31 so tired

25 law abiding citizens, all

22 obscenity squad

21 incompetenceⁿ

20 firings     

17 wooo ...

14 changes     

11 tofurkey leftovers

11 sonnet xxx

06 whitewater rafting with god

05 mean people

04 bliss     

03 experience, ex-schmerience

i'm the *only* person at the office dressed up in proper hallowe'en attire.  i bet the others feel silly as hell.  *sigh*  

we had our hallowe'en party on saturday.  it was the climactic end to a week of little sleep and a lot of manual labour.  i bet you didn't know i could carry a sheet of drywall by myself.  i'm so tough.

we wanted to finish the front half of the basement in time for the party.  our house is kind of small so it gets squishy when there's a lot of people upstairs.  in a week we managed to frame, drywall, tape, mud and paint the walls.  we ran out of time for the flooring.  ehh.  oh well.  in the end, no one went downstairs.  i was sad.  

that's ok though.  today i get to scare children and give them candy.  *joy*

happy all hallow's eve kiddies!

remember, way back, there was an incident in the oval office involving president clinton, monica lewinsky and an infamous blue dress?  president clinton, depending on your interpretation of the word "is," may or may not have lied about having sexual relations with 'that woman.'

ohhhh, the republicans went to town.  they relished every minute of the  we-have-to-bring-decency-back-to-the-white-house campaign - something w. mentioned over and over again in 2000.  the rule of law was king.  no one was above the law!

but now?  kay baily hutchinson (a republican senator from texas) finds herself on Meet The Press saying:

Tim, you know, I think we have to remember something here.  An indictment of any kind is not a guilty verdict, and I do think we have in this country the right to go to court and have due process and be innocent until proven guilty. And secondly, I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. So they go to something that trips someone up because they said something in the first grand jury and then maybe they found new information or they forgot something and they tried to correct that in a second grand jury.

I think we should be very careful here, especially as we are dealing with something very public and people's lives in the public arena. I do not think we should prejudge. I think it is unfair to drag people through the newspapers week after week after week, and let's just see what the charges are. Let's tone down the rhetoric and let's make sure that if there are indictments that we don't prejudge.

kay, kay, kay.  only a few years ago, you tried to make the case that perjury was an impeachable offence.  now, it's a 'technicality.'  amazing.

you see?  now that one of their own (tom delay) is charged with a crime (campaign finance money laundering) republicans are rallying around him.  funny how that works.  i guess they weren't really interested in decency and integrity.  i'm shocked.  pffft.

apparently, the situation has become so desperate, republicans have initiated a smear campaign against the prosecutor in the case.  

ronald earle once brought charges against kay hutchinson.  they didn't stick.  the conservative special interest group, Free Enterprise Foundation, is using this as evidence of a political vendetta against conservatives and are buying advertisements indicating as much.

... this is a prosecutor who once brought charges against *himself* for the late filing of documents.  he's also indicted more democrats than republicans throughout his career.  

sadly, this is further evidence of a republican need to discredit anyone who dares stand in their way. think of scooter libby and karl rove leaking valerie plame's status as an active c.i.a. operative because the administration was angry that her husband, ambassador to niger, joseph wilson, didn't believe niger was selling uranium yellowcake to iraq and dared to speak his mind in an attempt to avoid war.  *sigh*  (how's *that* for a sentence that goes on forever?)

all things considered, i'm unlikely to trust *any* high-level politician, regardless of his or her affiliation.  but, *this?* ... *sigh*

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has announced that his office will specifically target "bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior" in pursuing new obscenity prosecutions. The Department of Justice began recruiting in late July for a new anti-obscenity squad to pursue obscenity prosecutions, and the FBI announced in September that it was forming an anti-obscenity task force to crack down on pornography.

Any website that has content containing "bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior" should be forewarned that prosecution is possible. Additionally, Federal sentencing guidelines state that any obscenity-related punishment should be "enhanced for sadomasochistic material." --National Coalition for Sexual Freedom - Contact: Susan Wright, NCSF Spokesperson (917)848-6544

it's a brave new world, where the righteous are free to punish the deviant.

fuckers.

*sigh*

so ... there's "enhanced" punishment for sadomasochistic behaviour? mmm ... count me in, baby.

i'm seething with anger right now. i feel sick to my stomach. i don't feel like elaborating on this new affront to personal liberty. come on america! stand up for yourselves. gah! i could throttle the lot of you sometimes!

some fucking beacon of liberty and democracy. pffft.

he had this friend that applied for a suite.  we denied his application.  the manager moved him in and gave him a set of keys *anyway.*  

there's no security deposit, no lease, no move-in inspection ... *nothing.*

gah!  managing a building isn't rocket science.

one is a nice lady that i really wish had worked out.  i'm sorry to see her go; her job was just beyond her capabilities.  i think she made a genuine effort in her position.  *sad* 

the other is this resident manager who is, in my opinion, The Worst Resident Manager Ever.

*ever*

he's been with us for a month at the most.  at least he's not stealing rent money.  

i went to inspect his building the other day.  it was awful.  i'm surprised we've only received one complaint.  there was trash *everywhere,*  his paperwork was in a pile on his floor, there's an unregistered car in the  the parking lot and ... *drumroll* ... pee in one of the stairwell landings.  *pee!*  god almighty!  

so, confronted with all of this, he says he'll take care of it when he "wakes up."  he would be going back to bed, apparently, after i left.  

needless to say, he got an earful and we're looking for a new resident manager.  

it's incredible that he just didn't care.  he asked, "so ... if you want to fire me, can i still live in this suite?"  ohhhhhhhhhh ... damnable man.  *gah!*

it's just about lunch time.  i'm going to have some tea and exhale.  

the kat and i went out with friends to the roost.  (is the roost really a gay bar?  it usually seems like at least 40% of the patrons are not entirely gay.  at least on saturdays.)  we had fun.  a drag queen said i looked like abby of ncis fame.  i love drag queens.  we should go out more frequently.  especially with other people.

so, you're probably all aware that i'm vegan.  this is an interesting article on fish sentience and the ethics of using fish (rather than furry critters) for research.  i'm not out to convert anyone ... but sometimes it's good to see how we rationalize the killing of other animals.  (yes, "other" animals) 

actually, there was an episode of mythbusters where they tried to test the memories of goldfish.  they trained fish how to navigate through changing mazes in order to find food.  

suffering is suffering.  

hm.  my psychic said that's what my soul came back to learn about.  

the kat has accepted a long-standing job offer and will be leaving his computer geek job.  i think he'll be happier ... and that makes me happy.  yay for the kat!

here's something the kat should find interesting/annoying: the u.s. is further tinkering with the c.i.a.  the 'national clandestine service' will replace the old directorate of operations and will coordinate (but not direct) the covert activities of the pentagon and fbi.  i'm not sure that an additional layer of bureaucracy is the answer to their intelligence woes ...

i'm doing my real estate broker licensing ... bleh.  i've been a real estate agent for, eh, about 5 years.  so far, this is pretty easy stuff to do - i think we learned much of it in the agent licensing course.  thankfully, i'm doing distance delivery (no classroom stuff).  i think i'd lose my mind if i had to sit in a class all day.

mhmm ... back to work...

'tis a strange day.  i'm feeling very mellow.  my day, so far, has been spent crunching numbers and no one has been bothering me.  it's nice.

i have little to say right now.  maybe i'll feel more inspired later.  

~peace and blessings to pakistan~

shanti, shanti, shanti

w. shakespeare

if you're too lazy to read the article, here's a synopsis:

two groups of people go on a rafting trip through the grand canyon.  one group are creationists (not intelligent design-ists) who think the grand canyon was formed during noah's flood and the other are mostly agnostic and atheist scientists who make fun of religion.  the article discusses how each group sees the grand canyon and how it was formed.  

the issue i saw in both groups is their blind faith or lack thereof in a particular human construct.  it's sad that neither group is able to see, ehhh ... divinity; one because they worship the current version of the christian bible and the other because they worship the current version of science.  

now, i'm all for science and i'm all for faith.  i'm don't suggest either is necessarily bad, but i don't think either is real - really real ... transcendentally real.  living for anything impermanent will only lead to dukkha.  

what's beyond our limited understanding of god (whatever god is) and  the physical world?   i suspect both - as simply the personal experience of the individual human ego - are irrelevant.  sure, our reactions to our experiences determine our karma, but if we can get past these experiences and see the universal aspect of god/science/you-name-it ... we get past karma.  right?

i think that's the point of living.  getting past ourselves, getting in tune with the universe, accepting our experiences - both appealing and repellant - with equanimity and detachment, and eventually seeing our way out of samsara.  

hm.  nibbana.  

i'm going to ponder this some more ... 

one of my resident managers had to remove a tenant's drunk guests from his building this morning.  they came back later and started buzzing all the apartments on the intercom outside.  my manager goes down to tell them to get lost, the drunk guy starts shoving my manager and then the drunk girl sucker punches my manager in the face!  gods!  

the incident ended quickly enough.  i guess when a person is former canadian airborne, they know how to get people to behave.  *sigh*  

later on this morning, a guy calls our office saying that he wants some trees around the building removed.  (why?  we're not sure...)  he wanted them removed badly enough that he started issuing death threats to the receptionist.  not a nice person...

what a day.  there isn't even a full moon...

i suppose the only explanation is that people are feeling down about jessica and nick splitting up.  i'm tearing up as i type.

... mhmm

imagine walking through a mall, minding your own business, when *OHMYGOD," you see a victoria's secret display:  the female form, scantily clad in lingerie.  not such a horrible thought for some of us, but apparently, a number of people in virginia have been terrorized by nearly naked, white, plastic mannequins.  *mannequins!*  certainly, victoria's secret is a den of inequity.  perverts.

... i suddenly feel like going shopping

*sigh*  my day is nearly done.  i'm going to clean up my desk.

the kat and i are hosting a halloween party this year on the 29th.  let me know if you'd like to attend.  the kat, i'm sure, will have his bar open.  bring beer.  be in costume.  we should have the front half of the basement drywalled for extra room and we'll get the fire pit going in the backyard, unless it's yucky outside ... a very real possibility, it seems.  as anti-social as i am, i rather enjoy entertaining.  (note to kat:  keep me away from your kamikazes.  i'm such a cheap/stupid date.)

the so-called debate between "intelligent" design and evolution continues:  

these people are true believers.  i love them.  i've probably posted this link before, but this is my stupid blog and i'll do as i please.

here's another random thought:  my new garage overhead door was installed today.  yay.  i *hope* whoever stole my last door really needed it.  i'm fortunate in that an additional $1000 expense isn't impossible (thanks for giving me *my* money back, ralph 'corporate-whore' klein), but how was the thief to know that?  

*sigh*     om shanti shanti shanti.  

i'm better now.  it's time to go home and see the kitties.  life is good. 

sure, be a lawyer and know stuff about law and things, but don't be silly:  if you plan to be a judge in the highest court of the land, the last thing you want is *experience.*  it only gets in the way of furthering fearless leader's agenda.

it seems that bushy's latest supreme court nominee is harriet miers, one of His inner circle.  

in His introduction of ms. miers, He says, "Harriet's greatest inspiration was her mother, who taught her the difference between right and wrong and instilled in Harriet the conviction that she could do anything she set her mind to."

awwww - she loves her mama and believes in herself.  it's a good thing she was taught the difference between right and wrong - that's something judges have to know!  you know ... to judge stuff.

good god!

i'd *love* a job interview where i could say, "my mom taught me all about <insert basic qualification>."  

ok.  if those senators pass this one through, i'll be pissed.  

if nothing else, bush has incredible cajones.  how else can you explain a nominee for chief justice who hadn't served on the supreme court and a nominee for the supreme court who's never been a judge?  i'm, frankly, baffled.

geh.  this is my first day back at work ... i should probably go ... work.

if you missed any of the last few posts, they're here.