I'm Awake at 8:00 on a Saturday

So the 3-year-old somehow or another wound up in bed with me last night. I don't remember why or when, and my partner in crime says she doesn't either. All very mysterious.

I was about to write about how the 3-year-old hadn't woken up yet, but she just stumbled out of her room. So there goes that story. For most of the last year, she had been waking up at around 8:30 every morning, which is when I need to be awake on weekdays anyway. Unfortunately, recently she has taken to waking up at 7:30 in the morning, which sucks. And it has now gotten to the point where I am waking up at 7:30 of my own volition. Hence, I'm awake at 8:00 on a Saturday. Crap.

Child-rearing is a very interesting experience, and another thing that I'm sure will be written about often here.

Once More into the Breach

Now begins attempt number two to do this blog. Clearly, it's been awhile since I've done this. I'm not quite sure how to start, but start I shall. Hopefully.

I will say that most posts will be a little bit half-cocked. I have to write while I'm feeling very strongly about something, and I don't typically feel strongly about anything for very long. As a result, I have no idea how often I will get to write about anything, because I'm not typically near a computer when I have inspiration.

Right now I'm just going to stew about the suckiness of the Texas Rangers' bullpen today, to go along with junky decision-making on the part of manager Ron Washington. You're really going to bring in Eddie Guardado, who has allowed a .200 batting average against right-handed hitters but a monstrous .350 average against lefties, to face the left-handed power hitter David Ortiz? Really? What the hell did you think was going to happen? Of course, that home run would have meant diddly if Frank Francisco had not completely fallen apart in the 9th, but there was no way to know that at the time.

Finally, Charles Grassley is going to hell.

Some Terrorist Is about to Explode Us!

This point has probably been made many many times before at other places, but why is it that every time the government tells us to jump, the media jumps? Haven't they yet learned that the government has a propensity for being, um, disingenuous about this sort of thing?

"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" isn't just a cute children's story, you know...

[title taken from my step-mom]

I'm Sick of All This

I'm sitting here, watching the CBS Evening News (something i haven't done in awhile), and i'm getting sick to my stomach. The lead story was the war in Iraq, with a focus on the president's press conference earlier this morning (the transcript of the conference is here). The story reported on a CBS/New York Times poll which said that 76% of the American people disapprove of the direction of the war, that 61% of the people think we should never have gone to war in the first place, and that 72% think the country is "on the wrong track". The poll also said that about 60% favor attaching a timetable for withdrawal to the funding bill, but for some reason the CBS Evening News didn't think that was important enough to report. All that to say, the country kinda hates this war. But clearly that's neither here nor there because the Decider is charging on into the breach or something.

Which brings us to today's press conference, and the source of my sickness. The presser was on the piece of crap legislation that Congress is going to send to the president this week giving him $95 billion with no timetables for getting the fuck out. (Congress agreed to such a measure despite the previously mentioned poll saying that a large majority of the public wants a timetable attached to any further funding of the war.) The president did his usual thank yous to Congress for kissing his big white ass, with some bloviating about being the Commander-in-Chief™ and scare-mongering about how T3h Terrists Are Going to Follow Us Back and Eat Our Babies if we leave Iraq. The best part, though, came during the question and answer:

Q Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about the Petraeus report, which as you say, will be in September, and report on the progress. Doesn't setting up the September date give the enemy exactly what you've said you don't want them to have, which is a date to focus on, and doesn't it guarantee a bloody August?

[...]

THE PRESIDENT: It does, precisely. It's going to make -- it could make August a tough month, because you see, what they're going to try to do is kill as many innocent people as they can to try to influence the debate here at home. Don't you find that interesting? I do -- that they recognize that the death of innocent people could shake our will, could undermine David Petraeus's attempt to create a more stable government. They will do anything they can to prevent success. And the reason why is al Qaeda fully understands that if we retreat they, then, are able to have another safe haven, in their mind.

Emphasis mine. Don't you find that interesting? The president blithely dismissed the lives of probably thousands of Iraqi civilians--not to mention maybe 100 US soldiers. Yes, it's true that pointing to September as the time for reëvaluation of our tactics and long-term strategy may lead to a bloody August, as t3h Terrists try to kill as many people as possible to "influence the debate", but that's just tough shit for all those people who will die. You didn't want to die? You shouldn't have been in Iraq, suckers. Too bad if you were born there and have lived there your entire life. You should have picked better parents.

Thousands of people die, and the president writes it all off because it fits into his grander scheme of whatever the hell he thinks is right for the world. I think Black Sabbath put it perfectly:

Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait till their judgement day comes.

Sick to my stomach.

In which i introduce myself

I'm never quite sure how to go about beginning these damn things, so i'll just kind of jump right in. This is about my fourth attempt at a blog; hopefully it's a little bit more successful than my previous ventures. I'm a 23-year-old male half-assed hippie (no really, there's a Facebook group) from Texas. I'm five days away from graduating from a major private university with a degree in political science, and from there i have no clue where i'm going. Which isn't entirely true, since i've applied to law school and all that. I just haven't been accepted anywhere yet. Waitlisted is what they tell me. Yeargh is what i say back (which is actually better than what my adviser says; he said it was time to start cracking some knees...did i mention that i love my adviser?).

I just finished the last two exams of my undergraduate career, which means that i'll have a lot more free time on my hands in the coming weeks; that's partially why i've decided to try my hand at blogging again. I figure that maybe i can say something useful over the next 12 or so weeks, and maybe someone will read it and pass it along. Not too likely, but hey, i can dream can't i? In the meantime, the real world me will be looking for a job and crossing my fingers over law school. How exciting for me.

It occurs to me that i haven't actually said too much about myself. So, here's me: I'm a border-line socialist, feminist, somewhat environmentally aware guy who is also a sports nut. I blame my dad for all four qualities, with some help from my step-mom and certain blogs on the feminist bit. I'm also not a theist. I'm not sure exactly where i fall on the god thing, but i do know that i do not believe that there is a god who does now or has ever actively inserted itself into human history. That i most certainly did not get from any of my family; they are all very religious (my father was once a pastor, and my step-mom is now one). I love music of almost all kinds, and i am quite the pseudo-snob.

So, finally, what will this blog be about? It will be about whatever the hell i feel like writing on any given day. Most days, that will probably be politics (specifically: law, feminism, queer politics, and maybe some election crap on the side), although on weekends it may be sports. What sports, you may ask? Well, at this time of year the only sports i really care for are baseball and NASCAR (yes it's a sport...bite me). Even then, baseball doesn't hold my attention all that long; i've gotten kind of sick of it recently. Normally at this time of year, i would also blog about basketball, but with the death of my beloved Mavericks (fuck you Mark Cuban, for pissing off Don Nelson), i can't bring myself to care all that much. I also love me some football and soccer. Also, don't be too surprised if i find a way to bring my two loves (politics and sports) together. I'm good like that.

I can't really promise that i will update all that frequently, because previously when i have said i would, i haven't. However, i will do my best. Until then...