Tilting · at · Windmills

I admit, I tried facebook, and while it has it's virtues, I simply missed being here. I admit, I am not sure how many people are actually reading this, but the idea of what became a major bit of self-expression going down the tube really did irk me, so , after several months of trying to make seucirty accpet my input, I am back here, tilting at windmills again!

OK, NO spoilers here.

However, I must say, I nearly cried at the end of this. David Tennant is arguable the best and most successful Doctor the show has ever had, and he just got the send of to end all send offs. I truly hope Mr. Tennant has a great career ahead of him, for he truly deserves one!

That being said, here a is a note of thought to chew on. After this episode, one might also wonder how this show could go on. I also see why people dislike the new Who. THAT BEING SAID, I remember how much I disliked Tennant at first. I was a major fan of Eccleston, and I thought that the writers at first were trying to package Tennant as the new Tom Baker. However, once they started writing in a manner that let David own the role, the role, and the show hit it's highest point ever. Yes, the story arcs here not only compare to the show we grew up with, they SURPASSED it, and surpassed TOM BAKER! So, I will be more than willing to give Doctor number 11 a good try. I know far better than to write off writers again!

That being said, I would more than welcome Tennant back.

Don't get me wrong: this decade has a series of genuinely good memories that I would not trade for the world. My trips to New Orleans (aka my Soul's Mecca.), my game with Rathess & family, Obama getting elected, meeting my friends at WMNF, and so on, but I will borrow a phrase from Kiarrh: the past decade is summarily fired.

I won't rehash the mess (that much) but I will not deny that in many ways, the 00's were the hardest decade of my life. In 2000, my image of my country and state took a ding from Florida's election madness. In 2001, the towers that were an always present sight up north got knocked down. 2004, I saw this country vote Bush in AGAIN. In recent years, my sister's Health took a dive. It did not help that I was very much poor for the whole of the decade. Pretty much, with the exception of my friends, everything that I took strength in, from my nation to my sense of self, was all stripped and ripped, and stomped on. I had all the responsibilities of middle age, but none of the perks.

However, this new decade is showing promise, for reasons that I will discuss later. Suffice it to say, if things work as I hope, by February, I will be a in very different position than I have been. I am not counting chickens before they hatch, but, if things work out, more than 3 years of pain and toil may finally bear some fruit, just in time so that Dad can finally retire without having to worry about what sort of mess his son has gotten into now.

That would also mean that I will have much more freedom to bug my friends and engage in misadventures, something I have already made a New year's Resolution to do. Life is short; I am not yet 40, and I know two friends from College that are already dead. I have wasted enough time worrying about who I am and what I am supposed to be; now is the time of the Harvest.

I hope 2010 brings us all happiness and prosperity; we deserve it, dammit.
Feliz Ano Nuevo

Hello there, I realize it has been a long time since I have posted here. There have been many reasons.

1) I noticed many people went to facebook, and I wanted to see how that would go. Now, all of my friends use it, and it has it's uses. However, I realize that I still need Livejournal, because it is suited to some of the more complex thoughts I need to express. Facebook is great for the compressed, precise blurb, and there IS a place for that. However, I realized that it not enough for me; I need to be able to sit down, write a paragraph or two, and see the thoughts I could not even express to myself come forth on the screen. So, I will be on facebook, and I will use it, but I will continue to maintain this journal. Indeed, when I learn to paste behind cuts, I will revive ideas that I never formed, like posting poetry or photos on here.

So, get used to my rants, because they are coming back. I confess, I have made a resolution not to be as political as I used to be. I do not regret voting for Obama, and I will still vote Democratic in 2012, because the best the GOP has to offer is still better than the worst of the Democrats. However, for reasons I shall surely explain, I do not have as much hope as I did last year. I realize that real "change you can believe in" is a lot messier, as the status quo is dug in so far deep even the White Rabbit can't tell how low the hole goes. However, as a paradox, I do believe that actual change and improvement is closer than we think, simply because even the thickest of heads realize the empire is naked.

So, in short, I will continue to express myself here, sharpening my chops for the time when, if I cannot get paid to write, I will at least know I am good enough to. I know I have a lot to say, and that I need somewhere to say it. If you come along and read, I cannot promise you will like it, but I can promise to do everything I can to make sure you thought the ride was worth it.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,560462,00.html

know many of my friends went to this school.  I still remember when Cooper Hall was the main hangout, back when the Elm Street Market was there. 

If this turns out to be a Hoax, I hope whoever did this hoax winds up having a long, long stay in Hillsbourogh County Jail.  If this turns out to be real, God help us.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/10/obama.heckled.speech/

OK.  I have about had it. 

Now, disclaimer, I realize full well not all South Carolina people are like this man.  One of my best friends is from there, and trying to move back there along with her husband, who is another one of my best friends.  Needles to say, I will be asking her about this person.

All the same, we have degenerated to the point that not even a FORMAL, TELEVISED speech by the President can avoid circus antics.  Yes, I realize Mr. Wilson said he was sorry after that, but he is not so naive to ignore the fact that damage is done.  This was an attempt to ruin a speech that was meant to be a key moment; GOP memos said if Obama could be broken on Health care, it would be his "Waterloo."  His apology is like being in a tabletop where someone throw a temper tantrum, then apologizes, knowing that the game was ruined.  Of course, this lowers the bar, since now everyone from High school debaters to Business execs knows what he did was out of order, but if Mr. Wilson's tactic works, he will get a hero's welcome from opponent of health care, as well as a lot of imitators.

