Well…listening to the repubs talk and block the repeal of DADT (don’t ask, don’t tell) all I can do is look back to the late 40′s when this same party (and to be honest, some of the Dems) said exactly the same things about the integration of the armed forces….and it is so funny to the absurd when you just substitute gays for African Americans in the comments from that time. Do the repubs even know that history exists? You wouldn’t think so with how they are treating this issue…an issue of civil rights where they always come out on the wrong side. Their primary argument goes to the idea of unit cohesiveness, readiness, and willingness to fight, and they just KNOW that allowing gays to serve openly will ruin the army….tell that to the Israelis, the Brits, Germans, and many other armies in the world. Tell that idea to the folks who have come up against the Israelis in any war they’ve fought. By keeping this policy, we align and compare ourselves to some of the most repressive countries in the world…where gays are still routinely murdered for being who they are…countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and countless others where the idea of civil rights has never taken hold.
It’s all just political BS where the repubs can energize their base by supporting this misguided policy; just a part of their larger plan to keep gays and lesbians in their place just like they tried for African Americans in the 40′s, 50′s, and 60′s, and deal another defeat to Obama. Are any of you tiring of these made up issues as I am? Let’s remember that the constitution (you repubs remember that document…the one you wave around all the time?) guarantees equal protection under the law…to everybody…geez….
Well…was just reading a review of Neil Young’s new album (yeah, I still call them albums) “Le Noise” in the Trib and it made me think about how long he’s been a favorite of mine…..it’s over 40 years now, and I can still remember hearing him for the first time when he was with Buffalo Springfield when I was around 16. I know it’s kind of cliche, but his music has been one of the few that I would consider the soundtrack that has been in the background of my life since I can remember. One of the things that I have always marveled at is his ability to get at the heart of America; even though he is a Canadian…maybe that’s why he has that unique viewpoint to his songs that deal with the injustice that is part of the US.
When I think about it, I can’t believe the same person wrote “Rocking in the Free World” and the wonderful little love song “Harvest Moon” that both give me chills when I hear them but then throws in songs about the strangest of topics that he takes just as seriously….like “Inca Queen” and “Welfare Mothers”. I guess what I’m trying to say is there needs to be a Neil Young in the world to help us see the absurdity, injustice, beauty, and love that is part of it….
I know this isn’t the one I promised but if you’ve read any of these, you know how important music is to me….
Well..I know I haven’t been too prolific lately and I don’t know why…there are quite a few things that are simmering but nothing has come to a boil and forced me to write about it to keep my sanity…what sanity there is left anyway….so I promise I’ll have more later today…probably on the repubs blocking the repeal of DADT…
Well…did the Ada thing yesterday since the Wings start playing tonight…won at pool and made a shot that Tom and I have been trying without success for maybe 35 years…I think I almost pulled something celebrating….Lost my outdoor table in the storm last night…it took off when the wind was blowing about 50…I’ll have to walk down the back of the place to see if I can find it later…feel kind of crappy today but I think it might be a bug this time…so I think I’ll take it easy for a while and see…more later…
Well…had a fun night last night out with G but I think I’m losing my mind again..have to remember to not get into political arguments here in west Michigan since I really don’t fit here…that’s two days in a row I’ve lost it and I don’t feel good about it. But, that’s gone now so let’s try again today to do better…that could be a new motto for everyone…let’s try to do better today. Had to move Wed out with Tom to today since the Wings preseason games start Wed night and it has been a tradition for the last 10 years or so to watch it over at OT with what little of the group that is left.
Not much else to do today…the dish has been screwy since Sat so I have a repair person coming some time today so I’ll have to hang around here most of the day…after going out for coffee and newspapers that is…more later…
Well…have been reading about the Red Wings getting ready for the start of the season and I just wanted to say a few words about Kirk Maltby…to start, I just want to say thank you…thanks for the hard work and for your contribution to what it is to be a Red Wing…the hard work, the teamwork, and for being a person that anyone’s kids can look up to. I know it must be hard to have your role reduced this season and to have to accept the two way contract where you’ll have to play in GR. But don’t think we fans don’t appreciate it…we appreciated you being an integral part of 4 Stanley cups and will never forget you doing whatever it took to make that happen.
