Political Exile Sucks...
I don't want to hear it; I really don't. And please, spare me the "I told you so"s. My white flag has risen above the smoldering ruins on my lone pathetic single non-poli-rant. I've capitulated to the vortex... I feel like Pacino in Godfather 3 ("... Just when I thought I was out,... they pull me back in....")... clenched fists and everything.
In our last episode our caped (yours truly) crusader was planning a 2-month boycott of anything having to do with politics (at least as to themes having to do with election-end of things). Some of you were pretty prophetic in your comments. Politics is everywhere. It permeates from the pop and culture worlds all the way to the business and Washington centers of gravity. Even the first launch in my post-politik planetoid was filled with indirect political nuances, full-on political comments referring to recent events,.... heck, my posting even pulled a decades-old (it seems) pissing contest between Daddio and Kevronius into my freakin' orbit... Yep, slingin' mouth-ful o' mortars from San Francisco to the Ozarks and back again.... ~just lovely~...
So now that I am doing away with that dumb-ass declaration, let me give you a bit of what I've been thinking about lately...
Observation 1: Eveybody is still pissed, that's the good news, so nothing new there. I keep wondering to whom the rants are directed towards, their own brethren?, their own choir?, ...themselves?. But now that I have had 8 days of detox I can just read, smile and roar in my best Jackie Gleason-like yuks. Its amazing how fast your humor comes back if you get away for a spell. The one thing I would really did, really appreciate, is anyone creative enough to come up with a different angle of anti-Bush rants.... or maybe a different take. You know what I mean?... some real juicy-non-acidic way to make me go "hmmmmm, THAT is different". But its all the same: "Look what Bush did now!", "Just when you think you have seen it all.....", "How can this administration not be impeached", "Another example of the vile corruption of His Emperor, Herr Bush"....... (ahhh... it's so good to be swimming amongst the vermin-talk again, can you smell me from there?)
Observation 2: I found myself agreeing with many a liberal rant. I'm not kiddin'. Not because I had a blood transfusion during my brief exile, or because of a mind-meld from the local Democratic party office,.. but because there are some very, VERY good writers out there in the left commuter lanes that have found that magical touch of expressing their ideas "in a language that we can easily understand" (thanks to Malcolm X for the para-phrased quote). One gets use to bopping around the usual suspects of blogs for entertainment and mental dueling; and all of us being "usual suspects" I should humbly and respectfully salute us all. But ever so often, BAM!; you just find a nugget of a blogger who really gets it; who really understands the paradox of what Marshall McLuhan said when he uttered "The medium is the message". Its easy to write with piss and vinegar. It takes basic writing skills (5th grade-level or just grunts for that matter), a pc with minimum RAM, a topic that really gets your nipples to DEFCON 5 perkiness, and you're good to go! No editor to guide you, and no moral compass to correct your deviances of logic or otherwise. But that -even in it's best example-, is clinically lazy in its end result. You may get a short term rise to your psycho-vent, or 12 quick comments within 15 minutes that gums up your ego, but in the end, its just that, a piss and vinegar rant that may or may not do anything other than having the effects of a cigarette after sex (if you smoke that is..). Having a blog is like having a car. The fact that you own one does not mean you know how to maintain the damn thing; much less drive it. Then again, the Federalist Papers were full of piss and vinegar (albeit a nicer bouquet) so my comment does not condemn this practice or marginalize the authors of such styles..., I only offer my sole view on the action.
.... I will share my newly found mental-plankton in a future "my favorite blogs part 2".
Observation 3: The posting ideas you get from staying away from politics is really amazing. Everybody should try it. Here is a brief example of the 6 I have in various stages of completion:
1) A piece on Goya, famous Spanish painter (and my Dad's favorite).
2) Another on the Monaco Principality and why its so "quaint"
3) A take on TV culture,... and why I think it has hosed us all.
4) The differences between being a "boob man" of a "butt man" (I know, its sophomoric but I can't be held accountable for my own morass, can I?) and why it reflects on our own parenting.
5) A delectable list of the stupidest blogs you may ever get to see,... and why they are so cool.
6) Why men are so phony when it comes to the way they show love (ok, not ALL men....)
Coda: Let me finish on a serious note (shocking). I started my new job as a senior manager for a large non-profit organization that provides both rental and affordable housing opportunities for the poor, transitional families, ex-convicts and the homeless. We also provide special finance programs to purchase homes we build ourselves in depravated areas...., I have to admit I thought long about making this move. I was doing very well working in market-rate construction/consulting companies for years. My last interview with this new company was the clincher. A politically conservative Manager (admittedly so) and his liberal-as-Jane Fonda co-manager looked at me in the eye and said: ~~"We have found a way to merge a brand of self-reliance and responsibility compassion, with the usual littany of entitlement grants available to everybody in the business. We've made it do-able, efficient and non-political. We've done with private business and government grants what government itself doesn't dare do,... what do you say?"~~ Imagine that, I thought....I said yes.
