As I was driving back from my sojourn to Pixley to pick up my weekly vittles (only three days worth required, due to the short week ahead), I heard a familiar voice on the radio. NPR was doing the obligatory “there’s a lot of pressure on the cook at Thanksgiving” report (by the way, is there really? I’ve always thought that if people are getting a free meal, then said people should be grateful, shut the fuck up, and eat whatever it is you get), and they interviewed none other than Dan Pashman for a story on how to deal with the pain-in-the-ass vegetarians that show up for your meal (the answer seems to be to just let them eat the side dishes if they don’t want turkey; “Vegetarian? Here, have some mashed potatoes, and I’ll dig out that ancient can of cranberry sauce from the back of the cupboard”). Dan wasn’t as funny as I remembered him.

After that, though, was a delightful (just channeled my inner Dianne Rehm) interview with Willy Nelson, who (among other things) talked about how he quite smoking cigarettes. He said he’d been getting pneumonia and was smoking both pot and 2-3 packs of cigarettes a day, and decided either the pot or the butts had to go, so he emptied out a pack of Chesterfield, rolled up 20 “fat ones” to replace them with and hasn’t smoked a cigarette since.

This is remarkably similar to how I quit smoking many years ago. I rationed out my remaining smokes, and when they were gone, I only smoked dope. And I haven’t smoked a cigarette in longer than I can remember (something like 17-18 years, I think). If only NY would make pot legal, I could work on getting rid of a few other bad habits.

Oh well, guess I’d better go wash three shirts, three pairs of pants, three pairs of socks, and three pairs on underwear so I can get through the week.

Well, today was stupid meeting day, and for the first time in a long time it didn’t get cancelled. Though it should have been. All there really is to talk about these days is that we have no money, and things are getting worse. But then there’s a lot of that going on these days, so we don’t complain. I keep reading how Obama and the Democrats have the Republicans right where they want them with this fiscal cliff thingie, and that Obama’s gonna stand firm about letting the Bush tax cuts for rich people expire. Yeah, right. I’ve heard that one before.

I don’t know what the actual number for me would be, but supposedly the average family would have to pay about $3,300 more a year if we go over this cliff. That’s about $275 a month, which is a sizable chunk of change for most of us in the 99%. Of course, Republicans would just like to take our mortgage interest deductions away, and then give themselves a lower tax rate. Either way, I think I’m screwed.

We’re especially screwed around here, because we’re a public hospital that has to take in your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, no matter how little funds they have, while the government continues to slash Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. This while more people become indigent and get sicker because they can’t afford things like decent food and heat.

But it’s all worth it if rich people can keep their tax cuts.

All I can think about today is that I could have taken the day off. I’ll be glad to have the day in the bank for later use, but right now I’m really wishing I wasn’t here. At least it was a good sports-type weekend. SU not only managed to beat formerly #9/#11 (now #19) Louisville, but they actually kicked the crap out of them (on national teevee, no less). So we’re still in play for a crappy bowl game. Then on Sunday the basketball team opened their season by playing on the Midway aircraft carrier and beat San Diego State. The Giants lost, but that doesn’t really make or break a weekend for me, and the Jets lost, but I’m pretty used to that by now, so what the hell. And Michael Vick got knocked out of the game with a concussion, so that’s a good thing (he’s not performing very well; I think it my be time to put him down). Unfortunately, the Eagles loss meant a Dallas win, but I suppose they both couldn’t lose.

It was also a somewhat productive weekend. I really only set a couple of goals for myself, and I accomplished both. I put the snow tires on my car (I had to beat the crap out of two of the wheels to get them off, so that was actually a bigger pain in the ass than it needed to be; hopefully the never-seeze I put on will help come spring). And I wanted to get the chains on the tractor and mount the plow on the bucket and got that taken care of. I’m hoping that all that will chase the snow away (it worked last year, anyhow).

So now it’s just a matter of getting this week over. Ten days ’til Thanksgiving! Wow, when did that happen. I hope I don’t have any plans.

