Random thoughts

Actually, these aren't actually RANDOM thoughts.  But it is a hodgepodge of thoughts that aren't in any particular order...

• I'm sure I'm not the first to suggest this but ... perhaps Rev. Falwell has early stage Alzheimer's disease and was offering his wife a way to gracefully divorce him.  That or he's a jerk.  (See my January 2010 post for more on the Rev)
• So Sarah! is not running.  15 minutes- DING! See I told you it was all about getting a TV show and not really getting into politics.  But I've also written about Republicans as Zombies so BEWARE because she-of-no-brains could reanimate as a candidate at any time.
• Why the heck can't the Republicans find SOMEONE to run that can unite the party? This is their perfect opportunity.  Amazing.  Not that I mind...
• Local politics- While Tom Galligan may come off as gruff or blunt, I have to say he gets things done.  In addition, Mike Moore his opponent pretended to be a Democrat all those years and then left the party and blamed the switch on Dems not being nice to him.  The nerve.  He saw an opportunity (such as it was) and took it.  Vote for Tom and help him beat this fake soundly. 
• Has Todd Young done anything?  He always seems to be "concerned", "studying the situation", "working for the people of the 9th district" but has he DONE anything?  Sure he won't have a record to trip him up come an election, but geez Todd we've got big fish to fry and you're "studying" how to fry fish?!  As my dad would say "Do something even if it is wrong".  In this case, you probably will do something wrong, but at least try.
• An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup. H.L. Mencken

That's enough tonite- DG

Welcome to my world!

We have a nice little piece of land in a scenic part of So. Indiana where we are building a small cabin.   Every time we go there I think it was a great decision to pick this spot . As the real estate agents say "Location, Location, Location".

But in between visits we are getting phone calls about the cabin building process from one (and thankfully only one) neighbor who is really upset about the whole thing.  He's sure we are tearing up the road with the equipment going up and down the hill to the cabin site.  Turns out there are some others in the neighborhood doing things on their land that involves big equipment, too. So even though we are not really wreaking havoc or wrecking roads, the world as he knows it is coming to an end.

Finally, an informal gathering of those in the "neighborhood" was called.  Of course the guy complaining didn't show, but the rest of us got to know one another a bit more as we explored the question of how the private roads will be maintained (snow removal, fixing the asphalt,etc.)  In the process, we discovered that the original rules about what can be done/not done (the "covenants") for our neighborhood group have expired.  In addition, there's no official structure- with any legal "teeth"- for gathering money to take care of the roads. This begins to sound like Tea Party heaven! "No rules...No taxes" at least in our little corner of the Hoosier state.

There we stood, trying to figure out how to take care of the roads without levying fees.  Some offered to pay money toward the fix, but several said they weren't paying anything-even though they agreed the roads needed work.  Someone offered the idea of Work Weekends where people could pitch in to do some of the work.  This has worked OK for clearing the snow...although I got the impression that not all were doing their share of that back breaking job.  However, replacing pavement is not generally done by hand with shovels, so "sweat equity" is probably out as a solution for fixing the roads. 

Yep there we were feeling like our lawmakers.  No taxes?  No way to fix or improve the roads!  We tabled the discussion, much like our legislators are want to do.  Any ideas for my world and yours regarding trying to do stuff without money? Be sure to let DG know.

Buh-Bye

Got to say DG is not crying at the news of Glenn Beckk losing his spot at Fox. I'm wondering if Becck is crying for real now.

It really is a wonder that, as he spun more and more out of orbit, he was allowed to stay as long as he has. No doubt like the other Zombie Republicans out there he'll re-invent himself and come back to torment us in some other form. (Ye GADS- Trump - Beck 2012?!!)

But for the time being sing it with me now..."Na na na na hey hey hey GOOD-BYE!" ~Donkey Girl

DG's grab bag

A bunch of little things to share today:

1. -> Please see my earlier post "Tea and Zombies" for a fuller treatment of the Zombification of the Right at: http://clarkcountydems.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

Newt's picture is here because he's the most recent poster child for the Zombie Wing of the GOP. You just thought he was dead politically after he had an affair with a staffer ...and told his wife he wanted a divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery ("She isn't young enough or pretty enough to be the President's wife." said Gingrich). Google "Gingrich and scandal" and read about all the many scandals of this Zombie. Please pay special attention to how he's now trying to make himself some sort of Christian preacher figure, too.

-> "Oh Evan- REALLY?!" You just thought you were disgusted with Bayh for quitting when and how he did -all the while being sanctimonious. Now this. The most charitable thing I can say is that perhaps the Zombies ate his brain before he agreed to be on Fox "News". I recall I promised not to call Republicans "Damn Republicans" anymore. I made no such promise about Democrats however.

-> Speaking of Fox "News"- someone we know calls the Faux News. I like that. I'm hereby adopting. Also check out Andy Borowitz's recent take on that batch of crazies at http://www.borowitzreport.com/ at his Borowitz report. Funny!

-> My brother, who is in the Navy Reserve, managed to be near Tokyo for his annual two week stint just as the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear plant crisis hit. His take on the Navy people he's working with are that the mostly young people (in their 20's) on his team are a "very fine set" who are "excellent in their wilingness to help, their attitude and flexibility". He says the Japanese are very polite, smile at the much bigger Americans and helped him get to his destination (after he was dumped off by United Airlines in a city far from Tokyo and was told by the airline he was on his own!) even though there was a language barrier. Prayers for all there please.

