Thanks For Everything

Just a quick note about John Edwards dropping out of the presidential race. What a classy & honorable thing to do right now. That's precisely what a real statesman, & NOT just a politician, should do. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for what he brought to the presidential campaigns, & I hope he stays in the national spotlight in some capacity for a long time. We need his voice. Best wishes to him & his family.

Saint Barack

He was already a rock star; now he's been canonized, by no less than the Kennedys. The stunning endorsements by Caroline & Teddy Kennedy have made the Democratic race a crusade now. Caroline comparing Barack to her father is no less than a "come home" call for all Democrats, especially those who were lured into voting Republican during the Reagan era. I completely agree with her assessment of what this country wants & needs: no less than a hero, someone who inspires us to be as good as we can be, to become the kind of country that inspires the world to be as good as we are. We were actually like that once, when we had statesmen & not just politicians, when we were an example of all that was good & fair in the world, & people in other parts of the world aspired to be like us. We can be that America again; we can become the conscience of the world again. If Barack Obama is good enough for the Kennedys, who have given so much to this country, he should be good enough for us.

The Kids Are Not All Right

I recently read a blog whose writer was appalled at the lack of sympathy for Britney Spears, especially from middle aged women. She couldn't understand why these women with daughters Britney's age were so vehement in their criticisms of her. I guess she figured that "there but for the grace of God" were their daughters. However, I think she missed the point; that being that they were critical of her as a mother of very small children, & I can understand that. Although I do believe that Britney has an undiognosed mental illness (probably bi-polar disorder or maybe post-partum depression, or both), even I - who am as sympathetic as anyone in the world concerning this - can't help but wonder how she cannot think of her children first in all circumstances. I believe any good mother would wonder this. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what your accomplishments are in other areas of your life (& I'm talking about both men & women here): if you fuck up your kids, you're an abject failure (& an asshole).

I know people say this all the time, but there really should be some sort of test everyone needs to take before being allowed to have kids ("Heil" to you, too - I know, I know). It's frightening to me how totally unsuited, unfit & sometimes downright dangerous some people are who have kids. Maybe it's because some people (especially women) still feel that they're viewed as selfish or not normal (or whatever) not to have kids. But I believe that if you don't especially want kids, for whatever reason, the desire to be a good parent isn't really there. Providing for their material needs isn't enough by a longshot. It is just as important to meet their emotional needs.

But back to Britney (I'm sort of obsessed with the subject lately, much to my own chagrin). Coming from the South, where people tend to both get married & have kids (in whichever order) somewhat younger than in other places, perhaps she felt it was expected of her, although I'm not altogether convinced that at least the second kid (if not the first) was expected. Unfortunately, she didn't have a very good role model. Her own mother has always used & exploited both of her daughters shamelessly. Using your own children as a meal ticket is an unforgivable sin, & I honestly believe that Lynne Spears will have to answer to God for that. So Britney already had that strike against her. Complicating things also is that the poor girl just isn't that bright. When she had people looking out for her (even though I'm not sure exactly what that means in her case) she seemed to be able to function, albeit as a robot. Her downward spiral seemed to start when she & Justin Timberlake broke up. Maybe he was sort of her anchor to some kind of reality, 'cause she seemed to lose her grasp on it soon after. Anyway, it's a really sad situation, especially for those adorable children, & I feel bad for all of them & I keep hoping there's someone in Britney's life who finally is able to reach out to her & convince her to get help before it's too late. The somewhat tarnished silver lining in this is that maybe it will make other parents of celebrity children think a little harder about what they're doing to their kids.

Our Long Ride on the Short Bus

Isn't it almost unbelieveable that it's taken EIGHT years for the American people to finally get fed up & be ready for & willing to change? Talk about slow learners. Maybe it's all the new voters since 2000, but I don't think that's the whole story. Maybe we just have to be plunged into absolute despair to be open to hearing about "hope". As I've probably said before, there's just no excuse to have voted for George Bush twice. OK, I'll give you a pass (reluctantly) the first time, but come on, people, even animals learn from their mistakes if the consequences are bad enough. Are we really that stubborn, or egotistic, or (I've got to say it) stupid? Just that alone is enough for the rest of the world to sneer at us; we've become both a bully AND a laughingstock at the same time, it appears.

