The Collapse of the Enron Presidency

Josh Marshall uses a business metaphor to examine the Bush Presidency.

The Debate

What a bunch of crap. The moderator should have been given a switch enabling him to turn off microphones. I tuned out after about ten minutes, screaming at the tv for all of them to "shut the fuck up!" Ms. Huffington both impressed me with her dogged determedness and annoyed me with her lack of manners. She didn't get my vote, though. I'm not sure what the purpose of her being there was. I think she was there because she can afford to be. She's promoting Ariana, and she's doing it well.

Big winner: Arnold Schwartzenegger. He didn't look any more stupid than everyone else there. Second place was Ariana Huffington who was offered a part in Terminator IV.

Big loser: well, there were two. Tom McClintock, who looked almost like a senior statesman in the first debate, was invisible next to Arnold. All of his common sense was drowned out by the fireworks between Arianna and Arnold. Second big loser: Ariana Huffington who came across so caustic that she won no converts and made Peter Camajo look like a reasonable candidate.

I would like Peter Camajo if he were running as a Democrat. Unfortunately for him, he is running as a Green, and I am having to take medicene on a daily basis because George W. Bush is President of these United fucking States. If Ralph Nader hadn't been such an ass, we would be living in a different world. As for the Greens, they're a sad joke of would-be hippies who fart, think it's righteous, and call it singing. I am simply not interested. The whole country is being FUCKED right now because of their Bobo self-righteousness. Screw them. Peter Camajo might sound normal were it not for his association with those people.

Okay, today's prediction. The recall fails. What a bunch of clowns we witnessed tonight. Gray Davis looked down right reasonable in comparison. Tomorrow his numbers will go up. I'm still voting no on recall and I'm voting for Garrett Greuner, just in case. If it ain't Davis, give me someone who hasn't been tainted by this shit fest.

Living with Depression

You know you're depressed when your co-workers send you a get well card that says "by a vote of 10 to 5, we wish you a speedy recovery."

My hmo has a book they give you to help you figure out what's wrong with you so you can have the answers to the questions they're going to ask you when you call them to find out what's wrong with you. Anyways, I looked up depression in their book, and after checking five on a list of eight, I shut the book saying to myself, "what the fuck do they know."

Yeah, well maybe I'm not alone in this. How can any liberal not be depressed these days? Our common sense tells us that no one in this country is going to vote for a party made up of depressed people. Ain't going to happen. And liberals know that. So, fuck yeah, I'm depressed.

Still, retiring to a quaint and picturesque monastery where you can just grow roses and meditate isn't really an option, what with reality demanding attention and all. We all have to maintain. It ain't easy. For some of us, it's more difficult that it should be. My depression is beginning to debilitate me. I am less able to keep my opinion to myself than I need to be. I just want to be left alone. The problem with that is that I work in a service position, and if my services aren't utilized, then my labor needs to be refocused, i.e., reassigned.

The problem with that is that I'm a house servant, and the master will put me out in the field picking cotton if I don't straighten up and get along with the missus and the kids. You see, I'm a secretary to fifteen attorneys, most of whom respect me, several of whom like me, a couple to whom I'm very close. There are 12 women and 3 men. The three men are straight. Of the 12 women, 2 are lesbian and 1 is asexual. I have known most of them for over ten years. At different times, I have thought each of them fascinating. This is not one of those times. And three of them despise me for breathing the same air as they.

My boss thinks I have an "edge." After giving it some thought, I agree with her. I've made an appointment to talk to my primary care physician about a referral to a psychologist and a prescription for an anti-depressant. Maybe drugs will even me out. God knows, the political situation for America and the world doesn't look very promising. This could be a long haul.

So there, I've come out and said it. I'm depressed and I'm going to get help. As for politics, I'll try to get zen about it. It's all cyclical. This too shall pass.

Photograph of the Day

Well, two of them actually. This for art's sake (via Magpie), and then This for the sake of art (via Chris Paul).

Happy Birthday, Mama.

Born this day, 13 September 1888, Minnie Ashworth Droddy, the first daughter of Amos Owen Ashworth and Mary Heard. She married Joseph William Droddy about 1905, I can't remember exactly. She had 8 children, 16 grandchildren, and after that I lose count. We buried her in 1986, but she never died. She lives in our hearts, our minds, our souls. She lives.

