Oh, Socialism, we hardly know thee!

I'm not going to rehash the idiotic claims that Barack Obama is a socialist and has a socialist agenda for the U.S.; there's no need to. Instead I will say that clearly people in this country do not know what socialism is, nor do they seem to be aware of the fact that socialism isn't some crazed, evil, theory that can't possibly work. It works for several dozen countries around the world, so why do we fear it so much?

During my time in graduate school a professor of mine told me that historically Americans vote for laws they want to apply to them WHEN they become rich; this often means that they vote for plans that offer no realistic benefit for them. I think this applies to elections as well. I don't advocate for Obama or McCain, but I do believe it's important to look at all of their policies and promises and consider what's being said.

The best part of this whole nonsense is that everyone seems to think socialism is inherently bad but everyone is demanding that the government "do something" about the mortgage crisis, the banking crisis, and the growing health care crisis. That is socialism, just in case you're wondering. If the government takes over and own the majority of the internal economic structure of the country, then that's socialism. At this time, the U.S. government is suggesting taking over the banking industry, the mortgage industry, and buying stock in failing businesses...hmm, that seems a little...iffy. Capitalism and a free market economy demand that failing business be allowed to fail. No exceptions. No bailouts. Businesses that cannot survive do not survive if you buy into the capitalistic idealogy, but clearly no one in this country really believes that. When times get tough economically, we want to know what the government is doing about it and we don't care if it smacks of socialism, not when there's a crisis going on.

Oh yeah, does it seem odd to anyone other than me that we've got quite a number of crises going on? I haven't even hit on the airline industry problem, the auto industry's issues, or the ongoing energy crisis. How the hell can all of these major industries be in such terrible condition? As a country we clearly have some serious issues! The best part is...we made this mess. And neither Obama nor McCain can fix it.

We're kinda screwed, aren't we?

Our Dogs

We went to Fort Worth for a TCU football game yesterday and since we were going to be gone overnight, my friend Mel watched the dogs for us. We got home around 5 p.m. tonight and the dogs went crazy, as if they've been alone for weeks and weeks and weeks. We were gone just over 24 hours and they weren't home alone for more than eight hours or so. Now they're both following us around and acting all giddy to see if us.

Dumb dogs. But it's nice to be loved.

Techno-idiot

I am not the brightest person you'll ever meet if you go by my ability to post to my blog from my cell phone. I read the mobile posting information and...it don't gel for me. Can't make it happen. I followed the instructions but nothing happened, dammit!

What's the point of trying to use the tech I'm told I should be using if I can't do the cool things I read about on the Internet. Why can't my technology just do what I want when I want? Blast.

Run down

Too tired to say anything other than, hey look, I remembered to post today. Maybe I'll say more tomorrow.

Often

I love this word...it sounds funny. And comes with a number of different pronunciations: off-en...or off-ten...or offin...take your pick. It's all good.

Completely unrelated note:
That Brooke Shields VW commercial really is freaky. She looks slightly crazed and desperate; it worries me, it really does. Maybe she just creeps me out. I don't know. She's just weird. I do not want to buy a Routan...ever. Thanks Brooke Shields.

Daily Journaling

So I'm currently procrastinating about grading and was surfing the web looking for suitable distractions when I read a post about daily journaling. It posited that it only takes 5-10 minutes per day to write about your day. I liked that idea; I'm pretty sure I have 10 minutes during any given day that I post in. Maybe it won't be exciting, or even interesting, but it'll be a post. Long or short, it'll get the job done.

Fiction

I wrote this at some point...but I can't be certain of when. Enjoy. Or at least offer CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.

The grating jangle of thirty wind chimes greeted Sy when she stepped outside the grocery store. The wind was high, whipping her hair into her eyes and month. Glancing up at the sky, she scowled at the pendulous grey clouds and hurried towards her car.

“Hey lady, got any change?” The whine came from behind her, youthful and brusque.

“No,” she snapped, barely glancing at the two boys sprawling next to the shopping carts and cola vending machines.

She heard one of them mutter fat bitch and stopped. She knew it wasn’t worth it but she couldn’t help herself. “What did you just say?”

One of the boys looked away, embarrassed, but the other glared up at her, “I said you’re a fat bitch. You know you could give us some money.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Why the hell should I give you any money? Need to take your pseudo-poor ass home to your parents and stop begging.”

“Bitch, you don’t know me! I ain’t got no parents!”

“Really? Cuz your braces say different.” A drop of rain splashed onto the concrete at her feet and Sy glanced at the sky again. “I don’t have time for this shit,” she muttered but looked at the boy again. “Here’s a thought, if you’re going to pan-handle then you oughta try to be nice and earn your change, you little shit.”

The more passive boy nodded and glanced at his buddy who muttered yeah whatever but seemed to decide to let it go. Sy smirked at them and proceeded to her car.

©2008 RKMack

Personal Algebra

(Me+Standing all day)lazy/papers to grade=no posts for you!!

Ok, so I'm madly in love with Stumble! even though I occasionally forget I have it. So tonight in an ongoing bid to keep from finishing the grading I so desperately need to get done by Friday, I clicked on Stumble! and lo, look at what I came across...

Dance of the Flight Attendant

I envy people who can draw because it is a skill I haven't the patience to learn nor the talent to drive me to learn. But it's purty.

So purty and so true.

Sweet baby fox tails!

I'm goofing around the web looking at ballet dance clips on youtube and I come across a reference to VoxDance.com - a repository of dance clips. There's ballet, contemporary, flamenco, and Indian dance. Many of the Indian dance clips come from Bollywood films.

If you've never watched a Bollywood film, then I give fair warning. The plot is, shall we say, a little confusing...just a tad...and they always give way to fairly elaborate dancing scenes. As an Indian friend of mine once said, "It ain't a Bolly film if it doesn't have at least 3 dance scenes."

So check out this one I found on VoxDance.com. It's the most energetic six minutes you'll spend staring at a computer screen! (And no, I have no idea what they're singing. And try to figure out what's going on with the mustachioed Colin Firth lookalike. If you figure it out, let me know.)