Doing, i.e., filling every waking minute with a task, chore or activity, isn’t making me particularly happy.
Sure, it’s not a bad thing to respect time as any other non-renewable resource. The problem with doing, though, is that it’s like having: you can accumulate accomplishments in the same way as goods, but at the end of the day, all those goals achieved seem to vanish into thin air.
Why would that be so?
You Go, Gov-Elect
Governor-elect Deval Patrick has said he has “more homework to do” on legalizing casinos in Massachusetts.
Symbol of Security
This, from Glamour, so it must be so:
Police in your dream are a symbol of security in your life. Even if your dream involved trouble with them, it signifies that you will get unexpected help with a current problem.
Mild Winter, Guaranteed
Peter, Bonnie and I bought a snow blower last night, so a pleasant winter is almost a certainty.
Uphill Battles and the Mashpee Schools
Much to his credit, my son was quoted twice in the local papers this week about the shortcomings in the Mashpee Public Schools.
Both he and his wife have become grassroots activists for change and improvement, and since he’s blogged about this, I won’t recap the details.
History Lessons on Veterans Day 2006
For 3 years, 8 months and 7 days, the US fought in World War II: from December 7, 1941, the “Day That Will Live in Infamy” to August 14, 1945, VJ Day.
As of this date, November 11, 2006, the US has been engaged in the Iraq War for 3 years, 7 months and 22 days, the time lapsed since March 19, 2003.
The US was engaged in the Korean “Conflict” for 3 years and 1 month, from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953.
In short, the US has waged war in Iraq longer than in Korea and, as of a little after this upcoming Thanksgiving Day, longer than in World War II.
Liar, Liar
Bush admitted in his press conference yesterday that his fear-mongering about terrorists rejoicing if the Democrats won the midterms was just “campaigning”.
In an equally unlovely moment, Rush Limbaugh admitted not only on the radio but in the prime spot on his website that he’s just been “carrying water” for the Republican party, which has consistently betrayed his Conservative beliefs.
So, what’s the deal with this tidal wave of recent public fessin’ up, particularly by rich right-wing Protestants?
Must be a liberal media/Papist plot.
Heard of “Family Values” Lately?
I want to spend a little – no, a lot – more quality time with the exit poll pages on cnn.com, but on light perusal, my belief that in order to win, political parties need to appeal to unmarried voters (about 1/3 of the electorate) certainly held true this past Tuesday.
Election Addendum
Stan Jones, the Libertarian candidate for Senate, may have tipped the balance in Montana.
With 91% of precincts counted (there was a problem with a vote-counting machine, so the final results have been delayed), Jones has 3% of the vote – more than enough to have given the win to Republican Conrad Burns.
Meanwhile, Yahoo!News is reporting that all precincts have been counted in Virginia, giving Democratic candidate Jim Webb the victory over George Allen by less than 8,000 votes.
Victory for Dr. Dean
OK, so my Libertarian pipe dream of national domination will never come true, but at least the results of the midterms were a defeat for Bush and Rove, with the Democrats picking up 21 seats to win control of the House and taking six state governorships away from the Republicans.
The 28 states that will be led by Democratic governors include Ohio, whose voters trounced the loathesome Ken Blackwell, and New York, which elected corporate reformer Eliot Spitzer.
Regardless of political party, one can only rejoice at the crushing defeat of Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, one of several far-right nuts who politicized the Terry Schiavo case last year, not to mention the despicable Katherine Harris of Florida.
At this hour, Democratic Senatorial candidates hold narrow leads in Virginia and Montana, with a recount likely in Virginia.
Among the state referenda, propositions, and amendments on yesterday’s ballots, South Dakotans defeated what would have been the most punitive ban on abortion in the country, and Missourians approved stem cell research.
In a semi-failed attempt to “energize their base”, Republican right-wingers had put bans on same-sex marriage on the ballot in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. Republicans won contested governorships in 3 of these, with the Dems winning 2. The Virginia senate race at this hour is still too close to call; Wisconsin kept its Democratic incumbent.
Closer to home, I’m disappointed that Rhode Island voters turned down casinos and that Massachusetts voters rejected Questions 1 and 2, which would have allowed the sale of wine in grocery stores and cross-party political endorsements, respectively.
Mercifully, there were a minimal number of reports of dirty tricks and potential voting machine irregularities this time, thus sparing us the banana republic ignominy of 2000 and 2004.
Now it’s up to the majorities at both the federal and state level to make the changes some of us, evidently most of us, have been waiting for. Will the results of yesterday’s elections end the hammerlock on national politics by the religious wrong? Only time will tell.