Wearing my feisty pants again

Copy of letter I just sent to the editor of the Seattle Times -

Hello. I am writing with a brief comment about a headline I read in your paper moments ago: "Less-violent Iraq raises hopes for early withdrawal."

Early? Early?? Aren't we about 4 years and 8 months past the administration's wildest estimates? And didn't VP Cheney declare that the insurgency was in the "last throes" three years ago on May 31, 2005?

"Early" implies ahead of schedule, and all sane people would agree we moved out of that era a long, long time ago.

I don't know what it is about the late night-to-early morning, but the feisty just comes out.

DNA & Me

I recently got interested in the migratory history that my DNA would reveal after watching an astoundingly fascinating short series called African American Lives 2. This program showed a variety of African Americans what their DNA said about their ancestral origins and unknown heritages. The featured individuals, and no doubt most of the audience, were usually surprised by what they learned, and sometimes surprised to learn how far away their beliefs about their backgrounds were from the reality.

So, Paul and I ended up getting these testing kits from the National Genographic project. We sent in our DNA samples, and are now tracking the progress of our samples online - this is so cool!

Right now our samples are in step 4 of 6 - DNA analysis - and I look forward to seeing what comes of it. Although I expect it to confirm my self-described Euro mutt status, it'll still be neato to learn the details.

Also, Paul's ancestry on his mom's side is almost totally unknown, so this will be a great chance to learn more about his maternal lineage.
Stay tuned for more details!

You may not be surprised, you may disagree, but here's why I'm voting for Obama

I haven't read any of their campaign literature, and I don't get anything out of this. It's born from hearing pablum on a daily basis about electability, voter profiles, and foreign policy. If you agree or disagree, awesome. Just be engaged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Obabma campaign,
Here's why I'm voting for your guy:

1) Foreign Policy - this country has such a ridiculous wealth of natural and political resources that we've been able to squander it for over 7 years and still are only at war with just a few countries. Obama is the only candidate who will be viewed by our long-standing allies and our adversaries as someone who will seek paths other than warfare. Many foreign leaders have already said that he is the only candidate who can restore their faith in American power and ideals. Talking to your adversaries is not immoral - invading and bombing them is. Nearly every major religion - and numerous minor ones - seem to agree on this point.

2) Broad Support - Obama does not polarize the population like Clinton does - he has support from people from many backgrounds and political stripes. He is the electable candidate.

3) Constitution - Clinton voted to improperly turn over war making powers to the executive branch when she voted for the President's Iraq resolution. This is no more or less than a violation of the Constitution's explicit separation of powers, and so I can't see any reason she should be trusted with one whole branch of government. I spent two years teaching citizenship classes, hammering home the idea that only Congress can declare war. Yet, Clinton supported sloughing off this key responsibility to the President. Many would agree with the assessment that it didn't end well.

4) Change - Obama is the only candidate who represents real change. Clinton (and her off-the-leash husband) and McCain are about as establishment as you get. This world is increasingly multifacted and dynamic, and we need a person who is engaged with it on those terms. McCain and Clinton have been too isolated in the world of party politics for too long to have a real sense of the real world the rest of us are living in.

5) That Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi - Obama is smart, well reasoned, impassioned about his work, and surrounds himself with other bright people. Some would say that he's not that politically different from Clinton, since he has many former B. Clinton advisors, but flip that on its head: These former B. Clinton advisors looked at the horses running and chose the one they thought was the best. Clearly, they saw a real difference.

6) Experience - Some would say Obama lacks experience. First, NO President has ever done the job before, we're always hiring rookies. Second, he has sufficient experience with government to know the difference between good governance and bad. Third, he is not tainted with all the negatives in the foreign policy arena that his rivals are, so he will have greater access (read:leverage) with foreign governments than they will upon reaching office. Finally, Hillary wants us to grant her credit for her time married to the President, but how dialed in to key Presidential issues could she have been when she wasn't even aware enough to make sure Bill kept his pants on? And then he got impeached. So, exactly what relevant experience does she get credit for?

7) Energized - This guy and his campaign have got a lot of people energized. Just imagine what can get done when so many people are working for the same goal with such enthusiasm. And I don't mean just lefty goals, but solid conservative objectives like balancing the budget, ensuring government is accountable and transparent, and reducing our overseas entanglements so we can channel resources at home.

Headlines

This will take less than 2 minutes. Read it.


http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2008/04/15

High-Low lights

Probably not everything that matters, but it's what I have time for today....