This libertarian man is going to work on the noblest thing I've ever done. I have no clue if my views on life will change or whether my credo will be shattered to smithereens once the reality of life at the disenfranchised level looks at me in the eye.... but I really feel good about this. I hope I am not disappointed at the changes to come....
17 comments:
"pissing contest between Daddio and Kevronius"
heh! what can i say? i'm tenacious.
you know, you wouldn't believe how a good flame war can get the creative juices flowing. breaks up the routine.
KEvron
"We have found a way to merge a brand of self-reliance and responsibility compassion, with the usual littany of entitlement grants available to everybody in the business. We've made it do-able, efficient and non-political. We've done with private business and government grants what government itself doesn't dare do,... what do you say?"
can somebody give me an amen?! congrats! as to the rest of your fine post- i won't say i told you so :) i personally write about things that interest me- and hopefully the folks who visit are interested too. i know what you mean about bush bashing- and you know why whether you agree with me or not- however, i would expand that to the left bashers as well. fyi- we are not crazy moonbats folks. some of us admittedly are- but not most of us. i will end by saying- welcome back tp! i look forward to reading all of your pieces- especially the boob/bum thing :)
Kevronius:
That has truth to it. Sometimes, in order to make a quick exit from the "blah's" one needs a good hearty mental volley with an opposition to get you rolling again.
Betmo:
Girlfriend!, If all the blogs were as definitive, well thought-out, informative and would try to be balanced as yours is, I would never have written observations 1 and 2. But as KEvron says, we all need some pee and vinegar to get our juices flowing, so all in all it is not a bad thing at the end.
I think some of the left lets the message get caught in styles that are confused for hatred etc (but the right does it too, no?). I personally try to read into the rant,.. but I know first hand that many people don't even try to understand the posting and just focus on the tone of things. But that is their loss as well. If they are so sensitive as to not undestand that passion carries expressions of such feelings, then they are wasting their time reading in the first place.
Thanks for the words :)
Every time I have come to your site I am surprised at the variety of rants you have. Great, great stuff. My son is reading with me and he is laughing like I have not seen him do so in months. Thanks for this fine posting.
I went from bartending in wealthy suburbs to teaching inner city, for the money of course ;). Actually I still bartend on the side to help out the in-laws and get maybe break up a bar fight. But you will see things differently with the change in professional scenery as you made.
Your political views may harden or get tweaked here and there. But you will may realize one important thing, what have you done with your life? Are serving the greater good or yourself? I cannot praise enough what you are doing, sometimes everyone needs a boost in life to get over the hump.
But watch out for those who will take advantage of you. They wear many disguises and prey on your weaknesses and strengths.
Good Luck
I feel cheated. I smoke, but I'm not married. (No sex, for those who don't know what that means. lol)
Cool new job. If you need any help, I used to be homeless. I can help you buck-up. :)
Truth-Pain,
Its amazing how fast your humor comes back if you get away for a spell.
I know the feeling!
Best wishes with your new endeavor. Change can be refreshing, though long-held ideas might be challenged in the face of reality.
Studies have shown that Bush-bashing is 10 times more addictive than crack, and you know what they say about crack--you don't ever get off of that shit. We laugh in the face of interventions.
Obob: Thanks for the good wishes. The funny thing is that I find even my friends of similar political dogma wear many disguises depending no the agenda of the moment,... hmm.. i smell another posting....
Rosemary: I promise to knock on your door if I get caught in a rut over there, thanks for stopping by:)
Sappho: Thanks. I have been there 2 weeks and am loving the new ways to get stressed :)
As to the anti-Bush rants?... the more I think about it it boils down to this. Some blogs are not after winning hearts and minds. At least not in my view. They are there to reflect one's own frustrations no matter who the audience may be. And this is an American tradition in the most sacred of orders.
Other blogs (and Betmo's comes to mind), not only rant, but they cajole you with alternative thought not necessarily of their own, their blog-rolls have (gasp!!) opposing view opinions. They not only spew the rhetoric, but have the pragmatism to say "ok now that I'm done ranting, here are alternatives and or solutions"...
But it takes the work of hours and days to keep just one posting in that manner, much less the whole blog.
I think we all serve a purpose. Whenever I want to see what the left is pissed about? I head over to yours, Blue Gals or Quaker's. In 4 minutes of just reading the headers I am informed. If I want to get deeper in the rant then I read the full postings. If I want to go to a mental smorgasboard, I go to Betmo's or Mustang's or Publius.. or re-read some of my own (just kidding):) They may not all give me my kool aid of preference, but they don't just drink they own either.