-> Donkey Girl is going to be asking questions at the IUS Dems Jeffersonville mayoral candidate debate April 1 (no joke). What should I be asking?

ENOUGH~ DG

Lessons for little donkeys

In the copy room at school, I found a lesson for students on "Disagreeing Appropriately". It seemed a good thing to offer all the donkeys out there that are going to have to be out there disagreeing with the Repubicans that are surrounding us. So here's the shortened version:
Step 1. Look at the person (this shows youy are paying attention...don't stare or make faces, smile/be pleasant)
Step 2. Use a pleasant voice (so people are more likely to listen to you...don't mumble, speak slowly, use short sentences, keep a comfortable distance from the other person, smile)
Step 3. Say "I understand how you feel." (because understanding gives the talk a positive start...plan what you're going to say before you speak, discuss your concerns as part of a converation not a confrontation, be sincere).
Step 4. Tell why you feel differently (using vague words leads to confusion...give as much detailed info as possible, be prepared to back up what you say, and again think before you speak).
Step 5. Give a reason (your disagreement will carry more weight if you have a valid reason, be sure your reasons make sense, support your reason with facts and details, one or two reasons is usually enough, stay calm).
Step 6. Listen to the other person (shows you respect what the other person has to say, don't look away or make faces, don't interrupt, again stay calm, don't argue)
*Please note the instructions TWICE say to smile, stay calm and think before speaking.
So go out there to the various meetings, conversations and political settings that await donkeys this election season and legislative session and give this a try. DG is trying and hopes you will too!

Long time no see

Yes Donkey Girl has been asleep for awhile. I was hoping the November election was just a bad dream...but alas here we are in 2011 and the Republicans have the US House and a majority in both houses in Indiana. But I guess it is time for DG to get back at it! So here's what I've been pondering while drifting in and out of sleep the last couple of months:

• In the past I have, at times, refered to Republicans as Damn Repubicans. In the interest of our new found civility, I will not use this term from now on. I may think up other terms, but they will be more precise and less generically rude.
• Jeff politics really never ceases to amaze me. Just when you think you've seen it all something else comes along. But DG has to admit that she just can't seem to look away when I see something like the current mayor's race developing. I'll even admit to suggesting that I could run as the "unity candidate".
• I was really sad that Baron Hill lost. He's a good man and I'll miss him and the other good people that lost. But honestly after the shooting in AZ, my first thought (beyond the shock, horror and concern for the victims and families) was that maybe I was glad he and his staff no longer had to face the angry, crazy folks. Good luck on that Todd Young and I do mean good luck-no sarcasm here.
• It has given me pause to learn that the Tea Party folks and I have a bit in common. I attended a bridges meeting and found we share the same sentiment on "No Tolls". I was also interested that some of the Tea Party crowd shared my distaste for the extension of the "Patriot Act" . (Really President Obama? That's what I worked and voted for?! Come on- if I'd wanted more of that I could have relaxed and let McCain get elected.)
• If we really are concerned about the deficit, then let's get serious about raising taxes and cutting the big chunks of the budget like the bipartisan debt commission suggests. Cutting the food programs for the poor is just cruel and similar political theater don't do anything to address the budget and debt problems. That sort of thing just makes us cynical.

Oh that's enough for now. I'm getting sleepy- DG

Tea and Zombies

Lil DG, my kid, gave me an idea last night- the Right/Teabaggers/ Republicans are actually Zombies. I've searched the 'net and found this isn't really all that new a concept (as evidenced by the photo at the left that I easily found via Google) , but I still think it bears examining. You might recall that Donkey Girl likes to do comparisons, so here's yet another one! What do we know about Zombies? And the Right? Are they one and the same?

• Zombies are the re-activated dead. Thought Palin & McCain (or was it McCain/Palin?) and Republican party were dead after that last election? Thought Rush and Newt and many others of the Right who were involved in scandals might go away for good? Think again. They are out there terrorizing us once again.
• From Wikipedia: "Zombies are regularly encountered in horror and fantasy themed fiction and entertainment." That seems to neatly sum up the Right- horror, fantasy and fiction! PLUS there's Bill O' and Gleenn Beecckk making entertainment out of it all...
• Where did they come from? No one seems to know for sure. Virus? Plague? Alien parasites from outer space? Cell phone blast a' la S. King? Mutagenic gas? Wasilla AK? (Actually, where they come from matters little- surviving them is the real problem to figure out.)
• Thanks to George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (and many other Zombie flicks) we also know that society can breakdown when we're infected with this plaque. Need I say more about the comparison here?!
• "BRAINS!" Zombies eat brains. That's what really is happening on Fox TV...
• Zombie traits include stumbling along, drooling, rotting, even dancing with Michael Jackson. Try matching Christine O'Donnell to this model and see what you think.
• The clincher for me that links the Right to Zombies is this fact... They have claimed Obama is the Anti-Christ, Muslim, Hitler, etc. but they NEVER claim he's a Zombie. Coincidence? I think not. They won't claim he's a Zombie, because they are the living dead.

BTW- You can make yourself or others look like a Zombie at http://www.zombieme.net/p5/ , but only the Right can guarantee you'll become a Zombie!

FYI-for a much longer piece on Zombies and the Right go to : http://www.truth-out.org/revenge-zombies-palin-beck-limbaugh-and-return-dark-times59952

Enough of that gross subject for Donkey Girl! Reclaim our country from the living dead- vote now or on Nov. 2 for the Dems. ~DG