DCup Escapes!

It's been a while since I did one of these. I should be working on the revisions of the manuscript, but at the moment, I am too revved up to write. I've got things on my mind and those things are keeping me from focusing. Not to mention the fact that I've been Mrs. Edith Errand today and now it's already after 2pm.

This morning I ranted and raved at Mr. Golden. It wasn't at him, especially, because things have been so domestically calm of late. Rather, I ranted and raved and he listened. Mostly he listened because I did my pontificating and bloviating (don't get any bright ideas, he was already dressed) as I got out of the shower and performed my toilette. (That's lotion, makeup, hair, not sitting on the can with a book in one hand and my cellphone set to Facebook in the other, in case you're thinking something icky.)

Mr. Golden, or rather MathMan, calls that the Naked Lisa Show. I honestly don't get the appeal. I hate what I see in the mirror, but if he likes it, who am I to quibble? I have whole bunches of other people I'd rather offend.

And so there it is - I want to offend and yet, I hold back. Why? I have no idea. I guess it's the Libra in me, the middle child, the peacemaker. But honestly, some people are just dang getting up my nose. I don't know if it's the willful ignorance or the repetition that's making me more crabby, but the fact is, I'm coming close to having to remove myself entirely from the world for a while because - good heavens! - there's an amazing amount of, of, annoying stuff out there.

Let's just take, for example, those who are blaming President Obama for our current mess. Really? How on earth do you come to that conclusion? I want to give space for each side's opinion (see astrological and birth order info above), but for fuck's sake, really? How can you be a thinking, educated adult and not understand that we are where we are because of Republican policies? I'd call them failed, except they aren't. They've done exactly what the Republicans want them to do. They're gutting the middle class. You know it's easier to control people when you have a little uber rich top tier and a whole bunch of poor people, right? It takes a strong, educated middle class with a little leisure time to think instead of just having to devote all their resources to survival to make a democracy or a representative republic, if you will, work.

So those Republican policies of deregulation and trickle down and all that other free market nonsense? Yeah, it's worked. But in whose favor? And now there are people, some of them my friends and family, who want to scorn President Obama and the Democrats for not fixing the problems fast enough? For heaven's sake, grow up. You think the Republicans are truly looking out for your best interests? Check your bank account. If you're not a millionaire, you're fooling yourself.

I guess this is what happens when you keep it pent up. Eventually, it's all going to come out.

And before you go all "But the Democrats!" on me, yeah, yeah, I'm so not thrilled with them either. Their conclusion that they should move more to the right or bend to the will of Republicans couldn't be more misguided.

But here's the thing. Politically, they are the bad boyfriend. You know they cheat and they don't put much thought into what you might like, but sometimes they get it right. Republicans are political wife beaters. You know you're going to get the shit kicked out of you and then you're going to have to listen to them tell you why you deserved it.

That's why I continue to vote for Dems. Oh, and the fact that even though this current crop of Dems is far from stellar - I do still believe in DemocratIC policies. I believe in leveling the playing field through strong economic policies, public education, affordable higher education, fair taxes (that's fair, as in each pays their share, not The Fair Tax which is regressive). I believe that when everyone's lot improves, that includes mine. I believe that our government can and does work, especially when it's not being dragged down by people who want to get elected so that they can show us how bad the government is. Oh, and to personally profit from it, of course.

I've stopped paying attention to the daily rundown of the he said/she said of our political theater, but that doesn't mean I've stopped caring. I care very much. I worry, in fact, because I see us as a nation in decline. We're more interested in spending for war than education and health care. We've become such a bunch of gun-toting pussies that collectively we would rather trade our liberties for our security. We'd rather fret that that guy over there might have something our tax dollars paid for than understand that we all benefit from the common good.

And that's the shame of it. We're far more interested in being against things than for things. I mean, if you could show me the evidence that supports the notion of giving to the rich so that they can trickle down on the poor - I'd be for it. But I've seen no evidence to support it. If you could show me how having an election system loaded with money and lobbyists has benefited We the People, then I'd be happy to shut the hell up about publicly funded elections. But seriously, if someone gets elected courtesy of scads of cash given by corporate donors, which phone calls do you think will be answered? And do you really think most of our elected officials are doing the right thing or are they doing what will get them re-elected. Those are not always the same thing. Sometimes doing the right thing would require that they don't do what their corporate donors wish. I don't see much moral fiber or character on Capitol Hill on either side these days. Certainly not enough to say 'non, merci' to the smell of money.......

But I look around and see shuttered businesses and empty storefronts and houses on short sale and razor thin classifieds and I know my own story (I was laid off after the recession was declared over). I can't see it. I cannot see how anyone with a lick of sense can possibly believe that this is the result of anything but the Republican policies that we've been treated to since George W. Bush took office and reigned supreme for much of that time with a Republican-controlled Congress and later, a weak Democratically-controlled one.

The steam is going out of me again. I've said my piece. It's a waste of time, of course, because just as I know what I know, others know what they know and if they don't know, Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin will tell them. Don't believe your lyin' eyes. All of this is the fault of Barack Obama (they wouldn't deign to call him President Obama) and the Democrats. Vote Republican!

Yes, please do. I cannot imagine how much worse things can get, but please do vote Republican. Because if a revolution is going to happen, a whole lot more people are going to have to be made extremely uncomfortable (Do you have any idea how much fun it is to choose between electricity and water? Which can we least cope with having shut off?) More Republican "leadership" will surely guarantee that.

Most serendipitously, I received the following joke in my email today. It comes from my former boss Carole. She must have known that this kind of thing was on my mind. Thanks, Carole, for sending it. It made me laugh. It was bitter laughter, but it was a laugh, nonetheless.

LOST WOMAN

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him,

"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground, elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am,"replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault."