OK, it’s actually Prop 8 day, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue as well. Anyhow, with DOMA and Prop 8 being very much in the news lately, I’ve heard a lot about the “LGBT” Community. But then I heard somebody refer to “LGBTQ” and I thought, “what the hell is the Q for. Quadrasexual? Turns out, the Q is for Queer. Really? Isn’t that a bit redundant? Are there Qs that aren’t covered by the LG (and possibly B) part? I mean, I have to admit, I always thought the L was kind of redundant, too. I thought that Ls were a subset of Gs (kind of how all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are square). But I could be wrong, since I don’t really pay all that much attention.

The smart money seems to be on SCOTUS ruling both DOMA and Prop 8 unconstitutional, which to me is a no-brainer. I mean, no matter what letter we are, we’re all just a subset of P – people. And if you have a law that applies to some people, it has to apply to all the people. I believe that’s known as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. While I’m glad that NY legalized gay same sex marriage, it doesn’t really seem like it should have been necessary. If a person can marry a person then it shouldn’t matter what gender (or color or ethnicity or height or whatever) either one of those persons happens to be. Duh. It seems pretty simple to me, but I’m not a great legal scholar like Fat Tony Scalia and Clarence the Clown Thomas.

Of course, the other big news is that the Italian Supreme Court (or whatever it is they call their highest court over there – La Corte Suprema or something) has ordered a retrial in the Amanda KNox murder case. Apparently over there they can just keep retrying you until they get the verdict they want. If I was her, I wouldn’t be planning a trip to Rome anytime soon (unless it’s Rome, NY). I find it hard to believe that the US would actually extradite her, but who knows? Maybe they can get her on armed robbery of sports memorabilia or something instead.

Oh, cool, a huge flock (actually, more like 20 huge flocks) of Snow Geese just flew over. Actually, I believe a flock of geese in flight is called a skein (on the ground, they’re a gaggle). Very impressive, and appropriate, since it’s snowing rather heavily at the moment. I think they may want to hold off on heading to Canada for a few more days.

While the rest of you terrorist-loving losers ignore the dangers that are out there in the world, the Tennessee Legislature is on the job. The were apparently horrified to learn that there was one of them “Mooslam foot-washin’ sinks” in a mens room at the Capitol building.

Hey, sure, it turned out to be a mop sink but still, it coulda been a Mooslam foot-washin’ sink.

Apparently these people have never had jobs that required them to mop floors.

Oh well, back to the grindstone.

I rolled over and looked at the clock at about 2:30 this morning, and when, after a minute or two, I realized it wasn’t Sunday, I literally felt sick to my stomach. That’s pretty bad. And if Paul Ryan has his way, I’ll have to keep doing this until I drop dead (or, worse, wind up rotting in some nursing home). Yes, these are the thoughts that fill my head on Mondays. Actually, it usually starts at about 3:00 on Sunday afternoon.

On the bright side, there’s a winter storm headed east, and once again it’s supposed to stay well to the south of us. Still, this winter just doesn’t want to give up. It’s supposed to get up to 40 or so today, which isn’t too bad. I’m not really looking forward to hot weather, but I would like to get my fencing done so the dogs can go out in the back yard.

I saw that John Roberts’ lesbian cousin scored tickets to the big SCOTUS “is banning gay marriage constitutional” thing. She’ll be attending with the woman she hopes to marry some day if cousin John and his buddies give her permission.

Sounds like a good idea for a modern family type sitcom. Conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice and his lesbian cousin and her partner spend weekends hanging out at the family camp in northern Virgina as pals Fat Tony Scalia, Clarence “Token” Thomas, former VP Dick Cheney, and Stewie from Family Guy stop by to do some “duck hunting” and the hilarity ensues.

Scalia plays the classic Archie Bunker crotchety old white guy, Cheney is constantly plotting world domination with Stewie, and Thomas is constantly coming on to Roberts’ cousin and asking if he can shoot video of her and her partner and “maybe get a three-way going.”

Oh well, time to get to work.

Yesterday was a day of frustration. First, after having dumped the ashes from my ash vac outside, I got locked outside after the sliding door latch managed to hook itself. The latch mechanism has been a pain in the ass for quite a while now (not wanting to lock when you want it to, and locking itself when you don’t). Fortunately, the wife was home or I’d have been out in the cold for who knows how long. So I pulled the latch out and looked at the Home Depot website, and they claimed to have latch mechanisms in stock that seemed to be pretty close to what I needed. Since I also needed some tubes for my shop lights (it’s getting a little dark down there) and a reducing bushing to get my spare sump pump ready to roll, I headed over there. Alas, the website lied and I was forced to order the part (and the guy says it’s gonna take two friggin’ weeks to get it). Plus, they didn’t have the bushing I needed. So I bought $40 worth of fluorescent light bulbs instead.

