Sunday, November 29, 2009

Respite

I'm back at the North Pole after a brief holiday respite with the wife and kids in the Circle City. The 16 hours in the car coming and going sucked, but a little QT with Josie, Jmo and Josh more than made up for it.
Thanksgiving dinner with the Springmans was excellent, as always. No matter how urbane and sophisticated I get, I'll never be too uppity for the turkey gravy or the wife's chocolate pie and homemade whipped cream. That blender I bought her a decade ago keeps paying dividends.
Back to work Monday. It's hectic, there's never enough time to do anything and the company couldn't care less, but newspapering in a small town is pretty satisfying. We do it justice (mostly) and everyone knows just about everyone else. New Macs, an extra reporter, a rebuilt Goss Community press, an ImageSetter and a full-time news clerk would be much better, but there's no sense in dreaming.
If I can't be back home with the family, I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather work.
No really, I'm serious.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Stupak isn't the Devil

There is all kinds of Hell being directed at Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) for getting public funding of abortions services separated from the rest of the historic health care reform moving through the House today.
Abortion is as old as sex and no amount of governance or money will ever change that. Whether we know it or not, most of us know someone who has been a party to an abortion. The thought of it makes me sick, to be honest; but I understand why it needs to be safe, legal and readily available.
I get why Stupak, who is center/left on most other issues, is catching the aforementioned Hell. The Stupak amendment does discriminate against women who can't afford abortion services out of pocket. It is a slap in the face to the majority of Democrats across the country...at least for now.
I hate to be crass, but Stupak is doing his party a favor. This health care reform package is less than Medicare for Everyone, which Obama supporters expected, but it is a tremendous move against the vampires who run private health insurers. You can't be denied coverage anymore because you have diabetes...or autoimmune disorders like mine. Your boss gets some more and better options to make sure you have coverage. You don't have to stay in a crappy job working for assholes anymore to keep your kids insured.
Stupak's move takes out the one big thing Republican politicians and their K Street pimps would hammer Democrats about in midterm elections. Abortion has historically been the hottest button the GOP pushed to shake money out of the hicks and zealots and Stupak effectively killed that.
This reform is better for everyone who doesn't run an insurance company or suck insurance company cock for campaign money. That will become evident and the Dems will be much better off for it...maybe not in 2010, but definitely in 2012 and beyond.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Podcast Nirvana

I'm addicted to podcasts, plain and simple.
I can't get to sleep at night without hearing an episode of Mervyn Bragg's BBC4 program, In Our Time. When I'm playing the PlayStation, I have to have the Napoleon Bonaparte podcast going.
I rush to my MacBook and hit 'Refresh' first thing every morning to see if Marc Maron has offered up a new installment of WTF, which is quickly becoming the podcast-equivalent of heroin.
I've swooned to Bart Ehrman lectures on St. Paul, laughed to Rude Pundit visits to the Stephanie Miller Show and succumbed utterly to the genius for James Howard Kunstler and his Kunstlercast.
Do a Google for something or someone you're interested in, add 'podcast' and you'd be amazed at what pops up. Between your kickass iTunes music library and a few hundred podcasts, you'll never have to listen to crappy commercial radio again.
Praise Jesus!