Well, folks, we now have another chance to redeem ourselves, to show the world we really do give a shit about something other than fearing gay marriage & Muslims. Although I wish that Al Gore would have given us a second chance to do the right thing, I can't blame him at all. I guess there is such a creature as a recovering politician, & God knows he's been through enough crap already. And Hillary has disappointed me terribly, especially on the war. Edwards is right on all the issues, but that bus left the station a while ago, & now he's just taking votes from Barack. So that leaves us with Obama, who I have to admit I used to believe couldn't really be a viable candidate, both because of his relative inexperience & what I suspected was a still insidious racism in this country. To my delight, I've been proven wrong. For really the first time since 1968, it seems as if young people have a candidate they can actually believe in & work for. Barack Obama is a true rock star candidate, & could possibly be the catalyst for real change not only for this country, but for the world. And face it, experience is overrated most of the time. Probably no one has more experience in government than Dick Cheney. Do I really have to say more? I think that Barack has ignited a spark in all of us which does indeed give us hope. I could vote for any one of the three, actually, & in any combination on the ticket, but the only one who inspires true excitement is Obama. Since there's a good chance that it'll all be over by Feb. 5 ("Super Tuesday"), those of us in states that have primaries after that probably can't make history as far as the Democratic nomination, but we can all make history in November, & show the world, as Gerald Ford said after the Nixon resignation, that "our long national nightmare is over". Can we get it right this time?

Reality Bites

I am sick to death of the writers' strike. I like to watch TV, & since I abhor most reality shows, things are not good for me in TV land, & if the strike isn't settled soon, things will get worse & worse. I'd say I could read more, but I already read a lot. Sometimes you just need to stop thinking & veg out in front of the tube. OK, I get it, WGA, you're getting screwed on royalties, or residuals, or DVD sales, or internet content, probably all of it, but enough is enough. For God's sake, get somebody in there to negotiate for you who knows how the other side thinks, like agents, or proven labor negotiators for other unions, or Alec Baldwin (you know what I'm talking about if you read the Huffington Post), or somebody who can shake things up, not just make a point. There are lots & lots of people this strike is affecting, not just writers. All the production & post-production people who work for the scripted shows are out of work, too. You can only expect solidarity so long. When you can't feed your kids, or pay your rent, or go to the doctor if you're sick, then solidarity turns to resentment & anger. Sure, SAG & DGA support you, but these are generally people who make a lot more money than the others I've mentioned- they can afford it. Obviously, negotiations have not gone well; I don't know if they're still broken off or not, but just saying that you're right & the other side are souless money-grubbers is not working very well, is it? Yes, you're the ones who actually create the shows, but right now, that's just not enough, is it? Maybe before reality TV had such a stranglehold on the public (I guess there's no accounting for taste, or lack of) that was the case, but unfortunately, no longer. I don't know the answer to this dilemma, but I know there are smarter people than me out there who do. It's time for them to do something.

On another note, is anybody else out there terrified what Bush might or might not do in response to Benazir Bhutto's assassination? What a real tragedy that was, but the response from this inept, ignorant administration could possibly make the repercussions just as tragic. How insane is that, that we need to be afraid that our elected government will do something that could possibly lead to nuclear annihiliation? I really don't think that people are taking this situation as seriously as it should be taken. Pakistan is generally regarded as the most unstable country in the most unstable part of the world, & now this country, already in chaos, could be plunged into civil war, or worse. Maybe if they didn't have nuclear capabilities, things would not be quite as scary, but they do, & anyone not extremely concerned about this is just not paying attention, or a moron. Maybe praying wouldn't hurt, but sometimes I think that God just isn't paying attention anymore, either.