If you’ve ever tried to replace the tubes in a 4′ fluorescent ceiling fixture, you know what a pain in the ass it can be (especially if you’re old and your shoulders hurt all the time – that working over your head shit is a hassle). Especially when you’re really trying to not push something the wrong way and have the bulb explode in your face. But I managed to get the new tubes in, and there was blessed light. For about 5 minutes, and then the damn thing flickered a few times and stayed off.

So I tried another dead fixture. Same result (except for the part where it comes on even for a short time). OK, I decided, time to give up and work on project #3: rebuilding my pool pump motor. I got the motor and pump pulled apart, got the impeller off the shaft (which was more difficult than it should have been – especially working in less than ideal lighting conditions), and then proceeded to try and get the end bell off the motor. I tried tapping, beating, swearing, asking nicely, and beating some more. No dice. So I decided to give up on that one, too, lest I beat the thing so hard that I break something.

I decided to go do my weekly shopping instead (freeing up my morning this morning for vegetating in front of the computer, doing laundry, and re-reading the story about Florida Gulf Coast University kicking the crap out of Georgetown. Hoya Saxa (Latin for one-and-done)! As the saying goes around here, “it’s 10:44 AM, and Georgetown still sucks.”

I was reading this article on “mummy myths exposed” this morning. Apparently, it used to be thought that the rich folks had their organs removed via a slit through the belly, while the 99% were treated to cedar oil enemas, which dissolved everything. Turns out, everybody got the slit treatment, “although for the elites evisceration was sometimes performed through a slit through the anus.”

That’s a privilege? Well, let’s hope folks like Dick Cheney and Mitt Romney get the royal treatment when the time comes.

It’s just come to my attention that today is Palm Sunday. I think that means that Easter is close. Maybe next weekend, even? Easter in March – that’s fairly rare. I never remember how they figure that out (other than it’s 40 days after Mardi Gras or something). Turns out, it’s the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs on or after the day of the vernal equinox. I think they should just go with April 7th or something.

I’m such a failed Catholic – I really ought to know that church trivia stuff. It may have been a long time ago, but I still went through the indoctrination process (even though I opted out at a pretty young age – never even made it to my Confirmation, which, if I weren’t already going to hell for a host of reason, would mean I’m going to hell). I mean, thinking about it, it occurs to me that I can’t actually remember the entire “Hail Mary” spell (and that was the easy one). And I certainly couldn’t get through an “Our Father.” And I never could remember the “Act of Contrition,” mostly because I was always a good boy (at least, I never admitted to much of anything in confession, and anyway I quit going before I was old enough to commit any juicy sins) and never got more than a few Hail Marys.

I did like burning the palm leaves, though.

Oh well, I guess it’s time to find some way to frustrate away the rest of the weekend.

I was watching a basketball game last night that was being played in San José. As they were showing a shot of the exterior of the arena, the announcer exclaimed, “we’re in the heart of Silicone Valley!” I thought that was pretty funny (though I think Silicone Valley is more like LA). Almost as funny as the local NPR guy, who for three mornings in a row has been touting an upcoming performance of the opera “Pagglyahchie.” Ha! What a clown. I keep thinking somebody will call in and tell him. Not so far.

Congratulations to the US Senate, which soundly defeated the “Ryan” budget plan that passed in the House. Republicans didn’t even want the vote to happen, no doubt because they knew it would fail (and in a “bipartisan” manner – 40-59). Now what? More of the same, no doubt. And Boehner is making noise about another government shutdown threat. These people are like incessant masturbators – they just can’t stop themselves.

Oh well, I suppose I’d better get some work done. TGIF.

Happy spring, everybody. OK, I know that was yesterday, and I’d intended to say something them, but I got kinda distracted by work and shit. Here, we celebrated the vernal equinox with a cold and windy day. And it’s pretty damn cold today, too. Yesterday was also the start of spring football practice, which is when we allow ourselves to be hopeful about the upcoming season. This year with an all-new (for the most part) coaching staff and lots of questions to answer regarding whose gonna fill our many empty spots (especially at QB, WR, and OL).

And of course what would March Madness be without a Syracuse “scandal.” This year, it came thanks to CBS Sports, which reported a vague rumor form an unnamed source that SU is under a “wide” NCAA investigation. How wide? Larry Craig stance-wide, that’s how wide. I don’t know when we became the Oakland Raiders of the NCAA, but nonetheless, there it is.

