Grr!

Awakened this morning while in the middle of a dream. A dream where I was yelling & throwing things in anger. I might have beat up some people, too.

My alarm went off. The dream dissipated but the emotions remained. Not a good way to start a day. Hit snooze in hopes that a few minutes would calm me down. Only led to more irritation because 5 minutes was not long enough. Hit snooze again but remained awake to try to get into a more positive frame of mind. Got out of bed at 5:40 am. Still angry.

I hate to think what these interrupted dreams are doing to my health.

Breakfast & a walk with Loki helped but still mostly irritated.

I don't get Labor Day off. Part of the building is a sauna (fortunately not my part). Got to listen to a reading of an e-mail about how Barack Obama is taking money from productive people and giving it to the poor and illegal aliens.* Pandora One refuses to work but I got around that. It's Monday. I ate over 800 calories for breakfast and was hungry again at 9:00 am. Getting these whines off my mind is helping.

*I don't mind populist anger. Populist anger led to some very good things - 40 hour work week, voting rights, workplace safety rules, minimum wage to name a few examples. Anger is the only thing that gets people in power off their butt. Fear of the people is good for those in power. Helps keep them in line and realize that their power does not give them the right to abuse people.

This current wave of anger worries me. Seems undirected. No goals or ideas other than Obama sucks, taxes suck, bailouts suck, government sucks, tan foreign people suck, liberal media sucks, I've got mine - fuck you. The tax system needs reform. The debt being left to later generations is alarming. Corporate welfare is more damaging than personal welfare. I've come to terms with the fact that my Social Security payments are for the benefit of others, some of whom I care about, and that I won't see any benefits. Well directed anger can change these things but all I see on television and on the Internet is a bunch of white people throwing temper tantrums. Anger changes the world - temper tantrums just destroy whatever is nearby. I worry because I'm nearby.

I'm going to be different

Where did checker shirt dude come from? Did he climb over the Ted Stevens railing to nowhere?

I need to update Mary Worth watch.

Nobody likes those kind of people except Fox News Channel. Those kind of people get their own TV show.

Speaking of ham-fisted loudmouths, why doesn't any of them articulate why socialism is bad? I've heard the hysterics regarding how this stimulus package is taking the US down the path of European style socialism but not any reasons as to why this is a bad thing. I'm not saying it is a good thing, I just want some reasons instead of hysterical rants.

I'm just annoyed with the low standards of reasoning among the US punditry. People receiving a great salary to produce nothing. Really jump start the economy - tax these people 100% and redistribute that money to those who produce something. A bit of useful information, anything.

I promised I would not let emotions take over...

To paraphrase the great John Wayne:
I voted for him, he will be my president and I hope he does a good job.

White people love their apologies. I apologize for the Texas A&M chapter of the Young Conservatives and Ashley Todd.

How could I not include this cartoon in today's blog? Change the hair color to blonde and it would be a decent cartoon likeness.

I managed to not watch television this morning and did not turn on the radio in the car. The silence in the car was good. I think I will continue that practice on the drive to work.

I read blogs and the online edition of the B/CS Eagle. Seriously, Eagle dump the reader comments. Stop giving the ugly a forum. This crap would not see print in the dead tree version of the bird, so why lower your standards for online edition? At least hire a moderator.

Hooray for South Dakota! Hooray for Michigan! Hey, Utah! WTF You doing in California's business? California, fund a proposition in Utah banning the wearing of underwear. If Utah (UTAH!!? DEFINING MARRIAGE!) can dictate to California who should get married then California should get to dictate something to Utah. Or at least have some its citizens be less than equal. Fair is fair.

Blame me

Blame me, I voted.

Walter and I voted this morning. The line was a bit long; it was very short if your last name began with Gu - Z. This was for voter verification, once to the machine things went very quickly.

I joked with Walter that I still love him even though marrying him put me in the first part of the alphabet and into this long line.

I found the number of people having to think a while about where their last name fell in alphabetical order a bit disturbing. Maybe it was the early hour (7:30 am).

I would think Texas of all states would not have trouble with dual last names.

For some reason my maiden name ended up on the roll even though it was not like that for the primary. I just had to fill out a form and circle the error.

I was tempted to use my cell phone to take a picture of the screen before I cast my ballot but cell phones are not allowed. Both parties in Brazos County are pushing for machines with a paper trail.

A pundit on MSNBC actually said something interesting: Texas, because of its Hispanic population, has the potential to become a swing state in future national elections and that would be a nightmare for the Republican Party. 34 electoral votes in play. Take that Ohio and Pennsylvania! I'm not sure if I want this pundit's prediction to come to pass. Living in a solid color state has spared me most of the campaign ad ugliness.

Waiting for the Apocalypse

Tomorrow, I vote. For November 5th, I've declared a personal news black out. I will want to know who won but I have no desire to listen to or read post-election analysis.

