Stimulate This!

Well all Seniors and Disabled on Social Security benefits can now rest easy, their HUGE $250 stimulus check is all but a signature away.....The Bill was voted thru both houses of Congress, without a single Repug even looking up from the desk. Some $789 Billion in new spending and tax cuts was approved late yesterday, and unless you were comatose or highly sedated on your last Valium script, you already know all about the details of which I won't bother with here. The Greenies are happy, what with the dark ages of Bushism seemingly behind them, the Public Transit people seem pleased, so why do I have this nagging doubt, this pervasive sense of doom? That it's all going to be taken away like a favored holiday toy, never to see the light again? Could happen, I mean, were talking huge money here. No reason why this thing couldn't hit the crapper in some last minute conference committee, appropriations committee? Something like that. After eight years of having ALL my toys taken away, I'm not overly optimistic until I have the check in my hand. Conditioned pessimism if you will.


Someone asked me this morning why I only blog every couple of days, why don't I write a daily column? Good question, but an even better answer. I need at least a couple of days for the research required for each column I write. If I had lackeys. it'd be much easier, as when I worked for another magazine and had an e-mail in-box full of material waiting for me every bloody morning. I gotta find every bit myself and fact check it. It may seem effortless and the gratuitous use of profanity enforces that perception, but its anything but. I read for a minimum of five hours EVERY day, including weekends. Its a LOT of ground to cover, and a lot of facts to cross check, with no help from anyone, and a household to care for besides. What I wouldn' t give for a lackey or two. Anyone interested, I pay nothing, the hours suck and I have an evil mind and temper. But I make cookies.


Today is St Valentine's Day, and once again I have no partner with which to share it. Me and half the civilized world apparently. Doesn't bother me much anymore, but it does other people. I read massive amounts of very sad posts on everywhere from Salon.com to the NYTimes.com, and while I did ingest a bit more chocolate as a result, it didn't get me down anymore than reading about say "the War in Iraq"[tm], or the vastly more criminal "War on Drugs" [tm] do on any given day of the week. In fact my big bright spot was reading in the NYTimes about how the State of Calif. was going to have to discharge 55,000 low level no-violent incarcerated folks from their prison system. Due to a State Supreme Court ruling there, they are being forced to. Too bad they had to be MADE to do it, but it's a good start for someone like me, a member of the Prison Reform Project and The Drug Policy Foundation for like, EVER. A great start for the rest of the country to follow suit. Made my day not sad at all. I certainly hope that you and (if ya gots one) your other had/have a lovely day and night.

Son Of Failout......oooooh very very scary timmy!

At the same time as the House and Senate were, for the sake of bipartisanship and stimulusness compromising their collective souls to your______ (add religion) very own devil, Timmy "I'm still called Timmy" Geithner was very, very busy pulling the very largest heist in criminal history, by assembling all the policy and economic wonks he could afford to purchase (that were given time off from their day jobs at Wendy's Fine Burgers) in order to justify to the public and the world just WHY the same crappy bailout scheme that Hankie "Don't Fuckin Call Me That" Paulsen foisted upon us in a two page memo just last September, would conceivably work a second time around, even with a tad bit more "transparency". Of course Uncle Timmy had more than a dinky two page note (that presumably the dog ate on his way to school, so he wasn't prepared for the test) and should be excused ANYWAY since the case of explosive diarrhea that the stock markets had to his notions was just as predictable as Mr Brown, the fourth grade teacher who didn't buy that shit anyway and made him take the test with smelly pants. Even the French wouldn't sit next to him. The markets worldwide went into an absolute freefall clusterfuck. Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, world renowned economist and pretty nice guy, wouldn't take his Twitter messages. Oprah put all her billions in bullion. Mickey Mouse, who's like 130 years old by now, and living in Palm Springs next door to OJ, called me to say, in his inimitable squeaky way, "WTF!!!" Long story short, no one bought it, even the fucking bankers on Fucking WALL STREET!! I can see where the WS wankers getting all shirty if it was going to actually HURT them, but Timbo's plan doesn't, not in any way thats yet been revealed. Perhaps it'll be like on of those old radio serial dramas, where the listeners, audience, even the damn writers didn't know what peril the next episode was going to whoever was in dire danger in the previous installment. Or maybe it's like one of those "Toxic HomeLoans"[tm] where the next payment is the big SUUURRRPISE payment of 90% of the original loan. And we all know how well those worked out for the country now dont we class? Won't forget your homework again now will you Timmy? Good. Because the next time you do you have to spend recess in the dum dum de dum CLOAK ROOOOM!!! And the last guy to spend recess in there alone was never seen again!!! Not ALIVE ANYWAY!! BWAHHHH....