So, from fans across Hockeytown, I just want to say thanks…keep playing hard and I hope to see you in GR this year…
Well..up late last night..got sucked in by a running of “Leaving Las Vegas” that didn’t start until after 11…I remembered it as a better movie from the last time I saw it but I think the context of my life was different then and may have led to identifying with it more in the past. Had a weird SF yesterday…was just out of sorts and got in an argument watching the Lions game….I argued that Michael Vick’s resurrection from dog-torturing felon to hero on the football field was just not right; that he shouldn’t have gotten another chance to make millions and go back to the pampered, privileged life that athletes live…the problem was that that my vehemence was out of character…I do feel that people can and should re-take their place in society when they have paid what the society has said is their debt…that they shouldn’t have to wear the scarlet A forever. Oh, well…another failing in the large group of them that make up my life.
On a lighter note…not much to do today…yay, I’ll bet you didn’t think I’d say that today…have to get groceries and take the bike tire back to have it fixed again…and maybe out with G later but who knows…I did get a post out earlier so look down to the next one…I may even have a couple more later in the day…just saw that the Washington Post has a contest for their next great pundit and I have to go back through the 350 of so posts that I have so far to find the right one to submit…no hope whatsoever of being chosen but it will give me something to do…more later…
Well…watched a great program on the History Channel over the weekend about Thomas Jefferson and one of the things that struck me was his thoughts that one of the great dangers to the republic in his times ( and I feel current times) was inequality in the society. He was concerned about the concentration of political and economic power in the few, relating it to the structure in England where wealth and power were expectations of the elites; and not earned by any effort of that class.
I see the same thing happening in our society right now, where the watchword of the rich and powerful is “I’ve got mine, the hell with everyone else” and is distilled in the fight to keep tax cuts for the rich all the while telling the rest of the country they have to tighten their belts, that they have to sacrifice because the rich deserve the rest of us borrowing $700 billion dollars to give to them. I marvel at the sense of entitlement that has developed with these folks exemplified by the Koch brothers who are bankrolling the Tea Party, and who revolt at paying their fair share of taxes but have no problem spending hundreds of millions of dollars to extend their privilege while trying to destroy what is left of the social safety net for the rest of us. I’m tired of hearing millionaires whining that they are not rich, that the expenses of their lifestyles make it impossible for them to pay one more dime in taxes, that they would have to give up one of the summer houses and send their children on one less European vacation, and they would have to keep the Mercedes for an extra year. I see this new royalty and their sense of entitlement as a repugnant distortion of the American dream that is much more dangerous than any terrorist threat could be..geez…
Well…this is just a short one that I had to comment on, from the news this morning coming out of the republican party in Montana…their party platform, in direct conflict with their lies that they are for personal freedom and against government interference, proposes that homosexuality and homosexual acts be made illegal again, not only in Montana but across the US. This is all a part of their hidden agenda to impose Christian Sharia law here in the US…well…maybe that is a little bit of hyperbole but if you think they are for individual freedom…you have to realize it is only individual freedom that they agree with, and they will sit as the arbiters of what that freedom will look like. I, for one, don’t believe that the majority of the country wants to return to the bad old days when a large part of our population have their lives criminalized and controlled as second-class citizens….and if you listen to these republicans, they want to extend this restriction of rights to all those who don’t agree with them. Geez….
Well…it’s my daughter’s birthday today so I’ll have to remember to text her at some point this morning…but also have to remember that it is an hour earlier in Chicago so I think I’ll wait a while…geez…why do the teams I follow have to give me a damn heart attack every time I watch them? Michigan State went down to the last play in overtime (yeah, I know, if they win it’s always on the last play in overtime) but it was kind of neat to see a trick play win it…I like to see creativity from these coaches and taking some risks.
Not much to do today…are you getting tired of me saying that? I’ll try to use some new phrases and see how that works out…I could say that I have lots to do compared to nothing…or I could just lie and say I have the busiest day in my life…do you even care? Sometimes I don’t even care….might have a short Sunday Funday out to Vinnie’s to watch part of the Lions game but why watch when you can predict what is going to happen…the Eagles will take the first series and move the length of the field for a touchdown…then, the Lions will go three and out or throw an interception that will be returned for a touchdown…making it at least 14-0 in the first quarter. Then, it goes downhill from there….
I’m still irritated about having two flats on the bike in two days…and it is a pain to have it sitting here with no back tire when I wanted to take a ride today..oh, well…