This country is going to the dogs Exhibit 3998

I found this link online to a 911 call from a drive thru in California (where else?) This must be heard to be believed. I cannot guarantee its authenticity but if it is, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

911 call that must be heard to be believed

Click on the link that says WMA file.. You won't be disappointed.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Sat through the American version of "The Office" tonight. I am a huge fan of the original and watching this one was frankly, strange. It was written by Ricky Gervais & Steven merchant and so it was eerily like the 1st episode of the British version. I will give subsequent episodes a chance to se how they diverge from the original. But seeing some of the same exact jokes and essentially the same exact performaces was a little disconcerting.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know.

I'm No Alarmist, But...

Earlier today, I started to write a post about how I was worried that something awful was going to happen in Florida with regards to Terri Schiavo. It semed alarmist and a bit shrill so I stopped myself.

Sorry to go on about this, but I have read 2 things tonight that I am truly speechless about.

#1: from Fox news, John Gibson says jeb Bush should give serious thought about storming the hospice where Terri Sciavo is.

#2: In the National Review, William Bennett (former Reagan/Bush cabinet member turned gambling addict) advises Jeb Bush to use whatever means necessary to reinstate the feeding tube. He has the fucking audacity to compare it to martin Luther King's civil disobedience.

These people are inciting violence, plain and simple. What is happening to this country?

Cutest. Baby. Ever.

Can't help myself posting this photo!!

The polls are right in the Schiavo case

I spoke with my father this evening, who is a hard core partisan Republican, and he said to me that he is "siding with the Democrats on this one." I was shocked at first, but then again, he is in his late 60's now, and I'm certain he and my mother have had discussions about this kind of possibility happening to one of them, and they believe that the spouse has the final say. And they are right!

This is a common sense issue. What the hard core right wing Republicans in Congress did was think they had a politcal issue on their hands when they really had a common sense issue and they confused the two. If they lost my father on this issue, then they are in serious trouble.

Living (Blogging) Will

My wife already knows this, but judging by the US government these days, you can't be too careful. I am announcing to the world that if I find myself in a persistent vegetative state, or in a medical condition where i am terminal and unable to feed myself, I would like to die in dignity. Please do not let Tom Delay have ANY say in my health care decisions. And my current choice of political doctors is Howard Dean, and not Bill Frist.

I assume with the all powerfulness of Google, this will be cached and could be used in a court of law. In the meantime, I intend to make a proper living will and I advise you to do the same.

Marriage rights?

With the Terri Schiavo case, the GOP has proved that they don't give a rat's ass about the sanctity of marriage. A spouse's rights mean nothing if Republicans don't agree with them (and the added bonus of scoring points with the right to life crowd).


Another thought about this case is how, in the face of OVEREWHELMING medical evidence, some people on the right seem to think that this woman is going to "awaken" from her persistent vegetative state. Kind of reminds me of faith based science, which as we know, isn't science, it's faith.

Private School Auctions - The Haves and the Have Mores

Another sign that New York City is as full of assholes as any red state. Read it.

I always assumed the $20,000 a year it cost to send your kid to a NYC private school would cover the expenses of the place. But when the parents are really rich, why not soak them for a few more bucks, and let them look like big shots at the same time by bidding $40K for dinner prepared by Danny Meyer. At least one school got it right though:

And the proceeds from tonight's auction at St. Hilda's and St. Hugh's in Morningside Heights will all be donated tsunami victims in a village in India, the first time the school has ever donated its auction kitty.

UPDATE 10PM - I emailed the writer of this story who informed me that the auction purchases are tax deductible, depending on the item. So some Wall St. mucky muck gets a $30,000 tak deduction for buying an 8 year-old's quilt. Nice fucking world we live in.

All You need to Know About the party in Power

Two nuggets from today's business in the Senate:

1. Senate votes to allow drilling in the Artic national Wildlife Refuge

2. Senate votes to not increase funding for Amtrak.

Certainly the 2nd story is a big giant F-you to all of the northeast US, who happened to vote for Kerry.

Grace - Reverse Hillbilly

Officially discovered Grace's first tooth this morning. Will try and get photographic proof soon.

Bobo and the even handed centrist guy schtick

Daivid Brooks, everybody's favorite Republican has a column up today on the failures by both parties on Social Security reform.

Here's one of his Republican criticisms:
In their efforts to create a risk-taking, dynamic society, they didn't appreciate how many people, including conservatives, value security and safety.

Okay, since when was the US not a dynamic risk takng country?? It's like the the woman who says "I loved him too much." This is a criticism?

Here's a criticism of the Democrats:
The Howard Dean hotheads declare that they hate the evil Republicans, making compromise seem like collaborating with Satan.

First things first. Here's a real cheap shot at the leader of the DNC. And while I would never equate a republican with Satan, making compromisise with George Bush's republican party has led to nothing but ruin. Ask Max Cleland. Ask stupid Joe Lieberman, who has been providing political cover to Bush for 4 years now.


Lastly, there is this gem:
Instead, many made demagogic speeches about Republican benefit cuts, as if it is possible to fix the system without benefit cuts.

Umm, Mr. Brooks, there is a way to solve the problem without benefit cuts. You simply refuse to see it. Raise the retirement age, raise the ceiling on the payroll tax are 2 of the easiest remedies. So shut your cake hole.

THE FLU OF 2005! (Scary headline on tv News)

Has anybody had these symptoms in this order:

1. Sore throat (day & a half)
2. Chest nastiness with fever (2 days)
3. Runny nose (with some fever just to piss you off - just arrived)

Just asking. Sorry to those I infected.

Father Buys Nothing (or, How I stopped worrying and learned to miss my wife's birthday)

As you can see by the lack of posts, it's been a busy week in the real world. A 65 hour work week, complicated by 3 days of real flu symptoms, and Sarah's birthday began an hour ago, and all I've bought is some soap. PATHETIC.

But I have my ace in the hole. Stay tuned for details later.

One Final Thought for Tonight

If you choose to ignore all news about Michael Jackson & Martha Stewart you could get an extra 45-50 minutes in your day. Just a thought.

With my 50 minutes, I write this blog.

Residing in the Where are They Now File:

Ashleigh Banfield. Anybody know where she is?

Grace and the Story of the Precious Bodily Fluids

On the fatherhood front, Grace today broke an 0-6 poop slump by hitting for the cycle today. All articles of clothing and her seat were soiled in the evacuation. Mother reports to be very proud of Grace's efforts today, but she seemed reticent to speak about the cleanup attempt. Father does feel some guilt about being at work and missing her big day.

UPDATE: Saturday 9AM: Staying with the baseball metaphor, Grace hit a double this morning and I was brought in from the bullpen to clean up. Glad to be of service, I say.

David Brooks got me thinking...

Plenty of folks got on the David Brooks beatdown bandwagon today for his column today about couples and separate bank accounts.

Basically he was saying that he was ever so slightly troubled by couples who keep separate bank accounts. He feels that in a marriage, separate accounts could trigger self interest that could be unhealthy in a marriage. As usual, he was reaching a bit to make his point, but in this case I tend to agree with him. Granted, I am looking at it through the eyes of a guy who was married at the age of 26 with essentially nothing in the bank. Sharing half of nothing was easy. But I am a sentimental fool and I still take all those marriage cliches seriously. So on this day, I will not bash David Brooks.

Geography Question

What do Iran, China, Pakistan & Congo have in common?

They are now the only countries in the world that allow the execution of minors. Before today, The United States was also on the list.

Here are the details.