Friday, August 26, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
from the archives
two stages of the pencil roughs
Dark Teddy Pencils
Cover Inks
Dismaying final result
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
On leaving politics
I've written a few letters to my Democratic supporting friends worth sharing here. Briefly, the debt ceiling "deal" and it's ramifications have allowed me finally to let go and let the tide of ignorance and fear and hatred wash us all into the abyss. Because apparently we're going there no matter who is elected.
I am down to judging the administration by what they do, not what they hoped or planned to do but failed to do.
The individual points my freinds raise are valid; raising top taxes might not create jobs. It sure would undeniably add money to the till, and that would help save the safety net. Three years into his term, it really is time to look at the whole picture - where we were, where we are, where we're heading under Obama.
We're heading to where the Republicans want us to be, only with much more agony and arguing and embarrassment for the country, and a genuine crushing of the spirit of Democracy. If we're headed to the same place regardless of who is President - and i believe we are, representational democracy has ceased to exist - then just give the wheel to the Republicans and let's just look out the window and count cows.
The super congress will remove accountability for decisions that should be a job of the Congress, as they were elected to do. Now only 12 members will make these decisions, so the rest of the crooks can claim on election day they weren't for any taxes or cuts. The lobbyists can focus all their money on 12 people allowing them to achieve their goals quicker and easier with no public scrutiny. the shell game continues; more power out of the hands of people and into the hands of lobbyists.
The super congress will remove accountability for decisions that should be a job of the Congress, as they were elected to do. Now only 12 members will make these decisions, so the rest of the crooks can claim on election day they weren't for any taxes or cuts. The lobbyists can focus all their money on 12 people allowing them to achieve their goals quicker and easier with no public scrutiny. the shell game continues; more power out of the hands of people and into the hands of lobbyists.
My abandoning of the democratic party is simply doing what they have done to me. It's been 3 years now of capitulation and disappointment for the base. I don't think there ever was, or will ever be, a better chance to use the mood of the country to affect change than there was in 2008. And we got a candidate who promised massive, important change, but governed almost identically to Bush. We still have Guantanamo, we still torture, we still reward the wealthy while punishing the citizen, and oh boy, we have money for a third war now, undeclared, on Libya.
I NO LONGER believe we'd do worse under Republicans. We might do better as a people. Obama is a HUGE wet blanket for the Democratic cause. He's wiped my enthusiasm out with his frequent betrayals and failures and backpedalling - despite the good works he has done. I know he has done good things - but he doesn't inspire me like Clinton did, more often than not he makes me sad and helpless. I don't know a single Democrat with HALF the fire under them they had when Bush was in office. President Perry and VP Bachmann might be what we need to get people enthused about voting Democratic, or let me take that back, on saying Fuck The Tea Party.
Three years now and he still thinks if he says the right thing, the Republicans will join him and his agenda? That it's good strategy to praise Boehner's brilliance and patriotism while Boehner calls Obama a clueless communist liar? That makes Obama dumber n dirt in my book.
I'd rather just watch from the sidelines now, support independents if we ever get one that isn't a full blown lunatic, and wash my hands of culpability in a Democratic surrender to the worst instincts of our nation.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Another Reason "I Hate People"
I like to throw that phrase around; anyone who know me understands it selfishly means I hate what people do to inconvenience me, yet in general I am very nice to people - a sweetie even. But there are plenty of reasons to hate people, really, and I am reminded of one daily: the staggering amount of trash covering every bit of unused land in this city, and pretty much any city I have visited.
My exercise walks and rides take me through a wide variety of neighborhoods; rich or poor, one thing unites them: there are broken beer bottles, styrofoam cups, plastic shopping bags and cigarette packs on the edges of every street, and in every vacant lot or bayou or unused field.
Who the FUCK is throwing beer bottles and coffee cups and God knows what else out the window of the car? Does anybody know someone who does that?
I would bet you could ask a million people and they'd all proclaim their innocence. Yet it isn't being shipped in from a warehouse somewhere; there's trash EVERYWHERE.
I've never in my life seen anyone throw a beer bottle onto a street, but I guarantee you there is one on every street in this town. And the town I grew up in. And the towns I visit.
If I asked my neighbor if he throws garbage into my street and my lawn, he would surely reply NO!! in shock. It's a nice lower middle class neighborhood, integrated, child friendly, 50K income average. He's a well educated, married man in his 40s; they drive nice cars and take care of the yard. But two nights a week, they stack their garbage in front of the mailbox for pickup - in flimsy paper bags, garbage bags, old boxes. I'd bet less than 75% of what he puts out for garbage is still there when the garbagemen come to pick it up; the rest has been strewn about by dogs and blown around by the wind. Into my yard, yes, but more significantly into the general neighborhood. About half my neighbors can't be bothered to use a trash can, which costs, golly, at least $10.
Sidebar, this is possible because of another lovely aspect of human nature: the tendency to not think beyond or before the instant they are living in. More on that another day.
Some neighbors prefer the self-cleaning pickup truck method; put your garbage in the bed of the truck, drive a while, and the garbage evaporates, naturally, returning to the environment.
I don't have a coherent point here. I'm just musing on something that disgusts me, something that saps my hope for a better world, future, country. There are all these huge issues I debate on Facebook, political issues of budget and welfare and retirement, terrorism, religion... then I go for a nice healthy bike ride and realize as a species, we still haven't even learned not to shit in our neighbor's yard. That doesn't fill me with hope for a Utopia.
sigh. Sweet dreams!
My exercise walks and rides take me through a wide variety of neighborhoods; rich or poor, one thing unites them: there are broken beer bottles, styrofoam cups, plastic shopping bags and cigarette packs on the edges of every street, and in every vacant lot or bayou or unused field.
Who the FUCK is throwing beer bottles and coffee cups and God knows what else out the window of the car? Does anybody know someone who does that?
I would bet you could ask a million people and they'd all proclaim their innocence. Yet it isn't being shipped in from a warehouse somewhere; there's trash EVERYWHERE.
I've never in my life seen anyone throw a beer bottle onto a street, but I guarantee you there is one on every street in this town. And the town I grew up in. And the towns I visit.
If I asked my neighbor if he throws garbage into my street and my lawn, he would surely reply NO!! in shock. It's a nice lower middle class neighborhood, integrated, child friendly, 50K income average. He's a well educated, married man in his 40s; they drive nice cars and take care of the yard. But two nights a week, they stack their garbage in front of the mailbox for pickup - in flimsy paper bags, garbage bags, old boxes. I'd bet less than 75% of what he puts out for garbage is still there when the garbagemen come to pick it up; the rest has been strewn about by dogs and blown around by the wind. Into my yard, yes, but more significantly into the general neighborhood. About half my neighbors can't be bothered to use a trash can, which costs, golly, at least $10.
Sidebar, this is possible because of another lovely aspect of human nature: the tendency to not think beyond or before the instant they are living in. More on that another day.
Some neighbors prefer the self-cleaning pickup truck method; put your garbage in the bed of the truck, drive a while, and the garbage evaporates, naturally, returning to the environment.
I don't have a coherent point here. I'm just musing on something that disgusts me, something that saps my hope for a better world, future, country. There are all these huge issues I debate on Facebook, political issues of budget and welfare and retirement, terrorism, religion... then I go for a nice healthy bike ride and realize as a species, we still haven't even learned not to shit in our neighbor's yard. That doesn't fill me with hope for a Utopia.
sigh. Sweet dreams!
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