I know that most of the readers of my blog have come to me through Arlan, & I thank her, & you all, very much for giving me the chance to vent my frustrations on a somewhat larger stage than my living room. In spite of all that we have to worry about in the world, & all the problems we've yet to solve, please try to have a Happy New Year. Maybe we can all resolve to each do something to make 2008 a better, safer, & happier year than this one (like electing a Democrat president, for example). See you next year.

Twilight Zone

In whatever alternative universe he seems to inhabit, Dubya thinks the economy is "doing okay." I guess in Bushworld, he could be right. I'm sure that he & his friends are doing just dandy. Meanwhile, most of the rest of us are struggling to pay our bills, while our salaries are just not keeping up. I don't know about you, but I can't afford $3 gas & higher utility & food prices, but this president is so totally isolated from the real world, he doesn't have a clue. Not that he would care, anyway, & that's the pathetic part of it. I would pick frigging Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney over Bush, that's how disgusted I am with him. Not that I would even think seriously of voting Republican: the first & last time I would have done that was 1964, for Goldwater, & back then I couldn't vote yet (in the Dark Ages). Is it really possible that everything in this country is actually getting even worse than we thought it could get? The absolute saddest & most pathetic thing is that we all just have accepted that conditions in almost every area of American life CAN get worse. The American dream has become the American nightmare under Bush & his cronies, & I just cannot understand how we could have let this happen. It astounds me, & I'm pretty cynical.

Anyway, I guess we all should try to make the best of it through the holidays, but after that, we have got to get serious, folks. I read that Sen. Chris Dodd is considering running for majority leader in the Senate, & since he's one of the few Democrats (running for president or not) that actually has a backbone & at least tries to use it, I really hope he does run & win. To say I'm underwhelmed by what the congressional Democrats, especially in the Senate, have done so far after all the expectations we had for them is an understatement. They're still letting Bush fuck them at almost every opportunity. I mean, come on, we don't have to take this shit. What's really interesting is that despite the war, the scandals, the disregard of our civil liberties, & all the other outrages perpetrated on us for the past (almost) 8 years, again it may be "it's the economy, stupid" that finally resonates with people next year. Economic conditions sure aren't going to get any better; if anything, they'll get worse. If we would have another 4 years of Republican rule, I honestly think the middle class in America would be a memory. We'd become like lots of those countries in South America & other places in the world where there's just the rich & the poor, with nothing in between.
I don't think that my grandparents & all the other immigrants who came to this country hoping for a better life could have ever foreseen this happening. That still just might be the ultimate tragedy of the Bush administration.

In spite of all this, please try to have a good holiday season, & we'll take on the bastards again next year, ok?

Holiday Blues (or not)

I've had a love/hate relationship with Christmas for a while now (can you have a relationship with a holiday?). It sort of started when my daughter was small, & Christmas was really fun. Among my husband & myself, my parents, & several aunts & uncles, the living room looked like a small version of "Toys R Us." Back then, I had a lot of people to buy presents for, & although it seemed like a chore at the time to buy & wrap gifts for all of them, I kind of miss it now.

Since that time, I've had a lot of personal loss, a great deal of it just before or after the holidays. I usually more or less dread the season now, which is hard in our household because my daughter LOVES Christmas. Always has & always will, probably. Even though she doesn't get the huge volume of presents she was used to getting in the past, the season really means what it should to her, which is giving - not only gifts but goodwill & affection. And for some reason, this year things have been a little better for me & I really don't know why. I've never outwardly had a "bah humbug" attitude, but then I've never been one to show my sorrow or unhappiness to the world. Everybody thinks that everything is always perfectly fine with me, regardless of how I really feel. And I guess that's ok; why should you bring down everybody else around you just because you're upset or unhappy or grieving? Being repressed does have its upside, I suppose.