I will laugh if the apocalypse fails to show up. Hopefully, people will remember the day that the apocalypse failed to show up and no longer take those who predicted its coming seriously.

Dog pictures

When Loki relaxes the tip of his tongue sticks out of his mouth. When we replace the floor covering we will take a picture of Loki with us to insure that we pick something that contrasts with his coloring.
Economic crisis? Wake me when you have something to eat or want to pet me.
Beware of dog, you might trip over him.

Poke Mary in the eyes!
Mix those metaphors ladies!

At least I was able to stay awake for the duration of the Vice-Presidential debate. My first thought afterwards: "Boy, Sarah Palin is loud."

Interesting indifference

Boy, Mary Worth is quite spry for a woman her age. When I am her age I hope to be able to move that fast in the middle of a sentence.

Moy no longer cares about the writing, Giella no longer cares about the art, soon the coloring person will stop caring and then the comic will become real interesting.

90% of mothers would make the same mistake, the other 10% would be at the party.

Amen, Joe, amen.

Speaking on nonsense, Walter and I will watch the debate tonight. Netflix said that the Muppet Show Season One: Disc One should arrive today. I hope so.

You know... morons

Clause 3, Article 6 of the United States Constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the
several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the
United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation,
to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required
as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

I added the emphasis.

During the work week, I watch Morning Joe on MSNBC while I eat breakfast. This morning some poll numbers were quoted - 12% believe that Barak Obama is a Muslim and 32% believe that he attended a madrassa. How much effort does it take to remain willfully ignorant?

I posted the quote above to remind people what our constitution says. Obama, a Muslim? No, but it does not matter. ...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

When Mitt Romney came to the Bush Library to speak, he should have quoted Clause 3, Article 6 and left. He should have kept repeating, "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States", until it penetrated the thick skulls of people trying to impose such a test.

Back to the poll numbers quoted on MSNBC. In a perfect world, when news people quote a poll showing a percentage of people believing something proven untrue the phrase, "you know... morons" should accompany the quote.

An example:
According to a 1999 Gallup poll, 6% of Americans believe that the Apollo moon landings were faked. You know... morons.*

It would ease my pain.

*You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons. - From Blazing Saddles

...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Holding my breath in the middle of the ice cream aisle

I'll dispense the advice, thank you very much. Mary does have a problem - she can give it but cannot take it. If Karen Moy does not get on with it then I will lose interest. I suspect the same thing happens to Karen Moy as she writes these things. Sad, that the author loses interest in the middle of a story. I predict the gap between potential and execution will be huge.

For the first time in several months, I wrote gags. The "You've Been Warned" project is coming to a close so now I need to write and draw new material. I bought a new mini composition book to write all my ideas down. I have a pretty decent head start. I bought a new planner case to hold my stuff. Transferring things gave me a chance to remove some clutter from my life.

I've added to my Sparkpeople.com tracker the goal of removing 10 items of clutter 5 days a week. So far I've not completed a full week but the tracker serves as a reminder and I would like to start a streak.

Since the West Virginia primary, I've found aspects of Hillary Clinton's campaign a bit troubling. I get the impression that part of her case for the nomination is her ability to appeal to ugly America. Can we leave ugly America out of this one? Their numbers can't be that huge.

I hope this is over by Wednesday morning. Hillary Clinton still has the options of holding her breath or throwing a huge temper tantrum in the middle of the ice cream aisle.

He called himself a conservative?

Prickly City's tribute to William F. Buckley finally makes it to print. This is actually the second in the series.

Too bad it took the death of William F. Buckley to remind people that conservative did not always equal raging asshole.

Respectful dialogue makes for boring television and radio.

Transcript of Barack Obama's speech about race

Read this. Click the link and read this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html?ex=1363579200&en=01c3df099739ddd0&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Wow.

Maybe I wasn't paying attention before but this is the first time that I'm aware of an African-American acknowledging the fears and concerns of white Americans in public. The things that some of us are afraid to voice because of the fear of the racist label.

What can all the experience in the world accomplish if you cannot unite people to a common cause? If you cannot convince people to think differently, what will you accomplish? If you will not listen, how can you unify a nation?

From this speech I gathered that Obama has listened, he can unite people and he can convince people to think differently in order to solve the problems facing the country.

Why are you still here? Click on that link and read the speech. Try to read for comprehension. It may be more words than some of you are used to but take it slowly and don't forget to click on next at the bottom.

Role Model

I've decided to use Hillary Clinton as my role model in changing careers. Using her as an example, I can have that career in commercial truck driving that I've always dreamed about. If I successfully graduate from the training program, I have 9 years of experience in commercial truck driving already, thanks to my husband. Through my husband, I know the rigors of commercial truck driving. I even rode with him once. So once I get that license I'm fully qualified to drive an 18-wheeler with haz-mat certification and everything. Forget the training program, I should go down to the DPS office and demand they give me a commercial license based upon my experience as the spouse of a commercial truck driver.