I read last week that sleazeball Ron Perleman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for bilking investors or some such financial crime... and recalled from the cellars of my mind that once upon a time I'd applied for a job at one of his companies.
It was one of these sketchy group interviews that was more about selling the job to me than me selling my skills to the employer (Danger Will Robinson, DANGER!). Because I did really need a job at the time, I seriously considered the job, until my good friend Jeannie talked me out of it. Thank you Jeannie.

Unrelated....

I realized the other day that I have an on-again, off-again relationship with my inner ear; I used to think I had a form of position-dependent vertigo, but after seeing a very experienced physical therapist at Virginia Mason (Debbie Stewart, very good), it looks more like I've just got some minor but permanent damage to my inner ear. She said it may have been due to an inner ear infection, possibly quite a while ago, and even though I don't remember anything like that, it doesn't surprise me with the nasty war of proliferation that allergies are waging against my sinuses each year.

So, the great news is that the crazy ass dizzy spells I was getting - more frequently and more serverely over the last few years - are actually manageable by doing very easy though somewhat uncomfortable exercises. One such exercise: Look at a written word on a wall (calendar, piece or art, etc.) that you can read clearly from about 2 feet away. While focusing on that word, shake your heard side to side rapidly for 30-60 seconds. Try not to throw up or get a massive headache. Get a massive headache anyway. Nonetheless, doing these 'desensitizing' exercises has helped a metric ton.

Unrelated...

I miss my friends from back east. No, I don't miss VA/DC even one shred of an iota... but the really excellent people I had the good fortune to meet. And this isn't saying anything about my good peeps here, whom I'm truly happy to be able to hang with again, just that I wish could could easily see and spend time with ALL the people I like, and like a petulant child I'm bummed I can't have it all. East coasties: you are missed.

Meanwhile....

Pleasant surprise about having to call in sick last month with a bad case of the spins was finding out how many other people at work had experienced something similar, and were very sypmathetic. It's such a hard feeling to describe that it was nice to know that others understood how debilitating it can be.

And now....

Paul is working in the bakery, rocking out to Cookie's "Closing Time" and Marilyn Manson's version of "Tainted Love". We're getting ready to begin moving our stuff to our new place in 2 weeks, so there's a good deal of packing and sorting we have to do. I can't wait to move.

So much so that I'll say it again:
I. Can't. Wait. To. Move.

We are really fed up with our current situation - in 17 years of being a renter I've NEVER had problems with a landlord, and this is so goddamn irritating and stressful.

And, while we know that there's no 'perfect' living situation, this next one will bring so much of what we want, it truly feels like a stupid lucky blessing.

And over at the Wayne mansion....

Got my car towed this week. Ah hah hah. Hah. Turns out they really mean it about not parking on the street between 7-9 am. Hah.

Saw Ironman last week with some friends, a good ride.

Last night Paul and I fell asleep after exhausting ourselves from a few good rounds of rowdy giggles. Maybe that's where today's general sense of well-being comes from.
It's a good good day.

A passing

Paul's mom, R, passed away last weekend.

Some of you might have known that this was her third bout with lung cancer, and she held on for far far longer than any of the doctors predicted. There is something to be said for hardheaded determination.

I am grateful for the time that experience gave me to get to know her and other members of Paul's family better, and I am also relieved that she is no longer in discomfort.

While it is a bittersweet Mother's Day for Paul and his brother, it is one where we believe she's more comfortable, and hopefully having a good laugh with friends and family who have preceeded her.

We're Movin On Up!

Yes yes, I know, we just got here.... but an improbable array of circumstances have aligned to provide us the opportunity to move again (see how positive I can be?).

Anyway, we'll be out of the 1908 house(same year my Grandma was born) in North Seattle at the end of May, and will be moving into a 1964 house (same year Paul was born) in South Seattle around June 15th.

Those of you who weren't humanities majors will quickly spot a disconnect between last possible day here (May 31) and first possible day there (mid June). For that period of time, we will be participating in something I like to call couch surfing - more accurately described as relying on the kindness of friends. Many have already offered to put us up(THANK YOU THANK YOU), and we're still working out what makes the most sense.

Also, my ass-kicking mom is coming up to help us pack up our stuff, and I hear tell that my brother has also volunteered, which is very sweet.

Oh yeah, and we have a huge cake due on (drum roll).... the 31st! Hooray!

Both Paul and I are very confident we can do what we need to, it just won't be as easy as if we were staying put. That said, we're also feeling like the universe is taking care of us - we're getting into a much better situation and are genuinely excited about the new place.
Wanna see the it? Check it here.
[no, we didn't buy, but this site has the best pix]

Seriously, it's going to feel like we're on vacation when we're home. And, YES, we'll still have a guest room.

Take care, y'all, and may all your unexpected fertilizer deliveries help your tomatoes grow sweeter.

out