From Vietnam to Iraq

This is from Col. Mike Turner writing for Newsweek. Impeach Bush now. No, wait, that'll take too long. Let's just vote his ass out next year.

And from the Philadelphia Daily News, Twenty Questions about 9-11 to which I'd like to know the answers.

And to my friends and family that ignore the questions and continue to shill for our draft-dodging President, never mind me, but ask the questions aloud and answer them in your heart. If you acquiesce and refuse to even ask the questions, you become accomplices in this tragedy. Shame.

From Eric Alterman

It is posted here with a loud amen.

"It’s a solemn day. Everyone is a bit quieter today in New York. The sky is as crystal blue as it was two years ago, when al-Qaida blew a hole in my neighborhood and killed almost 3,000 of my neighbors. Since that time our unelected draft-dodging president has:

"1) Failed to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.

"2) Failed to dismantle al-Qaida.

"3) Alienated the only countries that have had any success against al-Qaida.

"4) Ignored the connections between al-Qaida and Pakistan and al-Qaida and Saudi Arabia.

"5) Failed to oust the Taliban from Afghanistan.

"6) Failed to bring peace and security to Afghanistan.

"7) Failed to confront real security threats like vulnerable chemical and nuclear plants.

"8) Stretched our military so thin that we are once again unable to adequately react to emergencies.

"9) Occupied a country that offered no threat to the security of the United States.

"10) Passed the cost of that occupation on to my yet-to-be-conceived children.

"11) Absolved the richest Americans from financial responsibility for this hubris and folly.

"12) Made the poorest Americans once again pay the ultimate price for hubris and folly.

"13) Failed to support New York City and State when they needed the most help.

"14) Supported security efforts in Montana with more per-capita funding than either New York or California.

"15) Turned his back on the police officers and firefighters who saw their brothers and sisters run up the stairs of the Twin Towers as everyone else was running down.

"16) Lied repeatedly to the American people and the world about the state of risk and security."

Hey, Gray!
What did you learn today?

I missed the governor's part of the debate. The synopsis I heard and read sounded like an opera singer warming up: "me me me me me!" He's going to try to stay more in tune with us. What the fuck does that mean? What's he going to do about the fucking budget mess? A mess, I might ad, is his by virtue of the fact that he's the fucking governor. Yeah, Gray, remember that snide remark about the Legislature and the justices implementing your vision? Well, claim the budget as your own, asshole.

Can you tell I don't like Gray Davis? Okay, and as an additional disclaimer, Free Robert Rosencrantz, now!

What an asshole is our illustrious governor. Yet, reluctantly I am voting against the recall because those asshole Republicans cannot be allowed to win this fight. It's not that I want the Democrats to win, I just don't want the Republicans to win. They're dangerous.

Just in case the recall passes, I will vote for someone to complete Davis's term. Swartzenegger is a sad joke, swaggering around the state as a characature of himself, uttering movie lines as if he was Ronald Regan. Bustamante, taking money and opportunity as it presents itself, sees his opportunity for the big time. First thing he does is take $2 million from the casinos, just to send the message that everything will return to normal, only he'll be the one getting the big bucks. How cynical is that?

I liked Ueberroth the best. It's jobs! jobs! jobs! Fewer jobs, fewer taxes. It's going to take someone thinking outside the box. Sorry, Camejo, but you didn't tell me how you were going to convince the two political parties how to implement your revolution. Mrs. Huffington sounded a bit tinny, don't you think? McClintock didn't convince me that he wanted anything to succeed other than no new taxes. If every kid in this state went hungry and was thrown out of school, McClintock would call it natural selection. I find myself fundamentally opposed to that concept. It is in the interest of society to maximize the contribution of its citizenry by enabling them to better themselves, read education, healthcare, affordable housing. The list is longer, but you get my drift.

Vote no on the recall and then for your conscience. Right now, I'm voting for this guy.

Pain

I was surfing through the blogosphere this afternoon, and decided to stop by and see what Holden Caulfield's Lover was up to. After the first paragraph I felt as though I had been hit in the chest, and the air knocked from my body. Earlier in the summer, Holden treated us to a candid account of a love affair with a young man whom he called "Hero." It became clear early on in the relationship that there was no place for it to go. Hero came from a place of need. There is never enough to fill that void. Given time, the person with the need can make it go away, but it's not easy, and this time, there wasn't enough time.

I feel bad for Holden, but he'll be okay. He has friends who care for him, and that's the best medicene I can think of right now.