Blogs

I'm currently doped up with antibiotics, cough syrup and buddying up to my albuterol inhaler, thanks to the chest cold sitting on me like a 200 pound gorilla. So, for the moment, I'm going to put a brief note in here about some of the things that have bugged me regarding the campaigns and the debates.

Why is anyone really interested in what Obama, McPain, "O'Biden" or "Fake Fargo" plan on doing, when we all know that Congress will work to stall or pork barrel every damn piece of legislation the new president creates?

When a single piece of legislation must be shot down because of some two-line addendum totally unrelated to the original piece, who can really examine anyone's record with any understanding of that person's position? I'm not asking this to excuse anyone's record, just saying nothing can be gleaned from these damn votes to begin with!

I'm sick of Palin's "predator-lender" comments. Tell the truth, Sarah: people need to be responsible for themselves...but no, you're standing there, advocating BIGGER government, to protect us "dumb yokels"---and trying to convince us you're one of us. Randy and I have looked at the DTI numbers most banks are looking for...and they are way too generous. According to most banks, the house they say we could afford would be all we'd get to do any more. No movies, no home improvements, no book-buying sprees, no yarn buying(!), no video games... Hell, we don't even have cable or a dish right now 'cause it's too freaking expensive!

I liked that Sen. Biden had actually been to a gas station recently. It would have been nicer if he'd told us how much it cost to fill his car, but I suspect he'd only been there doing the campaign thing, not actually living a "regular Joe" life.

I'm sure I've got more to say on this topic, but I can't think any more. Must sleep. Must not cough. Must cork nose. Gross.

For years I've wanted to create some kind of "commune"---a friend suggested the Hebrew word "kibbutz" might be less hippie-laden grin. I like the idea of a group of like-minded families and individuals, coming together in a neighborhood to work as a team. The kibbutz could pool resources---financial and skill-based---and help each other.

This imaginary kibbutz would school the kids in the group by rotating teaching among the adults in the kibbutz. I'm really good with the English language and writing; I've always made an effort to have really good (legible) handwriting (since lefties get "picked on" by grade-school teachers so much!). Randy's really amazing at making mathematics just make sense. He's also really good at how to apply the math in physics. He's really good at history and has taught me a lot about seeing the long-term effects of past actions by one government or another. Imagine what other adults could bring to a kibbutz...chemistry, biology...

Now add in the art skills people develop in their hobbies. Randy is deeply musically motivated. If I recall correctly (I'm currently writing this under the brain-fogging effects of a cold...ugh) he had enough credits in music to declare a minor in it when he graduated from Miami University. He plays guitar very well---it's so soothing to listen to him play in the evenings---and can tinkle around on a piano, too.

I am more craft-oriented, as regular readers here probably know. I knit. I'm slowly getting better at my spinning. I'd like to eventually get a floor loom and learn to weave, but those suckers are hugely expensive, so it'll have to wait. I can do counted cross-stitch, but have lost much of my patience for the fiddly detail of the craft; the fabric accepts dirt too easily and the slightest smudge can really ruin hours of work.

I've always been interested in, but not very skilled at, growing things. This kibbutz could supply much of its own fresh vegetables and perhaps enough extra to be considered a market garden. Heck, go a little larger to a hobby farm, adding in some chickens, a couple dairy cows and maybe a couple sheep and alpaca, and suddenly this kibbutz could provide fresh milk, eggs and chicken plus sheep wool and alpaca fiber. And perhaps (depending on the size of the whole operation) even a sheep or cow for slaughter on occasion. (Not that you're ever likely to see me prepping one of these animals for eating.. ::shudder:: I love meat, but I don't know if I could handle that part of the job!)

The frustrating part of this whole idea for me is how little I'd be able to do, physically speaking. I'm still coming to terms with how much fibromyalgia is costing me in terms of who I wanted to be "when I grow up". I'm on a daily maintenance medication to manage the pain and other symptoms of fibro. I would be in so much worse shape than I am now, if I didn't have that medication. But, despite all it does for me, it can't return me to a symtpom-free life where physical activity doesn't have the costs to my health that I live with now. So as much as I would love to build a hobby farm and raise vegetables and chickens and prepare my own fiber for spinning....the kibbutz concept is the closest I'll come to that dream.

If you've read The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks, you might recognize this dream community I'm defining. I won't say more regarding the book, 'cause I hate spoilers!

If you've read much apocalyptic fiction, you've seen communities like I'm talking of crop up as the characters battle the event that has catastrophically changed society: aliens that look like elephants, astroids plummeting to earth, nuclear war, a major earthquake, a deadly disease...

...and that brings me to what started this whole post. (Whew! I wasn't sure I'd actually be able to get this connection to really make sense....maybe I did?) I came across this article, which confirmed for me again how all things are connected. It makes sense that something big like a collapsing economy would affect the health of the nation. I've been thinking about this concept for going on 3 years now as the backdrop to a novel I want to write. Now, here it is in fact.

And that's why I want to build a kibbutz. I want to surround myself with people who care about each other and help each other out. Unlike the neighborhood where I live now, where the only contact I've had with my neighbors has been a note on my car telling us we need to get the lawn trimmed up.

But first, I've got to get over this cold which has dropped down into my chest and leaves me unable to really speak aloud much (yes, everyone around me is loving that!) without a major coughing fit. Tomorrow, I'm headed to a doc-in-a-box for some help.

The scariest thing about Sarah Palin isn't how unqualified she is - it's what her candidacy says about America by Max Taibbi.

I want to draw attention to one part of this article:

Now I understand why I've felt Obama was the more attractive candidate; he represents me more than the other team.

I just read an article from the Times in London which has me shivering.

The parts that concern me follow (with my pithy comments after each quote):

Excuse me? People are out of work, the ecomony is tanking, banks are failing...and the entire country is going to watch the tragedy of a teen-age girl marrying her boyfriend because she got pregnant?

Respectable age??? Uhm, when I got married in 1990, I was 20 years and 6months old...and everyone said I was too young! And there's concern the bride might not want to walk down the aisle too close to her delivery date.... People, the cat's out of the bag. It doesn't matter when the wedding happens, we already know why it's happening. (And frankly, considering all else that's going on, I really don't give a damn, except to point out the utter failure of abstinence-only education!)

Is it a sign of how the Republican campaign had no good choices that the potential for scandal inherent in this pregnancy wasn't enough to keep Palin off the ticket? Or is it sad that this tragedy (a pregnant teen) had to be made public knowledge to get the public's eye off the possiblity that the exact same teen had already been pregnant and the family was passing her child off as her sibling?

This is funny? How? Forcing two people to marry because politics demands it??? What's next, marrying off Meghan McCain to Prince Harry? Or perhaps to someone in the Middle East to cement relations with the US?

It's clear to many people that teens having babies is not good. Not good for the teens. Not good for the babies. Why would any parent compound this situation by pushing or forcing their child into a marriage they may not want or be ready for?

I've quoted that one out of order because I want to highlight the last four words: support her pregnant daughter. Let me say this: When you stand opposed to making sure your daughter is competent in preventing pregnancy and STDS (by being against any real sex education) and you stand opposed to abortion, you have no choice but to support your pregnant daughter!

As for the wedding, I hope this young woman is not going to suffer too much for her mother's political interests. And I truly do hope her wedding is a very private affair---that the country doesn't literally come to a stop because a teenage girl marries the father of her coming baby.

....so I can shake your hand!

I was only given a link directly to the image. I would be glad to credit and link to the artist.

I'll let the video speak for itself: