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Sick, sick, sick of it

Bill Clinton was in town last night but he didn’t stop by to see me. The former president did mix and mingle with about 3,500 folks at the Lamar University baseball field, according to local media reports. The visit wasn’t about the presidential race though. Clinton was here to get out votes for Democrat Nick Lampson who is running in the Texas 14th Congressional District contest.

If you’ve read this blog before you might have heard of Lampson. He is the former county tax assessor-collector here in Jefferson County and served twice in Congress. Twice the Democrat has served in Congress, once representing the district that had long been held by the infamous dancing crook Tom DeLay.

 Lampson is in what some polls show as a dead-heat right now, much like polls that characterize the presidential race in the same manner. I don’t like it, these close-as-cousin races. I used to like the excitement of a close race as long as it was for candidates with whom I had a marginal relationship. I also don’t mind my favorite football teams playing close, at least until they gear up for a comeback.

I’ve grown tired of the closeness, or at least perceived closeness of this presidential election. It’s non-stop election everywhere you look on cable and very few humorous TV commercials are presented, showing that we have become a nation that has lost its humor as well as its mind (I’m refer to a recent propensity over the years of electing dunderheaded Republicans to high office.)

Yes, I t hink I can finally say that I am sick and tired of this s**t. I will leave the letters blanked even though I think the president deserves to call a bullshitter a bullshitter every now and then! Oh and spare me the outrage you self-righteous sons of bitches. Yeah, I talk to you Ari Fleshier! Ari was noting his disdain for the president’s off-color remark while the illustrious VP with whom Ari dropped the “F-bomb” on a distinguished U.S. Senator on the Senate floor. So there!

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No storms among the calm

Howdy, from the public library. The respite from my personal computer — my work-furnished computer and Blackberry are off-limits for most personal uses — has been on the calming side. The exception to my calm are those times when a surging urge to write and publish something seizes the inner-workings of my noggin. The “Binders of women” comment by Mittens Romney in this week’s presidential debate comes to mind.I am hoping though that my new laptop shows up sometime within the next week since I am on annual leave until the end of the month. I mean, a man can only endure so much calm.

I have been following news the best I can by reading a newspaper here and there. Then, there is television. The cable news outlets just want to draw out the horse race in the election for as long as possible. A little entertainment comes elsewhere here and there but the closer the election day draws near the more the entertainment aspect becomes a rarity.

Of course, I’ve also watched football. I was disappointed in the 42-24 loss to Green Bay by the Houston Texans on Sunday night. The Texans clearly were outplayed by the Packers. And even though Houston had been unbeaten up to that point I didn’t believe they could go on forever without a “L.” In fact, I fully expect Baltimore to beat Houston this week although a regular-season-ending injury to Ravens beast of a linebacker Ray Lewis could lessen the chance of a Baltimore win at Reliance Stadium. With that said, I still see the Texans making the playoffs and possibly facing Baltimore for the AFC crown, a repeat of the 2012 playoff game when the Ravens won 20-13. Lewis could be back for that game. It all depends on recovery from his torn tricep and the surgery to fix up his beast of a boo-boo.

It’s a beautiful fall day outside. It’s sunny and 78 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The temp could fall to as low as 49 tonight, although I plan to be covered up and in dreamland when that happens. For now, I think I shall get into the outdoors and try to enjoy my first day of leave even though I have no plans to go anywhere, nor money to facilitate going anywhere. Same song, different verse.

 

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Meanwhile, between dinner and Sons of Anarchy …

Ah, I am running late today. I zipped in from work, enjoying a few minutes to relax and listen to the noise news on TV. I shouldn’t say that. It’s just some of the news I see on television is, unfortunately, noise especially when it comes to local news. I don’t want to get in it right now. That’s because I am hungry and have to cook something up quickly since this is one of the few nights I care to watch television. New shows on NCIS, NCIS LA and Sons of Anarchy. See military cops, cops and intelligence types and a biker soap opera. I watch well-balanced TV do I not? Tomorrow night, full-contact debate, feats of strength and street rules two-on-two hoops between the Mormon King and the Black Irish O’Bama. Wouldn’t that be fun?

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Republican hypocrisy. I guess we just have to live with it.

 “You don’t criticize the Commander-in-Chief in the middle of a firefight. That could be construed as putting U.S. forces in jeopardy and undermining morale.” — Bill O’Reilly, April 2004

What changed O’Really? Is the fact Iraq — which your neocon pals got the nation into while pissing away a chance to smash al-Qaida — is out of the picture? But U.S. and friendly forces are still dying from IEDs and Taliban dressed as police in Afghanistan. Does that not count, Billy Boy?

 “He’s the Commander-in-Chief. And what I find frankly repugnant about you and some of your fellow Democrats – you have undermined our president…” — Sean Hannity, March 2006

Well, let me see. Barack Obama is now the Commander-in-Chief and you, Mr. Hannity, and your ilk spent your entire lives for the last 3 1/2 years dedicated to undermining our president. The only basic difference I see is that a black man is now president and that has gotten millions of Republicans’ panties in a wad. Yes, sure there are the same old philosophical differences over taxes and now the Republican candidate for president appears to loathe people who are not like him, rich. You know, that whole 47 percent thing Gov. Romney despises.

 “And furthermore, one of the fundamental principles we have in America is that the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces and attempts to undermine the commander in chief during time of war amounts to treason.” — Pat Robertson, December 2005

Pat Robertson has said so many crazy things that this quote, by itself isn’t quite as insane as saying 9/11 happened because of pagans, gays and lesbians and Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of punishing us for allowing abortion. It still isn’t illegal to say anything that smacks of free speech though. And now Robertson, Hannity and O’Reilly can’t find enough hours in the day to criticize President Obama and call him names. Meanwhile, we are still, technically, at war. This fact was brought home on the most recent 9/11 (2012) when a terrorist attack killed U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, two ex-SEALS who were his body guards and a computer supervisor.

I don’t have to remind you how the country group the Dixie Chicks found themselves blacklisted and boycotted after lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience that she was ashamed to be from the same state — Texas — as President George W. Bush. Hell, I was ashamed to reside in the same state as Dubya did as far back as when he was Texas governor.

It would be silly — as in the juvenile manner Republican operatives feed to their crowds — for anyone to criticize the Republicans for disparaging Barack during a time of war and constant crisis. The best that can be done is to remind the GOP how often its members and leaders engage in hypocrisy to where it is a modus operandi.

I don’t pretend to be religious, although I find it interesting now and for a long time what others find in matters of faith. So I searched for and found an outline of a sermon from Matthew on learning from hypocrites. It really doesn’t surprise me that hypocrisy bent Jesus out of shape at times. I can identify although it seems the sermon focuses on the spiritual damage that can befall hypocrites whereas in my case it just mainly pisses me off.

 “23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

 “24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” — Matthew 23, King James Version

The fact that many of those same hypocrites who accused war dissenters of treason claim to be Holy men or holier-than-thou is also no big shocker. Hypocrisy is an affliction that infects the human race no matter the color, religion or station in life. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit to some hypocrisy from time-to-time.

Still, I find those who walk about on a larger stage and in fact tell others how to think presents a much bigger moral ambiguity. Those like the Fox commentators and other talking heads speak as if only they are right and are righteous. There is nothing anyone can do about this except to start thinking for oneself. I warn you though. It isn’t easy.

Oh, I lifted some of these quotes from a magnificent piece by Bob Cesca.com. Imitation is the sincerest (and easiest) form of flattery. Hey, I said thinking for oneself wasn’t easy.