In the case of my South Carolina friend, she is skilled in formal rules of debate, the ones that apparently Joe Wilson ignored.  I have no doubt she could write a lecture to Mr. Wilson about his decorum, something that comes with the white hot, acid burn, razor sharp rhetoric I have come to know and admire from her.  If Mr. Wilson was not a gibbering idiot beforehand, he would be afterword (and you know I mean that as a compliment, Ms. you know who.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzw4OB1ON08

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=111086&catid=8#comments

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/article1025529.ece

OK, I am annoyed as hell.  We just came very close to seeing oblivion in the economy, are still within the blast radius, and suddnely, here are some people rasing a riot because any health care is "socialism." And I am sure not one of these thugs watches Fox news, or even got paid by the insurance indistry that is spending one millions a day fighting health care reform.

And of course, Tampa puts it's best foot forward.  

Frankly, I think we are well past the point of "malice toward none, charity toward all."  These folks are willing to defend our joke of a healthcare system all because on the vague promise if their Bosses got rich, they can too.

PS; I love the sptimes article: choice quotes:

 hundreds of vocal critics turned out, many of them saying they had been spurred on through the Tampa 912 activist group promoted by conservative radio and television personality Glenn Beck. Others had received e-mails from the Hillsborough Republican Party that urged people to speak out against the plan and offered talking points.

If obama fails, it is because he was way too nice to these folks.  Granted, he does not want to martyr them, but if these folks think we will ever go back to the way things were, they are dead wrong.  They can hire all the scum they want, and that will not change the fact thay everybody knows they are one medical bill away form losing everything.

I need to post this, as one of my friends on another blog has posted what i wished I could say:

The Congress has gotten to be a lot like the United Nations. Senators and Congressmen keep talking about our nation’s health, but their words mean nothing. So, I have created this guide to help translate what they are saying:

When they say America has the best healthcare system in the world , they really mean America has the most expensive health care system in the world . We spend 15% of our GNP or over $5000/person/year (twice as much as any western European country) for a health care system that ranks at the bottom of list of industrialized nations when it comes to such health indicators as life expectancy and infant mortality. That means a lot of drug companies, health insurers, hospitals, specialists and medical goods manufacturers are getting rich for keeping us sick.

When they say Under healthcare reform, Americans will have to wait , they really mean The makers of medical equipment like artificial hips and knees want to see their product in every senior in this country—even the ones too sick or mentally compromised to walk. The people who make and sell these devices think nothing of selling the dream that grandma, who is paralyzed from a stroke, might walk again if she just had a new set of joints. They will put her through the risk of unnecessary surgery which can lead to complications like pain, blood clots, infections and death, in order to line their pockets.

When they say Healthcare reform will bankrupt America what they mean is Healthcare reform will cut our healthcare spending in half by giving us access to preventive care early in life---which will bankrupt the medical industrial complex.. In countries with sane health policy, money is invested in disease prevention. In our country, where every diseased coronary artery means a big fat check for a hospital, a cardiologist and the maker of coronary stents, we are encouraged to eat too much, smoke too much, sit on the couch. In addition to the short term medical expenses, that diseased coronary artery means time lost from work and maybe even permanent disability. If the best that our current system can do is pull us back from the brink of early death and let us live out our lives as semi-invalids, then our healthcare providers are not really trying.

When they say Healthcare reform will reduce our choice what they mean is Under a reformed healthcare system, Big Pharm will not be rewarded for making endless copycat versions of their competitor’s products. Do we really need six statins or ten ACE inhibitors? Such a plethora of nearly identical medications should result in decreased cost, correct? Since the drugs compete with each other. Au contraire. When Medicare Part D, the Medicare-Drug Company Give Away was designed by Congress, it resulted in a rise in the costs of the drugs most commonly used by seniors. There is no “free market” when it comes to health in this country. The FDA is bribed to yank cheap, proven drugs from the market and stamp its seal of approval on lethal products like Baycol. Just as soon as the makers of Plavix ($1-2/pill) can get the FDA to ban aspirin (pennies per pill), they will. That is not choice. That is the federal government holding a loaded gun to our heads and telling us “You will take the most expensive product, because it makes our buddies in the pharmaceutical industry more money.”

When they say Government administered insurance is bad what they mean is Why have an organization collect your insurance premiums and make payments to medical providers for free, when we will do it with a hefty mark up? Profit is always better---if you are a Ferengi.

When they say Healthcare reform will mean the death of our senior citizens what they really mean is What will all those ICUs and durable medical goods manufacturers and drug companies do if some of us decide to forgo the high cost of death in this country? On average, anywhere from $10-30 thousand are spent doing the equivalent of nothing (a very high priced and sometimes painful nothing) for those of us with terminal illness. The same people who claim to be protecting our right to choose are the ones who want to see every brain dead American kept alive in a permanent vegetative state like Terri Schiavo---for as long as our insurance will cover the costs.

When they say It’s socialized medicine! what they mean is We will be damned if minorities get decent quality health care! Who will fill low skilled, low wage jobs of the future if we do not physically and mentally stunt some of our citizens starting in childhood? Compulsory education for all is good for indoctrinating immigrant children into the American system of values, but it inflates the payroll costs of our nation’s employers. Health disparities are corporate America’s way of discriminating against minorities without violating the law.

I hope this guide helps. It is hard to participate in a debate if you do not know what the other side is saying.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/24/national/a172138D15.DTL&tsp=1

OK, long story short, Charlie Crist was sent a copy of one of the most infamous Nazi Propaganda films, and said he would be "delighted to share this with all of Florida."

This is the film in question:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jud_S%C3%BC%C3%9F_%281940_film%29

Now, I know Charlie is human, but he has a lot of people who are paid to help him avoid being careless.  In this day and age, he could have googled either the film or the website, and walked the hell away.  At this point, we are left with 2 choices:  A) he is careless enough to heap praise for Nazism in a state known for having a high Jewish population or B) well, I do not think he is a closet Nazi, though I do not think he would deny their votes.