colt 9mm government model semi-automatic pistol because he was afraid if he kept it he would kill himself. I met a guy a few years ago who was really into guns and one night when he was at my house, he<br />asked to see it. I can’t remember his name, he was the husband of a woman who worked with my wife and we were making a go at developing a social relationship with them. This guy had been in the army and when anyone asked him about it he<br />would only say he had been “in military intelligence” and “couldn’t talk about it.” He liked to read Tom Clancy novels and he drove a Porsche. When I gave him the pistol, he held it to his face, sighted it, popped out the clip and after examining the bullets shook his head sadly. <br />“These bullets are crap,” he said. "They wouldn’t stop anyone.”<br />“Really,” I said, finding this hard to believe.<br />“Really,” he assured me.<br />A week later he arrived at my house with a ziploc bag full of bullets that he made himself in his garage. <br />“I couldn’t sleep at night knowing you had those crappy bullets,” he said. “I was worried about you.”<br />“Thanks,” I told him.<br />I hated that guy. I’m glad Sam doesn’t work with his wife anymore. We never have to see him.Life.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14138916470320902842noreply@blogger.com0