Finally, it’s Friday again. Three days since election night, and my teabagger conrgresscritter is refusing to concede her loss, despite being down by about 14,000 votes. In order to win, she’d need to win the outstanding absentee and affidavit ballots by about 4-1. This is a bit beyond unlikely, but I’m sure she figures god is on her side and will put this out for her. Also not too happy with all that democracy that went on Tuesday is Allen West, who, despite being down by more votes than would trigger an automatic recount, is demanding a recount due to “irregularities” in the vote. The people have spoken, but poor Al doesn’t like what they had to say.

And of course we all know that Karl Rove isn’t happy with the way things turned out, either. Now he seems to be saying the election is bullshit because of Obama’s “voter suppression,” which, he says, was caused by Obama running mean ads against Romney and Bain (Rove, as we all know, just hates those negative ads). So, what I think Rove is saying is that Romney lost because he got fewer votes than Obama did.

I won’t even get into Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump or Ted Nugent, because I find it hard to believe that anybody actually cares what those clowns have to say.

Of course, that post-election glow is all but faded by now, and we’re about to have House Republicans drive the bus off the fiscal cliff. It’s all quite tiresome. I think Obama should send a drone after them.

I’m not sure exactly when I passed out in my chair last night, but when I woke up, MSNBC was declaring Obama the winner. So I figured it was safe to go to bed. Morning came awfully early today, but there’s apparently good news locally, as it seems that our teabagger Congresscritter lost. Not that she’s conceding, of course, but the AP has projected her to lose, and her opponent is up by about 12,000 votes. So that’s a good thing. But there are some 21,500 absentee ballots out there somewhere, and you never know how those will go. Still, up is better than down. Nationally, it looks as though Democrats picked up a net of 3 Senate seats. That’s about all I’ve had a chance to digest this morning. I’m beat, and it’s gonna be a long day at work (not as long as November 3, 2004, though).

So, finally, it’s Election Day. The polls open here in about an hour, and I expect to cast my ballot (I can’t help but still think of it as “pulling the lever”) at about 6:15 or so on my way to work. This being New York and not Florida or Ohio, I’m not expecting a line. Lots of people say, no matter who you vote for, please be sure to vote. I’m not one of those people. If you plan to vote for Romney, don’t bother. He’s not a real Conservative. He’s not a real Christian. He’s a two-faced, lying loser, and if you’re not a gazillionaire and you vote for him, he’ll be laughing at you tonight. And then he’ll fuck you over if he wins. So if you’re planning on voting for him, stay home today. But if you’re gonna vote for Obama, then get out there and vote and stand in line if you have to (easy for me to say, I know, ‘cuz we don’t have lines here). The chat room is open if you want to hang out while the returns come in. I don’t know how many people will actually use it (certainly nowhere near as many people as last time it was in use – back in 2008, believe it or not). I checked it with my Android tablet, and it works, so I’m hoping it works on an iPad (amazing that neither of those two things were invented back in ’08). Let’s just hope we don’t have to suffer through a Romney win.

Well, we’re almost at the end of this very long election season. Here, we have a very close House race going on, and the final (and only “nonpartisan”) poll shows things a dead heat, with Teabagger Anne Marie Snorkle and Dan Maffei tied, and Green Party candidate Ursula Rozum pulling 8% of the vote. Since I doubt she’s pulling many votes away from Snorkle, there’s a good chance that her candidacy will saddle us with another two years of our right wing, anti-abortion, big business, kill medicare and social security, climate change denying piece of crap. Is Maffei perfect? No. But he’s not a teabagger nut job, either. Rozum (like Ralph Nader) sas it won’t be her fault if Maffei loses, because he could go out there and campaign on all the things she is, if he wanted to. Yes, and then he and Rozum could duke it out for a distant 3rd place.

One of our Senators is also up for reelection – Kirsten Gillibrand. This will be her first full term (having taken over for Hillary Clinton when she left to run for President), and last I saw she was polling at about 67% of the vote over Wendy Long, who boasts impressive endorsements from the likes of George Pataki, John Bolton, and Sean Hannity. Hard to believe she’s behind.