I'm a generous woman, if my husband wants to change his career to what I do he is welcome to claim 13 years of desktop publishing experience, 13 years of drawing experience, 6 years of web design experience and 10 years of office software experience. He's been in the room when I've done some of that work. I've talked to him about the process. Bounced a few ideas off of him. He's qualified.

Thank you Hillary Clinton for creating new possibilities and redefining experience! Thousands of men and women can rewrite their resumes based upon your model. Wives of plumbers have x years of experience in plumbing, husbands of welders now have x years of experience in welding and spouses of neurosurgeons can now add that skill to their resume. Why stop at spouses? Why not include the skills and experience of parents, siblings, roommates, life partners, co-workers, close friends and children? Thanks to you, Hillary, this country will never lack for skilled labor.

Disclaimer: my husband gave up the commercial license about 6 years ago. He does sales and management now. If you need some hazardous materials hauled don't call him.

Further disclaimer: I have no interest in becoming a commercial truck driver.

Another disclaimer: Yes, Hillary Clinton has experience as a Senator. That experience counts but to claim her experience as First Lady (state and national) as a qualification for President seems rather fishy. It would not be accepted for any other job.

Texas Two Step

Got home from the caucus after 9:30 tonight. Usually these things take no more than 15 minutes but the turn out overwhelmed the precinct chairs. Sign in took nearly an hour. Fortunately, the Obama campaign had prepared its precinct captains, otherwise several people would have been disenfranchised simply because the chairs did not fully understand the rules and procedures. I don't fully understand the caucus thing either but I understand it better than the chair.

I volunteered to be a delegate to the county convention for Obama.

As far as the caucus is concerned, Obama captured the most delegates in the precinct I live in. 10 for Obama, 6 for Clinton for the county convention. Two other precincts were caucusing in the same location; their delegates were split evenly between the candidates. The turnout for the primaries was 10 Democrats for 1 Republican. An important local election was being decided in the Republican primary much to the dismay of a lot of people.

Won't know the results for Texas until morning. All in all, this caucus experience was better than the 1988 experience, even if it had been a bit disorganized. Maybe the local Democratic party can borrow training materials from the Obama campaign.

Day 26

Mary Worthless Mary Worth: Day 26.

In Santa Royale, battleship gray is the new black. After 26 days Drew and Vera could at least order some food.

Vera does have two hours to kill before Ryan comes back so she starts a new topic. This could go on another 26 days.

I've added a poll to the right side bar.

What will happen first?

• My 39th birthday (Feb. 21)
• Mary Worth reappearing in her comic
• The sun going nova
• A definite Democratic Party nominee

Vote often, early and do not worry about the super delegates.

Political ramblings after comics

Mary Worthless Mary Worth: Day 24. Who knew a kiss could mean so much? Why does every woman in Santa Royale have blonde hair? The woman that suddenly appears in panel two is a vampire. That is why she can move so quickly.

This gag first appeared in Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack.

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I will be voting in the Democratic primary. Texans can vote in either primary regardless of party affliation but can't vote in both. I might go to the precinct meeting after the polls close (sort of a caucus - Texas is a hybrid primary/ caucus state). The last one I went to was in 1988 to support Pat Robertson. I was 19. Call it a youthful indiscretion.

From what I observed from that experience in 1988 the candidate with the best organization (people with knowledge of the rules) will have the most impact at these meetings. I don't know the rules or fully understand how these meetings operate but I should go to at least try to have my voice heard.

In 1988, a lone Bush supporter used a procedural tactic to shut out the Robertson supporters. All the delegates from that precinct went to Bush. More Robertson supporters attended the meeting but none of us knew how to work this thing. All that we were told is that this meeting was important and that we should go. We were all enthusiastic, passionate and inspired but very niave.

A week after the precinct meeting a guy walked up to me in the library. He attended that meeting and his mother was the knowledgable Bush supporter. He apologized to me for how his mother behaved and felt that the tactic his mother used was quite underhanded. He was also 19. I think he may have been hurt more than I was. I got over the incident and ended up voting for Bush in the general election.

By the time the primaries happen in Texas, I will have just celebrated my 39th birthday. Texas will be critical in determining who will get the nomination. I don't want Clinton to have it. Some reasons ideological but mostly for emotional reasons. I would like to participate in a general election at least once in my lifetime and not see the Bush or Clinton name on the ballot. I would like my nephew to continue his recently started adult life without a Clinton or Bush in the White House. I still want to live in this country regardless of whoever is elected and I can live with an Obama presidency more than a Clinton presidency. If Obama turns out to be an ineffective president at least he will speak to my higher ideals instead of my base fears. The republic had survived ineffective presidents, I can survive an ineffective president.