Love the pic of Bush in the diapers by the way :)
Laurie: Welcome to casa de Truth-pain, a place where your opinions are at the mercy of both my delete button and my friends ginsu-knived rhetoric :)
I agree that it is addictive to comment on the POTUS (and no people, that is not latin for weed). To me it serves no purpose but to bore me out of my mind but like you said, we all have our vices. Smoke to your hearts content.
at this point bush bashing is moot because 1) he is a lame duck and we are stuck with him 2) my personal opinion is that cheney is really in charge and 3) he is really better off going to graceland than actually trying to stay anywhere in the loop these days. i look at him as a mere speech giver and when you look at him that way- he is actually sympathetic. there is very little in his administration that says that he has ever been in charge of anything. he was hired on because of the name and the fact that he looks like poppa bush- the oil connections didn't hurt either. i am working on a post- as my journey is taking me- uncovering evidence to back up my claim- so hopefully it will be the next one. in the meantime- go for the jugular with cheney and rummy- but be gentle with our poor georgie bush.
tp- i am glad that you were ready to get back into the fray- it was quiet without you. keep it coming! ;)
Good post, T-P!
Just remember--this will not be the last time you decide to ATTEMPT to extracate yourself from the fray! And it will not be the last time you eagerly jump back in feeling refreshed and revived!
You have to face frustration and satisfaction like the tops and valleys of waves on a storm-tossed sea in this here blogosphere!
Laurie, it's the blogosphere that's addicting! Each person just chooses a different form of poison! LOL!
What's amazing is that among all the sparring and food-fighting, every now and then a real debate actually takes place on someone's blog or another.
That's what keeps us coming back for more!
Betmo: Great points as always. The Demos think they are running against Bush in 06' and 08'... it makes me woozy thinking what the hell Carville and Co. are thinking over there. I can guarantee you that the day the Demos eliminate any Bush-talk from their venacular they will give the indys a good alternative of thought, and people like me will actually pay attention. The more they talk about Bush, the more apparent it becomes that they have nothing else to talk about,.. and that is really to bad.
"The Demos think they are running against Bush in 06' and 08'"
rightwing rhetoric; dems know precisely against whom they are running. expect the wins to excede losses (still the minority, though).
"it makes me woozy thinking what the hell Carville and Co. are thinking over there."
i don't mean to be pendantic, but from carville's homepage:
"we no longer handle political consulting and have not taken any domestic client since president clinton in 1992...."
i think the site needs a little updating, though, as he did, at the last minute, agree to consult on kerry's '04 run, but his contribution was rather limited.
he's just a talking head these days.
"I can guarantee you that the day the Demos eliminate any Bush-talk from their venacular they will give the indys a good alternative of thought, and people like me will actually pay attention."
it's your prerogative to deafen yourself to dems for whatever reason, but we can both agree that "actually paying attention" is always the better course. if one is to stay informed.
"The more they talk about Bush, the more apparent it becomes that they have nothing else to talk about,.. and that is really to bad.""
two points, here:
one - legislative incumbants are elected on voting record. i would think, with chimpco's numbers as low as they've been, that associating their opponents' records with unpopular admin policies would be a good stragtegy, and
two - bit of a false dilemma there. their anti-bush rhetoric does not preclude a lack of iniative.
i gotta tell you, this sounds to me like personal inclination affecting perception. could you provide some examples of anti-bush rhetoric on the part of the dem candidates?
KEvron
You may be right as far as the Demos knowing whom they are running against,... and my comment was not the exclusive territory of righ-wing rhetoric. I've heard that from left-leaning bloggers themselves.
I actually love Carville, that man is as funny as they come,... oddly enough its his wife I can't stand,... she being the conservative. I am very familiar with her work as Cheney's chief of Staff... I just don't think she is that bright.
I don't mean to say I am locking my receptors to the Democratic Bull-horn, but I don't really need for them to tell me what Bush has done wrong (although some may), I am the first one to maul his butt for his many errors of Governance. But in listening to the Demos, I would like more detail as to what substantive policy they would inject diferent from Messrs. Bush and Cheney,...but none of them want to waste their bullets until the fall. Too bad for me...
Chimpco?... Ha~!.. nice bomb. I may have to use that (much to the chagrin of my Rebublican buddies.
As to your last point. I have to dis-agree. I really don't have ANY inclination or appreciation for the Man's style, politics, or reasoning. As to what is the anti-Bush rhetoric?... Maybe I mis-spoke or used the wrong word. My point was simply "kill the Bush talk, and your message will be un-varnished, keep mixing the comparisons and (to me) the message is confused with potical gotcha' games.
Simply my perceptions Kev, not objective by any mode of measurement.
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