sometimes we are happy. mostly when we aren't thinking about the election.

Not Even Halloween Yet

You know what's scarier than the president not knowing the difference between Sweden and Switzerland?

More frightening than the president thinking the best policy with regard to Israel is to pull out completely?

Silly, it's the idea that the president and his aides believe they create the reality that you and I live and respond to.

"The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors ... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.'"

You Might Be Too Stupid to Work

In the last presidential election debate the president's response to the question, "What would you say to the laid-off worker" was basically a shift from jobs to education, his premise being that if you are unemployed for whatever reason, the antidote is more education. (I realize that the president has to deflect attention from jobs since what his adminstration has done to create any is so miniscule.)

Immediately I thought of the person with a degree or several, or the person who had taken technical courses, or the one who had many years of on-the-job training hearing this and thinking how would that help. I felt like his response was so telling--that for how religious Bush claims to be, he is not compassionate. I can guess he is hopeful and interested in the 'transformational power' of things. Would realizing that you didn't get a good education transform your joblessness into a job?

A few days ago I watched "Roger and Me" for the first time. The thing I took away from the movie was that in the eyes of some law-makers and corporations, if you are unemployed it is your fault--not theirs. That is the position Bush took when he answered the question in the debate and why to his mind it makes sense for the unemployed to figure out a way to better themselves. Essentially he was speaking to the person who was fired for their own fault, and further that all lay-offs are probably in his opinion the fault of the worker. Why else would you answer in such a completely out of touch and callous way?

If you believe that thousands of people are now unemployed because they lack some refinement doesn't that make you sociopathic in some way? I'm not afraid to label.

I'm Going to Marry Frontline

Last night PBS aired their Choice 2004 show describing the two candidates. If you missed it you can access it here: The Choice 2004

It was an even-handed opinionless look at the very different lives of John Kerry and George Bush from their education at Yale to their current jobs as Senator and President. The show was about two hours long and I was pretty wrapped up in it. The facts were none that I'd never heard before, but the manner in which they were presented was new: especially two interesting tapes of Kerry's name being mentioned by Nixon as a possible Anti-War organizer to watch (which he did) and Kerry debating the GOP's candidate for Massachusetts governor in the mid-90's.

What I came away thinking is that Kerry is just a very thoughtful person who will weigh all the options before making any decision and Bush has gut/providential feelings about things and sort of barrels ahead. The Kerry campaign would have benefited to introduce the candidate like this program did a few months ago.

All in all, friends, I'm still voting for Kerry and certainly not for Bush.

On the topic of the quagmire that is Iraq, here's an email from a reporter in Iraq that is just very depressing.

I Started My Christmas Shopping. Have You?

It is not often that I find the perfect gift. Naturally I am a bad gift giver who usually gives gifts that are never used and pretty much off mark.

My very cool three-year-old niece cannot read yet so I'm not afraid to spoil the surprise by posting her gift here. I cannot resist the idea of her not having the I-Message Barbie. She can instant message the doll and wait around a while until the doll messages her back. This way, if she has to get in touch with Barbie but really isn't feeling a full spoken conversation she can just IM her. I've mentioned this before, but I'm waiting for the day when we can all instant message each other right in our minds.

Stop Lying

Friends, I haven't forgotten about you. Just a little tied up with the endless debate coverage, the polls, loafing and a nice trip this weekend to see my friends get married.

(Isn't it feeble, at best, how I believe I have readers-on-the-verge: "Where's my daily post!")

Citywide Union Protests: I'm Editorializing, But It's My Forum

Over the last week a once loud protest is growing more sedate. The hotels in the area are being protested by locked-out workers who are striking for better healthcare. Since the protest began, the hotels have hired temporary workers to replace the strikers.

I have a lot of respect for the striking workers, not only because they're striking, but because they're striking. And without efforts like theirs I wouldn't be working only 8 hours a day (I'd like a referendum on that one, maybe some riots: I need a shorter work day) and not working on Sunday. Heck! I'd probably not even have any darn health insurance if it wasn't for these plucky unions organizing and doing their thing back when.

Walking around this city (what I would imagine is a union-friendly place) people don't really seem to be all that supportive of the drum beating and the pot-clanging. Annoying, yes, but attention is what they're trying to get so that you the presumably non-Union employee stops patronizing places with lockouts. I'm totally appalled that people will break a picket line.

A few observations I had walking around the the other day were that the protesters were outfitted with earplugs: their union at work, folks, as well as the odd protester taking a break from the chanting to take an important sidewalk cell phone call -- was he on his union-negotiated break? For some reason these things made me giggle. As did the completely unintelligible, non-rhythmic chanting heard at various locations, including the Omni. You know who you are. At times it becomes a very polyrhythmic interlingual affair. And, yep, I am shaming these hotels. Shame.

Completely Debate Coverage-Free!

A couple things...one that made me mad and one that made me laugh. Let's start with the good news. Hopefully by the time I finish telling this story I won't even need to get into the bad story.

So, you might recall the fantasy I had about naming sushi restaurants really, really badly. You know, Rope Neck Sushi for instance. Well, looks like my dreams have come true, sort of. Not that there's a crazy new sushi restaurant or nothing BUT I spied a brand new nail salon opening up shop in my hood. Name: NAILS TIME! I love it already! NAILS TIME!

It was the best of NAILS TIME!
It was the worst of NAILS TIME!
These are the NAILS TIME! that try men's souls.
Women's?

I'm going to personally thank the Polk Street Chamber of Commerce!

And now friends, the shocking bad news. Riding the painfully crowded 1 California last evening, I was touched (TOUCHED!) inappropriately! OK so, here's what happened: Me, I'm standing there in the front of the bus with all my shit including these two really heavy books: The Complete Shakespeare Works and the Arcades Project (Just transporting them, for we all know I can't read) when this sort of drunkish person got on and squeezed my elbow in a too familiar way. Squeezed. Like he knew me. And then when he noticed I was glaring at him as strongly as I could, he smiled at me, in that sort of "hey there lady" kind of way. So, I sternly said, "You know...DON'T TOUCH ME." Which, yes, sounded a little crazy and a little schizophrenic, but I was pissed. Oh, but wait. This got him way more pissed than me. He started shouting at me that it was a crowded bus and that I shouldn't expect not to be touched and all and I just kept staring at him until he came up with...the ever original...is everyone ready???

JUST GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!

It was kind of exciting. I haven't heard that since 1987 in Levittown, NY when I was innocently riding bikes with my cousins.

Don't think I didn't win because I didn't say right there and then, "Oooh! So original." I feel that even though I was the better man (mute) my victory was telling in that he got right the fuck off the bus a stop later muttering that he wasn't going to take that shit...LANGUAGE!

So, friends, I've marked this day down as not only a great day in politics but ALSO as a day of atonement. On the bus.