Charlie The Wrangler

In a last ditch attempt to save face it's reported Charlie Rangel agreed to a last-minute plea deal which will probably go nowhere, nor should it. I'd like to think Congress doesn't even need an ethics committee, but of course they do. It is one arena where partisanship cannot be claimed. Both sides err. Even the likes of John McCain faced accusations during the Keating five investigation.

What irritates me is the contempt shown to we, the people, who elect them, put our trust in them. I am especially irritated by a man like Rangel who has been in Congress for 40 years! I'd think he'd have the 'can' and 'cannot dos' down by this time! But no. And when caught he drags his feet for two years all because he's worried that his legacy and career may end on a "tarnished note". Well, it should if he's indeed found guilty. And since he's been dragging it out I'd cautiously assume he will be.

Another thing that irritates me, my I am irritable these days, is the plea deal ploy. That's like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear! Why should he even be allowed? After thirteen, thirteen violations! He even gets to choose which violations he will accept!

I have absolutely no sympathy for members of Congress who get themselves into these pickles. To blame their accountants or even their wives is nonsense. I had to laugh when Rangel chided young Luke Russert last week about showing him a lack of respect. I'd say the one with the lack of respect is Rangel toward his constituents and the public in general.

He should step down. He won't. Fortunately the ethics panel is made up of an even number of Democrats and Republicans so the Democrats can't bail him out. It's probably naive on my part to think if the evidence against him was truly shaky, he'd not be in the position he finds himself and even numbers wouldn't matter. Heck, he wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

His legacy? Tarnished? He should have thought about that before he decided to shine up to the wrong side of ethics.

If We All Looked The Same We'd Still Have The Illegal Immigration Problem!

Is anyone besides myself disgusted with the way the illegal immigration problem is playing out?

I find it thoroughly offensive that the Mexican President dare take us to task for the way his people, here illegally, are being treated. How dare he! This country that prints "how to" comics for those who wish to leave. I find it thoroughly offensive that U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent, attorneys, stand before judges defending illegals by claiming they're just people like the rest of us. No they aren't. They're breaking the law.

I find it thoroughly offensive the Federal government won't enforce the law for political reasons. I find it even more offensive that no one in Congress has the guts to shout it out!

Profiling Hispanics is not a personal affront; it's because they are the ones streaming across the border! Just like people of middle eastern descent are the Islamic terrorists. If they were French or Canadian or Chinese they'd be the ones we'd be scrutinizing! Or should be.

Why must we play politics with everything? So Obama can win the Hispanic vote? What's the matter with the Hispanics? The ones who are here because they did it the right way? Again, it's like the American Muslims. Why aren't they putting together a loud cohesive voice condemning radical terrorism? The Hispanics condemning the illegals? I say hooray for Arizona for their effort. That parts of their law have been shot down isn't surprising. It won't be surprising either when the government's promises don't play out.

Why is it we can't accept the simple truth as reality? There aren't two truths we have to decide between. Why can't the House ethics committee go ahead with their trial against Charlie Rangel rather than playing politics with it? What kind of country have we become?

Totally political. Totally dysfunctional.

Vets Lose Their Pets Too

I weaned myself from that infernal Facebook zoo game last night with the express purpose of visiting the pages of my friends. Most are far better at posting on them than I am. A one sentence snippet of what I'm cooking for dinner doesn't strike me as being of much interest to anyone - so I play zoo.

I should check the pages of my friends more often though. Good, bad or indifferent, there is usually news. Last night it was bad. Both Bacchus's local vet and his cardiologist have both lost "kids" of their own in recent weeks. I'd not met any of the dogs but I found myself tearing up anyway. I know their Moms.

It got me to thinking about what wonderful, special people my veterinarians have been. I can't think of a one that I had a long term relation with that didn't develop into a first name basis. I treasured those who seemed to love my dogs as much as I did. Of course they didn't, not on the same level. It was my dog, not theirs. Empathy seems to come naturally to them, even though they see sick animals day in and day out and must harden to the losses that inevitably occur. It's that they love animals, pure and simple.

I don't know of one who didn't have pets of their own knowing full well that they too would one day lose them. Lucky dogs - and cats, horses, fish, mice, birds - whatever. They received the very best care in the world.

As the person belonging to my dogs, I had the responsibility for their well being and quality of life. We always sought the best vets we could find and in turn placed our trust in them. Sometimes it's easy to forget they too are people like me with the same sense of responsibility, the same fears, the same emotional range. What they have that I don't is the expertise to do more than I could.

