Once the Minnesota House voted to pass Marriage Equality, it became almost a sure thing that we would - as proven true now - become #12 to have it. One of my favorite radio shows, glitches and all, the Nancy Nelson Show, read an article from an email about Michelle Bachman's response.
Appearing on KSTP, she talked about how God was going to punish Minneapolis and St. Paul for promoting homosexuality, just like he did for Sodom and Gomorrah. She didn't know whether it would be with an earthquake, a volcano, or a flesh-eating virus. As she spoke a friend of hers in Eden Prairie had already packed up the household and family and was driving to Montana. Michelle didn't want to be the last to leave her family unprotected, and while she regretted leaving her constituents unrepresented, she was going to do the same thing herself.
Imagine the celebration. One caller even offered to help, due to Michelle's money problems after campaign violations investigations, to set up a Help-Michelle-Move Pac.
While this seems a bit over the top, even for Michelle, she's been so over the top so many times already, that nobody suspected what was soon announced, that it was all a hoax, published on a site with a reputation akin to The Onion.
Sighhhh...
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Worse Than Capitol Punishmant
Something else in the news lately. Is death appropriate for the Marathon bombers? For the Cleveland kidnapper/rapist? For the woman who stabbed her former boyfriend 27 times and slit his throat after shooting him in the head? She's actually asking for death. She doesn't want a long punishment, poor baby.
There are certain people for whom death may seem to be just. Timothy McVay, for instance, convicted of killing 168 including day care children after a trial with overwhelming evidence. No DNA to come back years later and offer proof of innocence. Forgiveness comes hard for many of us. Some people just don't offer the suggestion of a possibility for remorse or rehabilitation.
Other people act once in haste or rage, and would never be likely to offend again. Others get convicted by mistake, proven years later. Fewer people argue that these deserve death. (Yes, some argue exoneration isn't valid. Hard to believe, but they're out there.) More argue that life without parole is enough to protect society from them, and the innocent may get a second chance to have a life.
Some of has have hard and firm opinions about death as a penalty, either for or against. Others say yes in some circumstances and no in others. I'd like to offer up another possibility for punishment, one that's not actually technologically possible today.
Star Trek had an episode where Miles O'Brien had a life sentence imposed for something he was proven not guilty of. When released, it was effectively too late. Though only a few days had passed, the advanced technology of the aliens forced him to subjectively live out that full sentence. It stuck in my mind.
Of course, my mind is a bit twisted, and my version of an ideal punishment would be somewhat different. What if, instead of spending 70 years mentally in prison, you spent your mental time in the mind of your victims as they suffered whatever you had done to them?
Imagine Timothy McVay, for example, in the mind of each of the 168 dead and each of the injured, being forced to live a couple hours before the blast, knowing what was in store, unable to avoid it, and going through the fear, shock, pain, loss each went through. Of course the dead can't tell us, but it would open up a whole new set of careers for those who could imagine and "paint" each moment for maximum effect. It could be stretched out longer appreciation, and with variations for each victim. It could even be repeated countless times, each repetition adding the fears of anticipation to the experience. Every moment would be happening to you.
The Marathon bomber could be forced to suffer each wound, each amputation, each death, each long slow recovery, starting about half an hour from the finish line, running towards each fate with no possibility of turning aside. The Cleveland kidnapper/rapist could be forced to endure the ten years of captivity of each victim. The more horrific the crime, the more horrific the punishment.
At last, we could truly exact an eye for an eye. And that would likely be worse than capitol punishment for many.
There are certain people for whom death may seem to be just. Timothy McVay, for instance, convicted of killing 168 including day care children after a trial with overwhelming evidence. No DNA to come back years later and offer proof of innocence. Forgiveness comes hard for many of us. Some people just don't offer the suggestion of a possibility for remorse or rehabilitation.
Other people act once in haste or rage, and would never be likely to offend again. Others get convicted by mistake, proven years later. Fewer people argue that these deserve death. (Yes, some argue exoneration isn't valid. Hard to believe, but they're out there.) More argue that life without parole is enough to protect society from them, and the innocent may get a second chance to have a life.