Now that I've thoroughly depressed everyone reading this (if anyone is actually reading it, I mean), maybe I should try to be a little more upbeat. As I said before, this year has not been such a downer for me, & I suspect that part of it is that my daughter's generally happier than she's been in a pretty long time. She's in a relationship that seems healthy, & she appears to know what she wants to do with her life long-term, without being in a panic to do everything right now. I guess I'm trying to say that when she's happy, I'm happy, or at least happier. She's basically my life, & that's not as sad as it sounds, because we've always had a wonderful relationship, & she's a warm, caring, intelligent & funny person. She's truly a gift from God & I'm grateful every day for her. Also, I'm not as behind on shopping as I usually am, so that's good. Maybe, too, I'm starting to accept my situation in life & not yearn as much for what I've lost or what could have been, & realize that there's very little I can actually do about it, so I guess that's progress of a sort. Anyway, I am a little bit in the Christmas spirit this year; it was actually I who suggested it was time to put up the tree in our house, & I even enjoyed decorating it. For me that's definitely a plus.

In case I don't write again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season.

I Hate Them All

My daughter is a rabid fan of reality TV (those of you who read her blog already know this, of course), whereas I detest almost all of it. The problem is the people, for me. Generally, they tend to be the most whiny, narcissistic, ignorant & unpleasant people that you definitely do not want to know, or even meet. I know that a show about pleasant, bright, self-aware people would probably be the most boring experience ever for genuine reality TV fans, so I get the criteria used. And I do know why my daughter loves it; she's intensely interested in human behavior & the dynamics of relationships (& I suspect that feeling morally & intellectually superior to these cretins enters into it a little bit, too, though I'm sure she'd deny it because she's a good person, but subconsciously?) Anyway, I'm afraid that the writers' strike will result in even more of these train-wreck shows, as though there aren't enough already. I have to admit that I do watch more television than I probably should, but my favorite shows are scripted ones like "The Office," "30 Rock," "House," "SNL," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (at least partly scripted), "Grey's Anatomy," "Law & Order SVU," & a few others. I do have to put out there that the best show ever in the history of television was, & is, "Seinfeld." I can watch the same episodes over & over & never get tired of them. They're just as funny the 10th time as they were the first. That, for me, is brilliance, & we have so little of that these days. I loved "Arrested Development" & "Sons & Daughters," but apparently not enough other people did. Oh, I almost forgot "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" on FX (the characters are all insane) & "Rescue Me" are also favorites of mine (not that anyone actually cares what my taste in TV is, but I wanted to tell you, & now I have).

I guess what I'm trying to emphasize is that the production of the above shows actually require thought, & creativity, & a desire to do something that will make people think, in some cases, about particular issues or situations or relationships, & also to provide genuine entertainment, & not the train-wreck (I know I already used that phrase, but it's so perfect to describe reality TV) variety evident in reality shows. As I remarked before about my daughter's addiction to reality TV, it really does make you feel superior to these people, & maybe that does provide some respite from all the horrible things that have been happening in our country for the last seven years, so I guess it could be...not actually a good thing, but at least a distraction. But there are just so many of them, &, I fear, more to come. I'd call it the "dumbing down" of America, but a populace that elected George Bush twice could not possibly get any dumber - could it?