I know that both these ladies did everything possible for their dogs. And they agonized, just as I did with Bacchus. This time I had the empathy because I still bear the pain of loss. As bad as it remains, I know Bacchus had the best care we could give him because of the dedication and guidance of both these professionals.

I just hope they know they are the best and nothing better could have been done for theirs than they gave. It has to be a question that occurs, a question that penetrates grief. Rest easy ladies. Your "kids" had the best Moms in the world. They surely knew it. You need to know it too ~ and believe it.

Is There A Place At The Keyboard For Us?

I wish I could have been a fly in Vegas this past weekend, flitting between Netroots Nation at the Rio and the Rightonline folks at the Venetian! It surely would have been an interesting study in contrasts.

I caught glimpses of Al Franken and Harry Reid trying to rally the liberal troops and having a hard time of it. On the other hand there was Mike Huckabee doing his show at the Venetian belly laughing along with his audience at the sexual innuendos coming from guest Rita Rudner and Robin Leach as a man in search of a country! Remember his Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?

As I read about the origins of the netroots movement and how they've stolen the march on the right, I'm wondering where the heck the independents are in this community. It's interesting to learn the networks blogosphere is at war with their own political elitists. It's also interesting to note how poorly the right has been at adopting the same technology for their own ends.

I have a few thoughts however. One, they are too fragmented and technologically behind the curve. The tea party movement is a prime example. I suspect if you sat down the titular head of tea party movements from a dozen different areas you'd get a dozen different answers as to just what it is that they want. I don't see this fragmented approach doing much more than making re-election easier for what should be mortally wounded Democrats. This is truly political theater in the making.

There is an element missing in all this. At least I have yet to find it. How about the feared yet sought after independents? We're told we wield a great deal of sway, yet how? Do we have our version of the Daily Kos or are we mostly single, basically insignificant voices like myself wringing our collective hands because no one sees things our way?

Both sides want to win our votes, but what do we want. I see myself against a lot from both sides, yet I've done little to articulate what I'd like to see happen and what manner of candidate I would surely support. It isn't that there aren't any out there. I feel I just haven't asked the right questions of them. Do independents even have a platform? One that we could coalesce under and work toward? To say to the others, if you want us, this is what you must do?

I've watched my readership swing like a pendulum as I voice my dissatisfaction. When I was pro Obama I had a slew of readers, mostly gone now. Why? Because they were die hard Democrats. Now I have more readers that lean right, because I do - for the moment. How many, however, look at both sides and say un uh. None of you measure up and I'm no longer willing to compromise how I feel! If there is a third movement out there please point me toward it. If not, I don't think we can ever get beyond the partisanship we are now experiencing.

The battle for the heart of the Democratic party is in full swing. They have savvy and experienced bloggers leading the charge. The Republicans have a huge chore ahead just to catch up. I don't expect to see a third party, but what about the independents? If we can't find our own common ground along with the ability to give it voice, we might as well get used to being on the outside looking in hoping along the way we'll have a crumb thrown to us as the price of a vote.

I'm Still Here!

Summer is in full bloom. The heat is in the nineties. Yard work, which is plenty on five acres, has to be done in the morning. Then, with pain in tow, there are the doctor appointments.

Nothing good on that front. The Botox didn't make a dent so after much consultation with all my attending physicians, I agreed to move on to stronger medication. Funny, the stronger it is the less expensive. Go figure. Anyway, the next stop is a neurologist. A new possibility has popped up which I don't care to discuss. I'm going to enjoy being in denial until that appointment next month.

Hub has been cleaning the office. Today is the first day I've had access to my computer for days. I feel like I've had a limb removed. But then, it's too hot to be in here; today I'm having a warm fix for my addiction to this thing.

With all the hoopla about the Netroots conference in Las Vegas this weekend, I picked up the book which my niece sent me for Christmas. Autographed by the author to me no less! Seems his daughter is a classmate of one of my great nieces. It's a very interesting read. It's giving me some thoughts on some structural changes in what I do here. I'll be interested myself to see if I can make them play out!

That's what I'm up to these days. The heat isn't scheduled to break for at least a week so unless we miraculously get this office, which is in our shop, air conditioned, my presence will be a bit sporadic. For those of you who hang around, thanks. As I said, I'm still here and the old thought processes continue!