Some of has have hard and firm opinions about death as a penalty, either for or against. Others say yes in some circumstances and no in others. I'd like to offer up another possibility for punishment, one that's not actually technologically possible today.
Star Trek had an episode where Miles O'Brien had a life sentence imposed for something he was proven not guilty of. When released, it was effectively too late. Though only a few days had passed, the advanced technology of the aliens forced him to subjectively live out that full sentence. It stuck in my mind.
Of course, my mind is a bit twisted, and my version of an ideal punishment would be somewhat different. What if, instead of spending 70 years mentally in prison, you spent your mental time in the mind of your victims as they suffered whatever you had done to them?
Imagine Timothy McVay, for example, in the mind of each of the 168 dead and each of the injured, being forced to live a couple hours before the blast, knowing what was in store, unable to avoid it, and going through the fear, shock, pain, loss each went through. Of course the dead can't tell us, but it would open up a whole new set of careers for those who could imagine and "paint" each moment for maximum effect. It could be stretched out longer appreciation, and with variations for each victim. It could even be repeated countless times, each repetition adding the fears of anticipation to the experience. Every moment would be happening to you.
The Marathon bomber could be forced to suffer each wound, each amputation, each death, each long slow recovery, starting about half an hour from the finish line, running towards each fate with no possibility of turning aside. The Cleveland kidnapper/rapist could be forced to endure the ten years of captivity of each victim. The more horrific the crime, the more horrific the punishment.
At last, we could truly exact an eye for an eye. And that would likely be worse than capitol punishment for many.
Dear Talk of the Nation,
Anybody passing within 30 feet of a news outlet in the last few days has heard of Charles Ramsey, the fellow who helped rescue those 3 kidnapped women held in Cleveland for ten years. It's a pretty grim story, more so as news comes out. One bright spot, in addition to his heroism, willingly entering what he thought was a domestic dispute situation, notoriously dangerous even to cops, is his colorful language. His 911 call has to be bleeped in order to air on radio or TV. His use of language when speaking to reporters can be amusing - and telling - as well. Auto Tune has even given it a soundtrack and made it an instant hit.
This apparently bothers some people. How they addressed it on today's first hour of Talk of the Nation annoys me. Now, trying to be fair, they only had the last 10 minutes or so of the program to address it. Perhaps they could have said something better given more time. I doubt it, however. I think they were quite clear in their point. That's the part that bugs me.
They worried that due to race and lower socio-economic status, the colorful language and direct speech are entertaining the rest of us for all the wrong reasons. Apparently (I'm culturally deprived here, so this is news to me) this is the 4th such episode of taking someone's colorful words and turning them into entertainment. "Worse", the other three times the people happen to also be black. I guess this means there is no good way to find them entertaining. So shame on all of us.
The rest of the show was spent telling us that they also listened to Mr. Ramsey. They also laughed. And here's (rest of the show) why they were so much more morally superior to the rest of us for doing the same things we did. All I got from it was they knew they were noble and assumed we weren't.
So what am I missing here?
This apparently bothers some people. How they addressed it on today's first hour of Talk of the Nation annoys me. Now, trying to be fair, they only had the last 10 minutes or so of the program to address it. Perhaps they could have said something better given more time. I doubt it, however. I think they were quite clear in their point. That's the part that bugs me.
They worried that due to race and lower socio-economic status, the colorful language and direct speech are entertaining the rest of us for all the wrong reasons. Apparently (I'm culturally deprived here, so this is news to me) this is the 4th such episode of taking someone's colorful words and turning them into entertainment. "Worse", the other three times the people happen to also be black. I guess this means there is no good way to find them entertaining. So shame on all of us.
The rest of the show was spent telling us that they also listened to Mr. Ramsey. They also laughed. And here's (rest of the show) why they were so much more morally superior to the rest of us for doing the same things we did. All I got from it was they knew they were noble and assumed we weren't.
So what am I missing here?
Friday, May 3, 2013
Toy Guns Don't Kill People.....
Anybody else sick of the mindless platitudes ultimately meant only to scare folks into buying more and more guns?