Some Thoughts on the Writers' Strike, & Other Things

God knows, I don't get paid for this at all (if somebody out there wants to hire me to write, I'd be ecstatic), but if I did, I'd be very pissed if I didn't get paid every time someone viewed my writing, no matter what the medium. Songwriters get paid every time their songs are played, so why shouldn't screenwriters (I'm not sure that term covers both TV & movie writers, but that's who I'm talking about) get paid the same way? What people forget is that every writer isn't like Larry David, worth a gazillion dollars. Sure, some of them are, but the vast majority are probably more middle class folks just trying to make a living. I happen to think that creative people should actually get paid more than the decidedly non-creative people who "run" show business. These are the people who entertain us, hopefully make us think, & generally keep a lot of us sane enough to live a relatively productive life. I imagine that for every script a screenwriter sells, he/she probably writes several dozen that don't sell. Also, these people are basically self-employed, & generally don't have the same benefits that most workers have. The fact that they have a union to help them get at least health insurance is wonderful. I know that unions don't have the kind of clout they used to, but they're still necessary in lots of ways. Just because we don't have 10 year olds working in factories anymore (at least in this country) doesn't mean we don't have other injustices that should be addressed. Unions are the reason we don't have those aforementioned children working anymore, for one thing. I had uncles who were union members (mostly the UAW), & without them they couldn't have made the decent living they did to support their families. Not to mention the wonderful health insurance, even for retired members, which unfortunately is becoming extinct. Unions basically built this country, & I worked in lots of political campaigns in the '70s that couldn't have been viable without their support. I imagine that lots of people today believe that unions are no longer necessary; that unions basically drive prices up & there are more laws protecting workers (hello-mostly because of union influence), but if unions were as prevalent today as they were thirty years ago I don't think we'd have had so many of our manufacturing jobs outsourced to other countries. The result of NAFTA & other trade agreements (all opposed by unions) have not only been higher unemployment in this country, but also the cause of so many incredibly shoddy & outright dangerous products being imported (can you say "Mattel"?). This has been the real "higher price" for our country. And don't even get me started about calling my bank &/or credit card companies & getting someone whose command of the English language is tenuous at best, & who can't deal with anything that digresses from the (obviously) printed list of problems/subjects in front of them. And this takes me to a related subject.

Does anyone know anymore what the term "customer service" actually means? I swear to God, the next time I go to a drive-thru or to the grocery/discount store, if the person supposedly waiting on me doesn't even acknowledge that I'm actually there, I WILL make a scene (my daughter knows I'm capable of doing it). I mean, it's as though they'll be struck dumb if they make eye contact- what is
that about? Ok, I know that a lot of these people are quite young, & the pay's not all that good, but were they raised by wolves? Were they truly never taught how to treat other people? I've been involved practically all my life in dealing with the public in one way or another, & not counting government employees (who I'm not including, because they get paid no matter how they treat people, & have always been less than gracious & helpful as a rule), I've noticed that in the last few years almost nobody has any concept of what this type of job involves. Most people who are supposed to serve the public act as if the whole experience is beneath them. As trite as it may sound, it's simply the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. It's not a difficult concept to understand, so I guess the problem is actually that it's too much trouble to make the effort for a lot of people.

I also think this somehow ties in with the nutjobs (do you hear me, Lou Dobbs?) who have a hard-on about immigration. In reality, the only jobs illegal immigrants are taking in this country are the ones that nobody here actually wants to do. If Americans are just dying to wash dishes, mow lawns, get up on roofs, & do other manual labor for minimum (& sometimes less) wage & no benefits, they can be my guest. Too bad that the immigrants here don't have more of those call center jobs we're outsourcing; they'd be a whole lot more conscientious than the people who're doing it now, & undoubtedly nicer. And the politicians who are so concerned about all these "illegal" people (& we're talking about Mexicans, right?) taking all those wonderful jobs should be trying to get the Mexican government to change whatever the hell they need to change to provide these folks with the means to support their families & provide them decent living conditions. From what I understand, almost all of Central & South American countries have this huge divide between rich & poor, with not much of what we would consider a middle class. This is actually the basic problem. Who in their right minds would prevent people from bettering themselves? Isn't that what our country is all about- or at least used to be? I wouldn't be living here if my grandparents hadn't decided that trying to make a better life in America was much better than struggling in the old country (in their case, Italy). Our country is truly a nation of immigrants, welcoming everybody, yet some people are actually trying to put up fences & walls to isolate us. Gee, wasn't there a wall in Germany that tried to keep people both in & out? That worked out real well in the end, didn't it?

I could keep on writing about this forever, but I'll save that for another time, maybe. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone (& how about those Pilgrims, now that I mention it?).

I'm Sorry

I need to apologize to everyone for the weird disparity of type on the last blog entry. I have no idea how it happened. I did everything the same way I've been doing it. My daughter tried to fix it for me (since I'm technologically illiterate), but even she, who can usually fix anything, was unsuccessful. I have no idea what this entry will look like when published. Oh, well, it's the content that counts, right?