There are a bunch of Senate seats up for grabs tomorrow around the coutry, and it’ll be a real bummer if the Republicans are able to pick up enough seats to take control. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Of course, the big ticket tomorrow night is the Presidential race. Things are looking pretty good at the moment, which has me very worried. Things looked good for Al Gore and John Kerry, too. But between rigged voting, voter suppression, and the partisan Supreme Court, well, things didn’t work out so well. Let’s just hope things don’t turn to shit this time around.

I’m gonna go ahead and turn on the chat room tomorrow night (if I can remember where it is), just in case anybody wants a little company while the returns come in. It might be a long night.

But, hey, at least it’ll finally be over – one way or another.

Well, I survived yet another Annual Health Assessment (my BP was high – what a shocker). Luckily, I got the nice nurse (and not the rather amazonian looking one who likes to pump the sphygmomanometer up to about 5,000 pounds per square inch), and she didn’t feel a need to bully me into discussing the details of my last colonoscopy or prostate exam (or even nag me about declining to get a flu shot). Outside in line, they had a big sign hawking their “Thimerosal Free Flu Shots,” and the woman in line in front of me said, “oh, I wonder what that is?” so I told her it was a mercury-containing organic compound used as a preservative in many drugs (and, especially, in multi-dose vaccines). She was quite impressed, and said that I must “really read up” on this stuff. Yep, that’s right. I’m IT, ma’am. We know pretty much everything (which is a big reason why I decline to get the shot).

So I see that Mayor Bloomers is endorsing Obama, primarily because he thinks Obama is the better candidate to deal with climate change. Well, OK. I guess given a choice between the two on that issue, Obama is better choice, though I can’t really say I think of him as a leader on the issue (he has done a few good things). I don’t know that Bloomie’s endorsement will sway anybody (certainly not lovers of super-size sodas), but, what the hell. One rich bastard turning on another rich bastard is always good to see (though with Bloomberg’s $25 billion net worth, he probably thinks of Romney as one of the 47% of the losers out there who ought to go out and take a little responsibility for their lives).

Saw this on “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn.”

Red Hook Houses Without Water: Bring Donations to PS 32
November 1, 2012

The Red Hook Houses are without power and running water. Donations are being accepted at PS 32, on Hoyt Street between Union and President.
Donations of bottled water, paper towels, and toilet paper are needed.

So, if you’re in the area, please donate a little TP and water for the folks in Red Hook. And paper towels, too, though if you can only give one or the other, go with the TP, ‘cuz while, in a pinch, you can substitute one for the other, I think I’d prefer to use TP to wipe up a spill rather than use paper towels to wipe, well, you know.

You may have heard that the CIA released a timeline of the events in Benghazi, Libya, that (surprise!) debunks Fux News and Republican conspiracy theorists claims about the attacks that killed four people.

…senior intelligence officials told reporters Thursday the CIA deployed a rescue mission from a nearby base within 25 minutes of being alerted to the attack, which killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

But they say the six-member team did not arrive until 25 minutes after that, in part because of a failed attempt to acquire the assistance of Libyan militias with heavy weapons, and because they came under fire as they approached the consulate.

The CIA team reportedly remained at the consulate for an hour before leaving with all the Americans, except for the slain ambassador, who had been taken to a nearby hospital.
[…]
Intelligence officials say the rescue effort also involved deploying an unarmed U.S. military drone to the scene, sending emergency reinforcements from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and chartering an airplane that eventually brought most of the Americans to safety.

Officials again adamantly denied that CIA officers were told to “stand down,” saying they responded to the attack “as quickly and effectively as possible.”

SU basketball season started up last night with an exhibition game against Pace University (who were probably happy to come up here to get out of Manhattan and score some Central New York bottled water and toilet paper). I mention this only because it seems that the team’s nickname is the “setters.” Yes, the Pace Setters. That’s pretty lame, but, on the bright side, their mascot is “Tbone,” a rather cute (and non-threatening) dog (which beats a big orange plushie any day).

Alright, enough of this falderal, time to get this week over already.