SU was placed in the East regional bracket, so naturally they’re playing their opening round game in San José. Yes, that makes perfect sense to me, too. What makes even more sense is that the two teams from the Pacific Time zone (Cal and UNLV) are playing at 4:30 PM PST, while Syracuse and Montana are playing in the second game, which won’t start until well after 7:00 PST. That means after 10:00 PM back here in the east. On a school night. Since I’m up by 4:30 AM, I don’t see any way possible for me to watch the game.

I mean, do you have any idea how much beer I’d have to drink just to stay up ’til tip-off? I’d be totally wrecked by the end of the game.

In other news, as Art mentioned yesterday it was quite nauseating to have to listen to the disgusting Richard Pearl justify the American disgrace that was the invasion and occupation of Iraq. All he did was regurgitate long-disproved talking points about how “everybody” thought Saddam had WMD, and how nobody said there was a direct link to 9/11, just that while we were reevaluating the risks to America in light of the attack that nobody could have foreseen, we realized Saddam needed to be knocked off. And of course he was allowed to prattle on with his bullshit uncontested by the interviewer.

This, NPR, is why I no longer send you any money.

Oh well, back to work.

I hope everybody survived the weekend and St. Patrick’s Day unscathed. No corned beef and cabbage for me (which isn’t actually Irish food anyway). I had leftover Brussels sprouts with hot sauce. Other than that, is was a pretty wasted day. All I did was read (I finished one book, read another, and started a third. That’s what happens when you get up at 4:00, I guess). I didn’t even do my weekly grocery shopping, though I did some laundry so it wasn’t a total waste, I guess.

Today it’s back to work, of course. And a cold goddamn morning at that. I actually got a fairly decent night’s sleep lat night, by my standards. I probably got five hours altogether, though no more than 3 in a row. I was feeling quite comfortable by the time I got up, and I really felt like staying in bed. Hopefully the day will go by quickly. We’re supposed to get some snow, ice, and freezing rain for the ride home tonight, so that should be fun.

Interesting story at the BBC News site. It seems that declassified tapes show that Nixon interfered with negotiations between Johnson and the North and South Vietnamese. It appears that they were all on the cusp of a deal that would have ending the bombing of North Vietnam and ending the war in 1968.

By the time of the election in November 1968, LBJ had evidence Nixon had sabotaged the Vietnam war peace talks – or, as he put it, that Nixon was guilty of treason and had “blood on his hands”.
[…]
Now, for the first time, the whole story can be told.

It begins in the summer of 1968. Nixon feared a breakthrough at the Paris Peace talks designed to find a negotiated settlement to the Vietnam war, and he knew this would derail his campaign.

He therefore set up a clandestine back-channel involving Anna Chennault, a senior campaign adviser.
[…]
In late October 1968 there were major concessions from Hanoi which promised to allow meaningful talks to get underway in Paris – concessions that would justify Johnson calling for a complete bombing halt of North Vietnam. This was exactly what Nixon feared.

The US delegation, left, and North Vietnamese delegation at Paris peace talks The Paris peace talks may have ended years earlier, if it had not been for Nixon’s subterfuge

Chennault was despatched to the South Vietnamese embassy with a clear message: the South Vietnamese government should withdraw from the talks, refuse to deal with Johnson, and if Nixon was elected, they would get a much better deal.

So on the eve of his planned announcement of a halt to the bombing, Johnson learned the South Vietnamese were pulling out.

He was also told why. The FBI had bugged the ambassador’s phone and a transcripts of Anna Chennault’s calls were sent to the White House. In one conversation she tells the ambassador to “just hang on through election”.

And this was all after Johnson said he wasn’t running again.

It was 50 years ago today that the Supreme Court – in a unanimous decision that would, I think, be impossible today – declared that states are obliged to provide defendants with “the guiding hand of counsel” to ensure a fair trial for the accused in Gideon v. Wainwright (in other words, if you’ve got no money, you’re still entitled to legal representation). I’m not a lawyer, so my knowledge of this decision comes from the teevee movie “Gideon’s Trumpet” starring Henry Fonda as Clarence Earl Gideon, José Ferrer as Abe Fortas, and John Houseman as Earl Warren.

What has always astounded me was that if you’re not actually destitute and are accused of a crime you didn’t commit, you’re not entitled to a public defender. Maybe you wouldn’t want one (they tend to be so overworked that “see and plea” is their primary strategy), but it still seems unfair that even if you didn’t do anything wrong, you’re still on the hook for what can be a helluva lot of money for a lawyer.

Oh well, time to get back to work.