In Kentucky a couple of parents buy their five-year-old son his very own 22 rifle. It's kid-sized. It looks like a toy. TV ads and bright colors tell how much fun it is. They teach him to shoot it. They manage somehow to overlook making sure it's not loaded.
What could possibly go wrong?
I have to wonder what it's going to be like growing up knowing you killed your little sister while "playing" with your very own perfectly legal itty bitty terminally cute 22? But hey, guns don't kill people. Nasty naughty little boys at play doing what they see all around them and what they're taught in homes with stupid careless parents are the ones that kill people.
Have a great life, kid.
In Kentucky a couple of parents buy their five-year-old son his very own 22 rifle. It's kid-sized. It looks like a toy. TV ads and bright colors tell how much fun it is. They teach him to shoot it. They manage somehow to overlook making sure it's not loaded.
What could possibly go wrong?
I have to wonder what it's going to be like growing up knowing you killed your little sister while "playing" with your very own perfectly legal itty bitty terminally cute 22? But hey, guns don't kill people. Nasty naughty little boys at play doing what they see all around them and what they're taught in homes with stupid careless parents are the ones that kill people.
Have a great life, kid.
Welcome to Winter
It's going to be 91 in Sun city today. Sound like winter? No? OK, how about 34 right now in St. Paul, snow overnight still sitting on the leaves scattered across my lawn? Still not impressed? Go a bit south and east and try shoveling the 18" which fell Wednesday/Thursday in a few places, heavy wet stuff which is collapsing roofs, breaking trees, creating power outages. Now are you impressed?
Yesterday I drove Canon Falls, to the edge of the do-not-drive-here area, making a pick-up for work. Not knowing the road conditions, I left in plenty of time to tolerate delays. I arrived with time to look around. The tall clumps of snow the plows left along the roads caught my attention - and my camera. Small breaks in the piles letting light through glowed in that beautiful glacier blue, indicating how high a water content they held.
My yard is confused. Normally my snowdrops and scillas bloom first, then crocus, then daffodils start. Things thawed so late they're all taking advantage of their chance and blooming at once. Kinda nice, actually.
Ice out? One of the bays in North Lindstrom lake was still filled last night with those last dregs of ice which move around depending on wind direction. Usually you see them for maybe a day. They've been traveling without significant melting for three now. You can take a boat out if that bay doesn't happen to be the one with the boat launch, but why? Brrrr!
This weekend is Cinco de Mayo. Richard usually has his first gig of the year setting up in St. Paul. Not only will it be cold and rainy, but the vehicles are stuck south of Rochester in deep snow where they have been parked for the winter. The boss is trying to figure out if he can get them plowed out and on the road. I suspect he's also wondering why.
Yesterday I drove Canon Falls, to the edge of the do-not-drive-here area, making a pick-up for work. Not knowing the road conditions, I left in plenty of time to tolerate delays. I arrived with time to look around. The tall clumps of snow the plows left along the roads caught my attention - and my camera. Small breaks in the piles letting light through glowed in that beautiful glacier blue, indicating how high a water content they held.
My yard is confused. Normally my snowdrops and scillas bloom first, then crocus, then daffodils start. Things thawed so late they're all taking advantage of their chance and blooming at once. Kinda nice, actually.
Ice out? One of the bays in North Lindstrom lake was still filled last night with those last dregs of ice which move around depending on wind direction. Usually you see them for maybe a day. They've been traveling without significant melting for three now. You can take a boat out if that bay doesn't happen to be the one with the boat launch, but why? Brrrr!
This weekend is Cinco de Mayo. Richard usually has his first gig of the year setting up in St. Paul. Not only will it be cold and rainy, but the vehicles are stuck south of Rochester in deep snow where they have been parked for the winter. The boss is trying to figure out if he can get them plowed out and on the road. I suspect he's also wondering why.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Home Again
Made it through two days of windy, but at least it brought the heat with us, as promised. Already miss the mountains and the carefreeness of being on vacation. Later this morning I clerk an auction, and Monday is set up with a very early run. Effectively it means losing three hours rather than just the two we hit crossing time zones.