The precinct meeting; I've never attended a Democratic one. I worry about a repeat of 1988 happening across the state. I should learn the procedures as fast as I can and hope that I can make a difference.

Mmm! Giant Floating Background Donuts!

Mary Worthless Mary Worth: Day 17
Drew must really enjoy his coffee because if I were in his position I would have sprinted out of there by now. Something about this whole thing just feels wrong aside from the dating the boss angle. Sort of a creepy wrong, the kind of wrong that one enjoys in the moment but when the moment passes shame and the urgent need for a shower set in.

On a cheerier note, I'm glad to see the giant floating background donuts return. They are the most interesting part of this story line so far.

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I might end up voting in the Democratic primary instead of the Republican. Depends on how McCain does on Super Tuesday. One can learn a lot about a man by looking at the people who hate him. Some very disgusting people hate John McCain; he must be doing something right.

Part of me would enjoy watching a McCain/ Clinton election just for the prospect of seeing a few heads belonging to right wing talkers explode. They hate McCain but they hate Clinton more. Ah, entertainment.

Presidential Matching Quiz

63% Barack Obama
62% Chris Dodd
62% Hillary Clinton
60% John Edwards
60% Bill Richardson
55% John McCain
55% Mitt Romney
53% Joe Biden
49% Dennis Kucinich
48% Tom Tancredo
47% Mike Huckabee
45% Mike Gravel
45% Fred Thompson
43% Rudy Giuliani
43% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Exercise Log

This week I biked, rowed and ran 11.07 miles, burned 553.5 calories and weigh 175.9 pounds.

I create a goal and the first week of the new year a virus temporarily sets me back. I'm feeling much better now and confident of reaching my goals.

Monday: Bike - 3.99 miles in 15:00
Saturday: Row - 1.88 miles in 15:00; Bike - 3.58 miles in 20:00; Run - 1.62 miles in 20:00

I spent less time and worked at lesser intensity for my Saturday workout because of the several days of relative inactivity.

Next week's plan:
Monday: 10 minutes rowing and upper body weight training
Tuesday: 30 minute run - intervals
Wednesday: 10 minutes biking and lower body weight training
Thursday: 30 minute run - intervals
Friday: 15 minutes rowing and upper body weight training
Saturday: 20 minutes rowing, 20 minutes biking, 20 minutes running

On a completely unrelated note: the results in Iowa give me hope that for the first time in my life one of my choices for U.S. President will not be a Clinton or a Bush. I will have just celebrated my 39th birthday by the time Texas has its primary. My sister will be short of her 38th. It really is a time for a change.

A little experiment

This is a little experiment to determine how long it would take to for a Ron Paul supporter to respond to this post. It would also give me some idea of how many people actually read this blog. I have received a few surprises before. For example, a post complaining about my internet service provider got the attention of someone who works for my ISP.

I intend to vote in the Republican primary but am still undecided about which one. Not completely accurate. I have decided on a couple that I won't vote for - Tom Tancredo and Alan Keyes. Sam Brownback dropped out but he was also one I did not intend to vote for.

I actually like Ron Paul - the man, most of his record and ideas. I want to see Ron Paul do well in the early primaries because I would love to see the voice of the people, if indeed the internet buzz and fundraising really does represent the majority of people, overrule the voices of the pundits. I would also love to see this early state primary business eliminated and replaced with a nationwide primary or caucus. As a compromise, every 4 years the rest of the states' residents will pretend to care about the opinions of the residents of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Back to Ron Paul. I can see myself voting for him and agreeing with most of his ideas as long as I stay away from his supporters. Paul's candidacy has attracted a variety of people and some of those people have some nutty ideas.

My impression of the general structure of a pro Ron Paul posting or video:

1. Reasonable idea
2. Reasonable idea
3. Reasonable idea
4. Batshit insane and/or stupid idea having no grounding in reality or that history has proven completely unworkable
5. Conspiracy theory
6. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

This only applies to the longer Ron Paul posts or videos. The more succinct ones go straight to the conspiracy theory and the url. I usually go away when the stupid idea or the conspiracy theory pops up.

Just because Michael Chertoff bears a resemblence to Vladimir Lenin does not make Chertoff a Bolshevik or Neo-Con. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQxB5VKWlfg

I've mentioned Ron Paul six times. I understand that is the magic number to that causes a supporter to appear.

Let the experiment begin.

36% Democrat, 16% Republican, 48% Meat By-Products

You Are 36% Democrat

You're a bit Democrat, and probably more liberal than you realize. If you're still voting Republican, maybe it's time that you stop.

How Democrat Are You?

You Are 16% Republican

If you have anything in common with the Republican party, it's by sheer chance. You're a staunch liberal, and nothing is going to change that!

How Republican Are You?

Like 99% of Americans, I don't fit neatly into either party. Someone should inform the media.