Just some kid from the Chicago suburbs that moved to the southwest, went to law school, and ended up confronted with shifting ideals. My thoughts...boring and unedited.

Monday, December 14, 2009

a failing experiment, lieberman exposes his inner douche, and rejecting clinton...

the health care "debate" (not so much of an actual debate as one side declaring "whatever you say I must oppose to the death"), if nothing else, has given us a glimpse into the state of the american experiment in governance...and that glimpse is exposing to the world that the experiment, two hundred some years in the making with archaic procedures, may be failing before our eyes. a system designed with a plethora of "checks and balances" which two centuries ago seemed like a brilliant means of slowing the pace of hysteria-induced mob-rule and avoiding the complications which arise from a single person exerting themself above all other considerations has now become a disastrous spectacle.

they wanted to call it democratic republicanism - so they gave us a house with popular elections on schedules which would avoid career politicians. only now the only way to get elected to the house is to become a career politician and to spend your entire term campaigning and racking up contributions from the very corporate entities that they once revolted against. they wanted to check mob-rule in the house, and so they gave us the distinguished senate. only now, compliments of an archaic super majority rule which has been grabbed by the republican minority to shut down governance has created a body in which perhaps three individuals dictate policy...each of them from not-so-heavily populated states. and so we have the de facto tyranny of the moronic few (cough cough nelson and lieberman) which overrides the will of the people and any hope of a white house occupant garnering actual power of the process.

we are left with a legislative process that apparently accomplished the founders' goals too well...it not only crawls along, but it has virtually stopped on any significant initiative thanks to an "oppose anything and everything" minority party supported by a funding scheme disinterested in the good of the american nation and its people. for those of us interested in history, and aware that the united states and our "experiment" are but a blip on the radar, it is fascinating to watch as the "greatest government ever devised" utterly fails at accomplishing anything. frightening...but fascinating.

and while I have not been entirely pleased with obama as of yet...I am not, like too many others, throwing it all on his shoulders (presidents always get more credit and more blame than they deserve in any of this shit). the only thing he can do at this point is call them out...and that should be our main disappointment - his failure to do so. instead, he seems to be edging congressional leaders to call their bluff...which I agree with, provided mr. president, you then proceed to beat them over the head with their own bullshit.

which brings me to mr. lieberman...has there ever been a more spoiled-brat-grude-holding-fuckhead as this in the senate? seriously...can anyone understand his position on health care reform? in 2000 he campaigns with al gore about how wonderful allowing folks to buy into medicare would be, particularly those between 55 and 65, who were fast becoming uninsured...earlier this fall he reiterates that avoiding a public option could be accomplished with allowing folks to buy into medicare if they were among those without insurance because they simply couldn't afford it. fast forward 9 years from the former, and only two months from the later - and suddenly he refuses to support anything that might be health care reform...and for what? simply out of spite? this guy's position can only be explained in two ways - there are a lot of insurance companies "housed" in his home state with its extremely corporate friendly laws that are providing lots of cash to his reserves OR he is simply a douchebag that is still pouting for being called out on his bullshit by a democratic party that started to grow a pair. either way...connecticut must be proud to call him their own - particularly the majority of residents that want a public option.

and while all of this happens, we will likely watch as some fuckheaded democrats join with their boneheaded ignorant republican pals to block any hope of returning to meaningful regulation of financial markets. and for that we have bill clinton to thank - a man that was so incredibly smart he was unable to see through the clearest fraud perpetuated upon the world by "economists" - "free market" ideology and financialization that, whenever tested, proved to be an utter disaster and failure. its time to purge the democratic party of these imbeciles and reject clinton's big R republicanism once and for all. I don't give a shit how smart this guy was...on the things that mattered he was an opportunistic idiotic shitbag.

dry clothes...

Friday, December 11, 2009

when your mind's made up...

seven plus years ago I left chicago on a whim for a relatively unknown corner of the united states...loaded up the bru with all my crap and came to the desert to ski. (yes, that's right, I came to the desert to ski).

a hell of a lot has changed in the years since. a companion was replaced by two furrier and much better friends. some of the most beautiful sites in the world have been visited - maps collected and memories forged, only to then hide them away until both could be replaced. friendships come and gone, some lasting only as long as a beer, some as long as a run or two, some forever. swat snipers on the porch and officers providing advice on cutting would-be burglars. countless miles logged on the highway and in the air. tolerances built and lost. degrees hung, and at times wasted. hands held too long, hands folded too soon. and there are people and times that have gone during those years that I miss dearly...and there are occurances and actions that I would much rather undo.

and in the end, all the horrible mistakes I have made, all the trouble and all the heartache, was worth every second just to get here, back to that place I was seven years ago...the snow falling in taos, fields of white stretching into the forest below...entire friendships to be forged and lost between the base and the top...entire lifetimes to be lived between the snap of the buckle and the cold of the chair.

if you have never felt that soft, white fresh pouring over your shoulders and clouding your vision as you feel branches brush past you down a forty degree pitch, you have yet to live.

its snowing again in taos...I'll be back in april.