Hey folks –

The Red Cross is saying that the death toll from the tsunami could hit 100,000. This more I think about this, the more it breaks my heart.

One of my favorite personal pathologies is avoiding sadness (even those times when it would be good for me) so here’s today’s drug of choice.

The Network For Good site provides a list of various organizations that are doing work in Tsunami relief.

‘deep Continue reading →

I’m beginning to think that all of us who voted for Kerry just have a bad attitude. Maybe they’re right – we are “nattering nabobs of negativity”**. Well, I’m going to change my tune, here are things I’m looking forward to from another 4 years of our beloved President:

1. By cleverly melding the Bible with the U.S. Constitution, civics classes & Sunday school can be integrated, saving time for teaching more important subjects like “Creationism Science” and “A Preschooler’s Guide to Modern Urban and Desert Combat.”
2. Admit it, having Iraq and Iran side by side on the map was really confusing. (Hell, til about say 1991, you couldn’t remember which was which anyway.) In 4 years or so, no problem: Say “Hello” to Haliburtistan!
3. Sure, it will probably disrupt our global food supply leading to starvation & wars, and yeah, it will definitely result in even more mass extinctions, but global warming could bring us a warmer, more tropical San Francisco! (& probably more hurricanes bashing %$^&*ing Florida)
4. An evil, toothless, atrophying regime in Iraq was boring. A ineffective puppet regime nominally presiding over a bloody, terrorist-friendly, fiscal-nightmare quagmire is a PARTY!
5. After the first four years, there were a few rich people who weren’t better off and a few poor folks who didn’t get the shaft. We’ll get all that straightened out.
6. Geography, once a national weakness of ours, gets really simple when you divide the world into “Us” and “Them” & with four more years, probably everybody will be “Them.” Think of the savings in map colors!
7. OK – can any of you actually remember (no looking it up!) each amendment to the Constitution that make up the Bill of Rights? The good news is that you won’t have to anymore!
8. Well maybe we can’t get around to getting health care for all Americans, or reducing our dependence on foreign oil, or even keeping kids from having too much arsenic or mercury in their water, but damn skippy if we aren’t going to keep all those homos from getting married! Hallelujah!
9. Roe. v. Wade was what? 1973? 31 years? Can you say: STALE! Hello?! Cluephone!
10. Being a newly converted Bush supporter, I can stop wasting time on the dumb things I used to do like: THINKING!

Did I miss any? Send ’em in!
‘deep

*The “I, for One, Welcome Our New **** Overlords” meme is from the Simpsons!
**Evidently this was a Spiro Agnew quote. I coulda sworn I heard it from Reagan though….. Continue reading →

Wow. I didn’t expect that. I’m writing this in the back of the plane on the way home to blessedly left-wing San Francisco.
Just a couple of thoughts:

• I guess the polls were right. A razor close election.
• I guess I was expecting a tiny victory or a landslide victory (because of massive young & undersampled vote).
  I wonder what happened – did the young people not vote? James Carville recently said something like “You know what a they call a campaign that expects to win because of youth vote – ‘a loser’.”
• Yeah we got massive turnout, but so did they. I wonder if this means the country is massively, equally Dem & Rep – or is this really more about security fears than party affiliation.
• Arnold went to Ohio. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for that.
• I’m glad I have SF to go home to. Many of my co-campaigners have places like Texas & Georgia to go home to.
• I have to say that I am proud of what we accomplished in FL and the way we accomplished it. Of all the many volunteer efforts I have ever been involved with, that was the smartest, best organized and most focused. I often get to points in a campaign where I say to myself about some part “This is dumb! I could do this better.” That never happened once here. They were so organized with what they were doing and did it so well, I was always happy to be a foot soldier.
• A quote from “The Lord of the Rings” that helps me in times like these “Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.”
• The only solace I have in my mood of quiet devastation is knowing I did everything I could have.

OH GREAT – I JUST noticed that the woman beside me on the plane is reading “Slander: Liberal Lies About The American Right” by Ann Coulter. Sigh.

She smells like a chemical toilet. All conservatives do.*

‘deep

*Oooh look! I JUST made “a liberal lie about the American right!” – the back of the plane on the connecting flight had the same problem!

OK – it is now many hours later. I’m on BART (home home home!) – I have to admit we (me and the conservatives sitting beside me) had a remarkably decent & respectful debate about very deeply held beliefs and facts. Thank god they were at least nice people. Continue reading →