Holy crap, it’s November. Didn’t see that one coming (though I suppose Halloween should have been my first clue that November was nigh). Speaking of Halloween, I hope everyone survived intact. This was yet another year when nobody came to the door begging for candy (which is a good thing, as we didn’t buy anything for the little parasites; I pay enough in school taxes, let the little bastids buy their own candy). That’s one advantage of your house being 350 feet from the road, tucked away out of sight at the end of a dark curvy driveway, I guess.

So, now that November is here, I guess we skip Thanksgiving and go straight to the Christmas shopping season. At least, I got my first “Santa’s” picks e-mail this morning. The only thing longer than Xmas shopping season these days is the friggin’ election cycle, then end of which I’m really looking forward to. Unless Romney wins, in which case I guess I’ll revive my Canadian job search. Something in Kingston would be good – I should still be able to pick up the SU games on the radio, and you never know when you’re going to run into Dan Aykroyd up there.

Well, today is my annual health assessment at work, which is a rather pointless exercise that’s apparently mandated by the NYS DOH. Since I don’t go near patients, it mainly involves them asking me if I have a doctor, to which I reply, “yes.” Then they ask me what his name is, and I try to remember what the hell his name is, because (just between you and me), I’ve only seen him once, and that was, oh, let me think, I guess about eight or nine years ago (and then only because my insurance at the time required a referral in order to see a Chiropractor). Then they ask me if he takes care of my colonoscopies and all that, and I dutifully respond, “oh yes.”

Then they take my blood pressure, and I tell them that it’s gonna be high, so they really don’t need to tell me that it’s high, because I already know that it’s high, and then they say, “you blood pressure is high,” and then I say, “no kidding,” and then that’s about it. Oh, and no, I don’t want a flu shot.

I really find the whole thing irritating.

Which is probably why my blood pressure is high.

Glad to hear that Sue and Mike and their critters are doing OK (though a big soggy). Hopefully things will get back to normal down there sooner rather than later. My brother on Long Island has apparently made it through unscathed, though they’re without power (probably for quite a while, if past storms are any indication). I’m glad I don’t have to deal with a flooded basement (or worse), though I can’t help be a touch envious of everybody who has the day off. Especially since today is stupid meeting day. But it beats having a tree smash your roof, or having your car carried away by the flood.

Speaking of trees, other than the one that came down in my driveway (smashing the snow fence on the way down), I don’t appear to have any other damage. I cleared the driveway when I got home last night (thank goodness for chainsaws and tractors), and hopefully that will be it in terms of storm damage for a while (though it looks like “frankenstorms” are going to be the new normal from here on out).

I’m also glad we didn’t get the snow that West Virginia got from this thing (two feet and counting in some parts). I heard a caller to NPR yesterday (not sure exactly where he was at), who said he was in the mountains and they had gotten 8 inches of snow, but it was OK because they were used to snow. After all, he said, “two years ago we had 80 inches for the year, so we’re used to snow.” I wasn’t particularly impressed, of course.

We do have some snow in the forecast here for the weekend, though nothing that’s supposed to accumulate. Still, things are turning colder, and I suppose it’s about time to put the snow tires on the car, and the chains on the tractor.

I guess it’s too much to hope for another winter without snow.

Good luck to everybody who got nailed by Sandy. I hope that socialist FEMA comes through for you (no matter what Steve King thinks).

Speaking of FEMA, here’s a story I heard on the way in to work this morning, and, while I’m not usually stunned by the gall and hypocrisy that gets spewed on a daily basis, this story had me gobsmacked.

Micheal “heckuva job” Brown thinks Obama acted way too soon in preparing for hurricane Sandy.

Michael Brown is standing by his suggestion that President Barack Obama acted too soon to call attention to federal disaster response efforts to Hurricane Sandy.

“…I simply said he should have waited,” Brown told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon. “The storm was still forming, people were debating whether it was going to be as bad as expected, or not, and I noted that the president should have let…the storm [get] closer to hitting the…Washington, D.C.-New York City corridor.”

Yo, Brownie, if there was ever a time to STFU, this would be it.

Oh, almost forgot. Happy Halloween.