The dogs' reunion went smoothly, the unpacking was accomplished by others, the tangelos were welcomed and Paul instantly saw the benefits of having bits of peel frozen in hopes of a peach crop this summer/fall to make marmalade.
We froze in Raton, NM. Motel 6 has this "green" policy. The heat in our room had been turned off and it was already below freezing with snow on the ground when we arrived. I quickly turned it on, but what came sweetly from the ceiling fan was only moderately warm even with settings on high. Steve was fine. He's a furnace at night. What makes summers a bit uncomfortable lying next to him was what finally stopped my shivering when I crawled in with him (and Fred) after an hour of trying my tiny bed. Crowded, sure, but finally, sleep! By morning the air in the room was almost comfortable, and the floor was still cold! With everything still set high, I'd expected needing to turn it down mid-night.
Won't be staying there again.
Fortunately my car heats up fast. Morning outside temp was 18. As we climbed over the pass and into Colorado, the low clouds suddenly cleared and we had full sunshine. Hoarfrost and later ice covered tree branches, weeds, even yuccas, and they were spectacular with the rising sun behind them. Of course I stopped for pictures. The first town, with a high clear view of Spanish Peaks on the other side, had a convenient frontage road higher than the freeway and with no early morning traffic, making it possible to take some time with the camera shooting in both directions.
Greeley was what Steve called a closure. Last time we'd been through, he was both shocked and disappointed at how much it had grown and changed. This time we drove from childhood location to location, with him taking pictures of homes, schools, and other buildings as they are now. The house he grew up in was now a business, and he was invited inside for a tour. A park he played at had some changes, but the central pond still had its island, this time occupied by pelicans and cormorants, so even I had some fun with the camera. We met with cousins of his who took us out to dinner after a friendly argument on which Mexican restaurant served the right kind of food. The motel - different chain - was expensive, but hey, the heat worked!
Until our actual homecoming, everything after that was flat: geographically and emotionally. We took turns driving and sleeping the first day. My wrists got sore from fighting the crosswinds. Yesterday when we had turned north I marveled at how our southern wind became a western wind just in time to be a nuisance on that leg of the drive as well. And as expected, gas prices greeting us were the highest in Minnesota from the whole trip.
Unpacked, and after a good night's sleep, everything's hunky-dory. Almost. One Grrrrrrrrrrr!
While on the trip, my credit union decided I had to update my security settings so nobody else could log into my account. New password, even a picture that was my selection of dozens of pretty mundane and even crappy ones, but ones they picked to chose from. I dutifully went through it all, then sent myself an email to remind me for the first few times what the changes were. This morning I tried to log in, check my balance.
"Tried" being the operative word. The picture that came up was not my picture. The password was declared invalid. There will be nobody answering the phones at the credit union to deal with this until Monday. By then I'll be on the road, no laptop, no wi-fi, no fix. So yes:
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Vacation is officially over.
But hey, right outside the dining window, the hedge of viburnum cranberries is full of hungry migrating cedar waxwings.
The dogs' reunion went smoothly, the unpacking was accomplished by others, the tangelos were welcomed and Paul instantly saw the benefits of having bits of peel frozen in hopes of a peach crop this summer/fall to make marmalade.
We froze in Raton, NM. Motel 6 has this "green" policy. The heat in our room had been turned off and it was already below freezing with snow on the ground when we arrived. I quickly turned it on, but what came sweetly from the ceiling fan was only moderately warm even with settings on high. Steve was fine. He's a furnace at night. What makes summers a bit uncomfortable lying next to him was what finally stopped my shivering when I crawled in with him (and Fred) after an hour of trying my tiny bed. Crowded, sure, but finally, sleep! By morning the air in the room was almost comfortable, and the floor was still cold! With everything still set high, I'd expected needing to turn it down mid-night.
Won't be staying there again.
Fortunately my car heats up fast. Morning outside temp was 18. As we climbed over the pass and into Colorado, the low clouds suddenly cleared and we had full sunshine. Hoarfrost and later ice covered tree branches, weeds, even yuccas, and they were spectacular with the rising sun behind them. Of course I stopped for pictures. The first town, with a high clear view of Spanish Peaks on the other side, had a convenient frontage road higher than the freeway and with no early morning traffic, making it possible to take some time with the camera shooting in both directions.
