I ya gotta be a loon....

I am glad I happen to be this one:


Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.


On the other hand... this loon Scalia on orgies and the 17th amendment (no, I'm not kidding)

Change of pace

I feel I'm blogging nothing but politics, and that depresses me (because for all that I enjoy your company, and am glad my rants are more than acts of public masturbation, I do this because there are things I want to remember. Things I want to share the memories of but memory is the driving force).

So, before the next fit of appoplectic vitriol (already fermenting) a bit on life.

The central coast of Calif. (Pismo/SLO/Morro Bay/Monterey) is a wealth of microclimates. Grover Beach, for example, is foggy, windy and, sort of, cold. That's where we live. Today the sun is gone, low clouds and spizzles of inneffective rain (the sort of thing a Seattlite would call dry).

The potted plant, therefore, need more water, because the wind sucks it right out of the dirt.

The dogs need more food, because they have to keep warm (and we need to get some carpeting they won't chew to string, so they can sleep (if they will) off the concrete).

But the block is pretty good. A double cul-de-sac, so the kids can play in the street. Friendly neighbours (none have brought a casserole, but it's that sort of feeling). The other side of our fence, is a middle school, so shrieks and hollers are the mid-day sounds (and we can probably take the dogs there... at worst there is a low fence we can use as an observed dog run [Token won't go haring off if we are there, well he won't if there is a fence. Maia has taken him on trails, so it might be alright to go to the unfenced dog-park, but why take chances?] and Oliver can chase a couple brace of tennis balls to his heart's delight).

Oliver, esp. seems happier than he has been. I gauge this from how he reacts to me coming outdoors (owning/keeping a dog is a humbling thing, I am not cut out for the role of petty god, and the sense of helplesness and guilt when he was never off a lead or chain was debilitating). He quivers. He sits (they must back away from the door and wait, or we won't come out) and waits. Were he a human, I think he would bate his breath.

And, for the first time in about two years, he has been having that symptom of doggie bliss, "happy pee," (when I worked for the vet this was a source of great consternation to owners, and just a fact of life to us. Dogs who are gleeful, will piddle, not much, but more than a spot. Most owners don't see this, because they are an ever present fact of life.. take them to the vet; leave them for three days, in the care of strangers, and suffering indignities, and they'll wet the floor and try to sprain a tail saying hello).

So things proceed.

I'll be out of town for a week (no idea yet about net-access, so I may be in hiatus, but that happens anyway), and coming home looks better than it has in ages.

The promised fermentation

I was afraid they would, and they have.

The Bush White House is using the discrediting of the CBS Memos to rewrite the facts. The idea seems to be innocence by association (it goes like this... 1: the Memos, were forged; ergo those charges are baseless [objection, assumes facts not in evidence] 2: there are other charges out there, they must also be false... because we know the Memos were made up, so all charges must be baseless; 3: therefore he is not guilty of any failures in the completion of his Nat. Guard duties).

But, not to mince words, what is being said, is a pack of lies.

""The president was transferring to Alabama to perform equivalent duty in a non-flying capacity, making a flight physical unnecessary," the White House said." in response to questions from the AP, they went on to say, "Bush has maintained he fulfilled all of his National Guard requirements and served honorably." When more questions were asked by the AP about "whether Bush ever participated in a disciplinary process during his Guard service, whether he ever received a critical report or was ever present for a conversation in which his performance, conduct or physical condition were raised by a superior officer.

"No and this is clear from the president's records, which have been made public," the White House said in an e-mail response.

The Texas Air National Guard stripped Bush of his pilot status in August 1972 for failing to take the annual medical exam required of all pilots. Former Air National Guard officials say it was rare for a pilot to skip his physical exam.

"No," the White House replied when asked whether Bush ever failed a medical exam in the Guard or had a medical problem that would have temporarily or permanently disqualified him from flying."

White House press conference

But the facts of the matter are quite different. Bush signed on to fly, and he agreed to fly for six years, he flew for three and a half, (then again, he has been on vacation for something like 40 percent of his presidency, so that seems about right). So he failed to meet the obligation.

His job was pilot. That means he was obliged to maintain flight status, so he failed another obligation.

He was disciplined, so someone is lying about that.

Now... was he AWOL... hard to say. Is he a deserter, no..., that's a decision only to be reached by a court, and he was never charged, much less convicted, but to say his service was fulfilled, to say he met all his obligations, is wrong.

Do I care? Not really. That was a long time ago, and a different war. I remember telling my mother I wanted to be a cop, because cops don't get drafted. Even as a Nat.Guard member, who was volunteered to go overseas I don't much care.

But as a citizen, looking at how he is handling the affair now... I care. If he bailed, and got away with it, fine... if he fesses up (there's that puritan ethic, confess to the congregation, and be forgiven, keep your sin to yourself and become a pariah... tortured inside; though I think... drifting onn a tangent, his brand of BA Xianity keeps him even from that much awareness of guilt, much less shame).

But he's hiding... which makes me think there's something to be ashamed of. His handlers probably think it wouldn't play well (and by now, since no one ever thought there wouldn't be a cover up, it won't).

Drag it out into the light.