Blast From the Past: When the Shit Hits the Fan

Repo Man was released in 1984. I was a 13-year-old kid growing up on an Air Force base in Germany (or more correctly, West Germany). I was just starting to get into punk rock and really easing into rebellion. My step-father, an Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, was quite conservative in his politics but I was closer to him than any other parental figure in my life and I've taken his teachings to heart. This was the man who said he was fighting for the rights of protesters who torched his beloved flag. He believed in this country and he made me believe too. One of the big things he taught me was that we needn't always agree (in fact, we often did not) but we should learn to civilly present our position and keep our ears open to the opposition. They will only shout louder and louder if they feel that they are not being heard. He always listened to me, even though his rule was law in our home.

Most of my friends thought he was an asshole, at least upon first meeting him but he tended to grow on them (even if he did have to ask if their mother's had matching earrings in their jewelry boxes at home). I always knew that when I pissed him off, and steam was pouring from his ears, he still loved me. I think that makes a great parent, that your children always know that you are not being mean to them but you are doing your damnedest to protect them because you love them so damn much.

My dad passed away in 1993 and I still miss him every day. There have been times when I've actually felt him close to me. In fact, shortly after his death I received a phone call...a message actually, that sounded just like him and the message was that I should take a break and do something for myself, specifically go out to dinner. That day I found $80.00 and I did go out to eat. That's exactly the kind of thing that he would have said to me. He knew that I had a tendency to get all wound up inside, he saw my stress and recognized it when no one else did though I could never tell him why I was a bunch of knots (and still sometimes am). I couldn't tell him because I knew that it would probably kill him if he knew that there was a time when he did not protect me from one of the awfullest of horrors that a child can ever experience.

Harry Dean Stanton, who played Bud in Repo Man reminds me of my dad and this song reminds me of how things were in the early 80s (mind you, my dad never looked as rough as Harry, but there's just some quality in his voice that makes me think of my dad). There was a severe recession in 1980-1982 following the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The revolution caused an increase in oil prices across the globe which resulted in an energy crisis kind of like that one in 1973. I could now force on you my opinion of the auto manufacturers in Detroit, who have had ample time to make (and sell) more fuel efficient vehicles or the oil subsidies that have effectively made Americans completely unaware of the real cost of oil, but I'll save that for another day.

Right now, I'm thinking about how the world spins round and round. How we come back to these things over and over again. I wonder if we will ever figure out how to break this cycle of recession or if we will just have to take the advice of the Circle Jerks and remember that "we all gotta duck when the shit hits the fan."

Number Four

It's no little secret that I love the Green Bay Packers.

I also love Brett Favre.

So, how do I feel now that he's signing with the Vikings?

Unlike other Green Bay fans, I do not feel stabbed in the back. I do not begrudge the man a few more years of doing what he loves. He's just a wee bit older than I am and I feel like I can understand wanting to experience just a little bit more. Just a little bit more time playing a young man's game. Just a little bit more of that feeling of the field, the team, the adoration. Just a little more time to decide what the hell he's going to do for the next 30 years or so.

I am disappointed.

Yes, I am and let me tell you why (though you did not ask and likely do not care). I am disappointed that Brett now has a very high chance of leaving the game as a joke when he could have left two years ago as one of the greatest (if you must know my personal opinion, THE GREATEST) quarterbacks to ever play the game. People have a short memory, you know. Apparently, they already have a hard time remembering all those other athletes that cut short their retirement...Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemons, Muhammed Ali, Martina Navratilova, George Foreman, Mario Lemieux...

Brett, I still love you but I will never root for the Vikings...(well, maybe I will if they're playing the Bears, or the Lions, depending on the standings).

Too Stupid to Learn

More proof that our education system has been failing us since at least the 1960s.

Rush Limbaugh graduated from Cape Central High School in 1969. He followed that with an unsuccessful attempt at Southeast Missouri State University.

Presumably at some period during his education, he passed an English class. Probably was introduced to the various uses of the fabled dictionary. Now he makes his living off of words and he would have his listeners believe that he actually knows what he's talking about. Of course, in their defense, it must be noted that they are products of the same education system.

Now, I've already told the world that Rush Limbaugh is Un-American and for the poor, unknowing (quite possibly under-educated) masses I even explained the differences between Socialism and Fascism to include an accurate explanation of Adolph Hitler's use of the word "socialist" in the phrase "National Socialist Workers' Party." I now know that Rush does not read my blog and I'm deeply, truly saddened. Of course, it may just be that he is actually too stupid to learn.

In his latest foray into stupidom, Rush has compared Obama's health care logo to the Nazi swastika. Gee, I thought it looked more like a caduceus than a swastika. Does he mean to suggest that doctors are Nazis too?

Of course, the comparison of President Obama to National Socialists is actually pretty damn stupid. Hey Rush, remember the 1936 Olympics (...Cornelius Johnson...I bet you wanted me to say Jesse Owens, gotcha!)? Yes, it's true, National Socialists are racists. I even got my ass kicked by Nazis in 1990...real ones...because some of my friends weren't the right color...and I bet they'd like to kick Rush's ample rear right now for sullying their reputation.

Finally, and most seriously, health care is an issue which affects every single one of us. Is there a way that adults can come up with a solution? I believe so but it is not acting like a bunch of crazed children, high on sugar, at town hall meetings. It is not calling fellow Americans Nazis (unless they are, and when the Nazis start feeling real comfortable coming out to town hall meetings we'll know it...even Nancy Pelosi will know it). It is not scaring the shit out of Americans with outright lies.

P.S. I'm no grammar expert (you already know this!). I'm just a lowly historian and wannabe law student who enjoys words. I frequently use a dictionary and I have multiple...I'm sure I could spare one to send to Rush.

P.S.S. Click here to sign the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's petition calling on the GOP to denounce Limbaugh's comments comparing Democrats to Nazis.

Talk (Parts I & II)

I stumbled across these great films at Jodie's blog, Disabled Acomplishments. They were made by Britain's Disability Rights Commission (now the Equality and Human Rights Commission) but they are just as relevant to the United States. President Obama signed a proclamation just last Friday celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I'm not celebrating. My personal experience has shown me that the ADA is widely misunderstood by employers (just like the board meeting at the beginning of the first film) and that we Americans still have a long way to go in the arena of civil rights. Sadly, I cannot count the number of times that I've heard employers refer to people with disabilities as "those people" over the past two years.

Oh, Poor, Poor Pitiful Me

Doesn't your heart just bleed with sympathy for this Boston cop?

Poor choice of words? Characterizing behavior?

I love the use of the "patriot" card, "I served my country, I volunteered to go to Iraq..." (Guess that's the new one, huh?)

He says he has post-traumatic stress because of this. Well, buddy, you just insulted a whole hell of a lot of veterans and abuse survivors with that claim. You know people who actually experienced trauma. If being called out for being ridiculously stupid on TV is traumatic to you then you don't have what it takes to be a cop or a member of the US military.

Leadership requires a thick skin...and the ability to think before you hit send. It also requires unselfish dedication to those you serve. All I've heard from him is, "poor, poor pitiful me."

Geography Joke

Sailor: I got mobilized and I'm going to Afghanistan.
Michigander: Well, at least you'll be on a ship.



I guess the Navy will be breaking out Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise for this mission.

P.S. I shouldn't be surprised at all, this is the state that brings you Thaddeus McCotter. I vote that we give Detroit to Canada.