Greeley was what Steve called a closure. Last time we'd been through, he was both shocked and disappointed at how much it had grown and changed. This time we drove from childhood location to location, with him taking pictures of homes, schools, and other buildings as they are now. The house he grew up in was now a business, and he was invited inside for a tour. A park he played at had some changes, but the central pond still had its island, this time occupied by pelicans and cormorants, so even I had some fun with the camera. We met with cousins of his who took us out to dinner after a friendly argument on which Mexican restaurant served the right kind of food. The motel - different chain - was expensive, but hey, the heat worked!
Until our actual homecoming, everything after that was flat: geographically and emotionally. We took turns driving and sleeping the first day. My wrists got sore from fighting the crosswinds. Yesterday when we had turned north I marveled at how our southern wind became a western wind just in time to be a nuisance on that leg of the drive as well. And as expected, gas prices greeting us were the highest in Minnesota from the whole trip.
Unpacked, and after a good night's sleep, everything's hunky-dory. Almost. One Grrrrrrrrrrr!
While on the trip, my credit union decided I had to update my security settings so nobody else could log into my account. New password, even a picture that was my selection of dozens of pretty mundane and even crappy ones, but ones they picked to chose from. I dutifully went through it all, then sent myself an email to remind me for the first few times what the changes were. This morning I tried to log in, check my balance.
"Tried" being the operative word. The picture that came up was not my picture. The password was declared invalid. There will be nobody answering the phones at the credit union to deal with this until Monday. By then I'll be on the road, no laptop, no wi-fi, no fix. So yes:
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Vacation is officially over.
But hey, right outside the dining window, the hedge of viburnum cranberries is full of hungry migrating cedar waxwings.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Bringing Spring Back
That's what we're optimistically trying to do anyway. It was in the low 90's as we pulled out of Sun City. I won't tell you all we forgot, but it includes Steve's warm jacket, and boy is he missing it! It was on the list, but, well, he got super efficient and packed the list.
Oops.
Going down to 18 tonight here in Raton, New Mexico. Snow is on the ground. Last night was much nicer. We ended up in Monument Valley with no reservations. Memo to all: do not try this. If visiting a very famous place in the middle of nowhere, without reservations, without good cell coverage, and without unlimited funds, well, bless all y'all's hearts. We finally found a place which takes dogs. The only one within who knows how many miles. Nevermind the price. The alternative was driving over a hundred miles when we were already tired. I'll just say it wasn't the $220 + tax that staying in Monument Valley would have cost. And the hot breakfast was really good.
Tonight it's Motel 6, and while they may have left the light on, they turned off the heat and made the wi-fi impossible to access. Or nearly, as proven by my typing this. Breakfast will be under the golden arches.
The plan is Greeley tomorrow, a sentimental journey for Steve with lots of pictures to be taken. Then heading for home by sometime Friday, dragging every moleule of warm weather we can along with us. It's practically May, ya know.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Oops.
Going down to 18 tonight here in Raton, New Mexico. Snow is on the ground. Last night was much nicer. We ended up in Monument Valley with no reservations. Memo to all: do not try this. If visiting a very famous place in the middle of nowhere, without reservations, without good cell coverage, and without unlimited funds, well, bless all y'all's hearts. We finally found a place which takes dogs. The only one within who knows how many miles. Nevermind the price. The alternative was driving over a hundred miles when we were already tired. I'll just say it wasn't the $220 + tax that staying in Monument Valley would have cost. And the hot breakfast was really good.
Tonight it's Motel 6, and while they may have left the light on, they turned off the heat and made the wi-fi impossible to access. Or nearly, as proven by my typing this. Breakfast will be under the golden arches.
The plan is Greeley tomorrow, a sentimental journey for Steve with lots of pictures to be taken. Then heading for home by sometime Friday, dragging every moleule of warm weather we can along with us. It's practically May, ya know.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
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