After listening for the entire morning about CPAC, I have one question: can we go back to hearing about the Pope? Seriously, these people make me want to puke. Especially the “young conservatives,” who seem to think that us old “wealthy” folks are stealing their money in taxes. Well boo-fucking-hoo you miserable greedy little bastards.

You didn’t mind stealing my money for your public school education. And if you went to college, I bet you stole some of my money in grants and low-interest loans (that you’ll probably blow off paying back, you snotty little creeps).

I’ll bet you “stole” plenty of my money that went to paying for the roads you drive on and the parks you hung out it in, and the public transportation you rode in, and every other damn thing you ever got in your short little lives.

You’ve been in the workforce for what? A couple years (assuming you’re not unemployed and living in mommy’s basement), maybe? Come cry to me when you’ve been out there for 40 years or so paying for both past and future generations and finally managing to get a little bit for yourself and your family only to have a bunch of snotballs want to take away your retirement.

Just remember this: if I can’t retire, then there’s no job for you to take over.

Better practice saying this, “thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart.”

Now get off my lawn.

Crap. Winter decided to come back this morning. It’s not a ton of snow, but it’s cold (17 at my house when I got up) and windy. This is when winter becomes a pain in the ass: you get a taste of warm weather and you start thinking about all the things you should be doing outside, and then, bam! It gets cold again. At least at this time of year you know it won’t last long.

With my mind definitely turning to thoughts of warmer weather, I got bearings and a seal to rebuild my pool pump, which was getting awfully loud by the end of the season last year. I’d hoped to get a new solar cover since the one I have is getting kind of ratty, but we’ll have to see about that. Money is getting ever scarcer, and I need to blow a bunch of it to contain the varmints in the back yard, now that they snow the old wooden snow fence is more or less useless.

You may have heard there’s a bit of a standoff in nearby Herkimer, NY (it’s about an hour or so east of Syracuse). Some bozo has shot 6 people so far, and four of them are dead. Now he’s holed up in an abandoned building. The paper reports that this has brought “downtown” Herkimer to a standstill, which, if you’ve ever been to Herkimer (which you probably haven’t) is kinda funny, ‘cuz I’m kinda wondering how you could tell the difference.

They have pictures of people that look like military, but I assume are some kinda cops, hanging out with serious looking weapons. The odd thing it, they’re wearing camouflage uniforms. I mean, Herkimer is small, but there are building and shit. I don’t think the camo is fooling anybody.

Governor Snotball was on the scene for who knows what purpose, other than to get his face on the teevee. I’m glad he got an opportunity to knock the Pope out of the news for a few minutes.

Oh well, back to work.

I was watching a teevee show last night, and they kept coming back from commercial with a notice that “viewer discretion is advised.” As opposed to “American Idol” or “Survivor” or “Dancing with the Stars,” where viewer discretion is most certainly discouraged.

So, more black smoke up the old chimney this morning. I know this because they felt compelled to tell me on NPR during my ride in to work. Now I guess I know how sports atheists feel during March Madness or the Super Bowl. It’s all anybody seems to be talking about, and yet I really don’t give a shit.

I only hope they get it over with quickly.

Boy howdy, today’s a big day. The boys in their funny dresses are all locked in the Sistine Chapel (I think – try as I might to ignore this stuff, it’s near impossible to keep some of the trivia from leaking in) ready to start voting on a new pope. They say they’ll probably even be a vote today, so maybe we’ll see some white smoke up the old chimney. I’m sure that would disappoint Cokie Roberts, though, who seems to have become NPR’s Vatican Reporter. If I must hear about this nonsense, I’d much rather listen to Sylvia Poggioli, but I assume that beat is a bit below a reporter of her stature. Ah and as soon as I say that, there she is. Too bad.

Otherwise, there’s not much new going on out there in the world. Paul Ryan is still trying to screw over the poor and the old (good Catholic that he is), 11 people were shot in a drive-by shooting in DC (see, gun laws don’t work), Bretibart published a story about Paul Krugman going bankrupt that was based on a fake news story in the Currant, and Ashley Judd needs to hurry up and move to Kentucky if she wants to run against Mitch McConnell. Personally, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. She’s a little too much of a UK hoops fan, in my opinion. Plus, I’ve never been all that crazy about “celebrities” becoming politicians. I guess it can work out occasionally (seems Al Franken is doing a pretty good job, but for every Al there’s a Ronnie Raygun).

At least she’s not a former pro athlete. I mean, Heath Shuler, Jim Bunning, and Stever Largent? No thanks (though I suppose Bill Bradley was OK).

Oh well, back to work.