Some of the mail I get is very serious, and it can really get me down if I read it all in one clip, or as just happened, a machine malfunction caused my e-mail to pile up to astronomical proportions. And I cant be one of those people who deletes the lot and forgets about it. It would rankle. Teeth would gnash. Thoughts would be with some deposed dictators ex-wife who needs ME to help her get 90 kagillion US dollars out of the Republic of Swaziland safely to her home on Park Ave in New York. (Yes I know know that Swaziland has a King, but lets not split heirs) So the thing that I did do is go through all four separate mail accounts, and delete line by line everything that even had a spammy smell. That took two days. We're talking several thousand e-mails here, not even including the ones in the spam boxes, which just went bye-bye as is. Finally I get it down to yesterdays and todays mail, no sweat, I say to myself. "Self, you've done a magnificent job of work it would've taken many lesser humans weeks to accomplish, treat thyself, self!" And it being Wednesday, an unusally warm and clement day for winter, nearly SIXTY degrees for Dogs sake! Get oujt side and get some exercise, and enjoy this fine day. So I harness up the Boston Terrorist, put on the ratty old New Balance shoes cause theres sure to be mud and dog shit, and hit a local nature trail. Nearly two miles of semi-unspoiled wetlands in the midst of an industrial neighborhood (I may be from a professsion that breeds wealth, but it skipped my generaton!) and joined many other like minded souls. It being still WINTER, there was still much ice on the unpaved path, and much mud and dog-shit as predicted. What I had not in any way predicted was a complete and total moron on a RACING BICYCLE! ON ICE! In February! This looney was going as fast as physics and his vehicle would allow, but I didn't see him until after my dog did. The dog was on an retractable lead, OK for walking on sidewalks, on icy trails, no so much. Bostons are small but solid dogs, with very thick necks, and a very determined nature. His determination was to catch and kill the idiot on the trail bike. That there was anyone else on the other end of the lead was not in his focus. So my dog charged the biker, who didn't see the smallish canine, but heard him, and promptly ran his bike off the trail into the marsh, sailing headfirst into the muck and ice. The dog must have thought he killed it, and moved onto other more interesting subjects, like why was the "Food Guy" lying there on the ground screaming in pain? Well, FG as he calls me around the house, was hurt kinda bad. Seems that when FG's hand went flying trying to hold onto said lead, its partner hit the ground at an angle that doctors, this one included, do not recommend. After limping home and dumping off the Terrorist, I went to my local orthopod, who said I broke my wrist. After correcting him that my dog broke it trying to successfully (well, one can hope) kill an idiot cyclist, I took his pain med prescription to the pharmacy and am ever so thankful that the wrist was my left one. Self love is REALLY difficult with a cast on your wrist!

Everyone Stand Up And Cheer!

Ahhll be going pink today, as the rights of 18,00 legally married LBGT couples in California hangs in the balance in the state's Supreme Court. I just can't understand it. I always thought of Jerry Brown as the liberal's liberal. Mayhap there was an alien abduction at some point and he was injected with Sean Hannitty's brain. And now as Attorney General, he is one of the standard bearers for forcible divorce, a thing as yet unheard of in this country. Prop 8 was bad, but this fight's gonna get nasty. The money pouring into the Right's coffers is HUGE! And it's sure not coming from Joe Sixpack anymore. He can't affford a quart bottle of malt liquor now.

Along with Kenneth Starr, yup, that guy, the stains on Monica's dress guy, the one who wrote a book so long it had to be published in THREE volumes guy. It sickens me and brings back the rage that I felt when Reagan would not even utter the acronym of AIDS in 1983, bringing death to tens of thousands more innocents who might have been helped. Praise Allah, Buddha, Mohamed, the Dali Lama, an old Oak tree, whatever your faith may be, if you even have one at all, that there are people out there like Rick Jacobs from the Courage Campaign, fighting on the ground and in the media. More and more are stepping up every day, straight or not, to say that this is just plain wrong. But more need to be out there in the spotlight!

Like it or not, we are a celebrity driven culture, and if more Hollywood A-listers get up in front of a camera and say don't fuck with these loving peoples's lives, and many more television celebs of the minute do it too, in a BIGG way, like lots of man on man smooching at awards shows, people WILL pay attention. But we CANNOT let guys like Rick go it alone. He needs your encouragement and more, he needs money. Please donate to the CourageCampaign.org They've accomplished in just months what the Human Rights Campaign has taken YEARS to do. But don't think that the HRC is just sitting around on their asses. They DO good work, and I admire them in many ways, but when it comes to street level activism, they seem to have forgotten HOW. But I believe that they're re-learning. I look forward to Joe Solmonese to prove me right on that one.

Well, the economy is tanking even further with uncle Timmy spreading dough out like a pizza maker, the Dow drops soons as he says "Hello". The stimulus package isn't much of New New Deal, more like old Bushily crap. Tax breaks are almost half of it. Who GIVES a shit about taxes when you don't have a job anymore??? Wake me up when they do something about the poor and the near poor (formerly called the middle class). I'm popping some Xanax and forgetting for a while. All this "bi-partisanship" bullshit leaves a really nasty taste in my mouth. Like rideing bareback with a "escort", and realising halfway into it that his personal hygiene is less than desirable. Not that I'd EVER do such a thing, but I lived in LA for two decades, there's NOTHING I haven't seen at least once. My actual preference is for bookish, university types. My late husband was a poet and author, and was my absolute ideal for a mate. But now I'm not even certain how to aproach a man, it's been so long since I've done that mating ritual dance thing. I tried some online dating services, but most of the guys I met were after only one thing. Money. Anyone with any practical suggestions, I sure be grateful to hear them!! It gets pretty lonely in a huge crowd.

This post was brought to you by my brand spankin new Toshiba Satellite laptop, just aquired the day before yesterday. I will make sacrifices to the Gods of The Hard Drives that this will prove to be crash proof, and my new posts will be regular and interesting. Thanks to Mike and John and all the techs at Optimum.net who keep my broadband up and running.