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Altered Realities

Well, it’s been a bit since my last entry. I just reread my political rant and I have to say that I’m pleased with it. I still feel the same, even as the “war” with Iraq is almost over now. It is all propaganda, no matter if it’s Baghdad Bob or our own media, you know. But this entry is not about our Bush Family Follies. No, it is about a lot more important stuff than that.

As the folks who read me already know, I and my closest friends had a life changing event a couple of weeks ago. I don’t want to rehash the event here, but a brief sketch is in order. On Sunday, March 30, 2003, my best friends’ house burned. They were to move out that day, only hours after the fire took all they had. They lost their beloved pets (a dog and a cat), a Betta fish and just about every single thing they owned. They did not have Renters Insurance (Do YOU??). It was horrific and it could have been avoided had their negligent landlord FIXED the goddam house in the first place. Bastard.

That event has set into motion some changes that I’ve still not totally comprehended. For those of you who know me, you know I’m the Organizer, the Jewish Mother, the One Who Gets Things Done. It was no different that Sunday. I put aside my horror, my fear, my sadness, my intense desire to commit murder, my state of shock and all the rest of it to get ahold of the situation and take care of the details. I called everyone who needed to know what happened. I scooped them up and brought them to my home to get them OUT of that burnt shell of a house. I organized the salvage of the most important items that day and I drove the truck myself. I took pictures. I organized the salvage operation over Monday and Tuesday to ensure that every possible item that could be saved WAS. I delegated jobs to the people at hand. I had Nick set up the PayPal account to wrangle donations from LiveJournal and other internet folk who wanted to help. I shopped. I washed clothes twice to try and get rid of that smell. During all this, I worked a shift and attended the memorial for the pets. And then worked some more.

Then I crashed. Hard. Saturday night rolled around with a 10 hour day at Rich’s (with more business than fucking Christmas). I came home and after some choice words with Nick, I collapsed into a screaming, crying mess. Then I slept about 11 hours.

After all this, I emerged. I was tired physically, emotionally, psychically. But I was also a changed woman. I realized how much I have to be grateful for and how much those crazy, disorganized, messy people really mean to me. I bitch about their total inability to clean up after themselves. But you know what? Those two mean the world to me. They really are my family – along with Nick and Andy, of course – and I can tell you for damn sure that had they been in that house, I’d not be writing this. As bad as it was dealing with the death of the animals (and it was bad) had anyone been in that house when it burned, there is no way on this earth that I could’ve gotten through that. No way. I’m strong, but I ain’t that strong.

So, I am grateful that it’s over and we’re all here, together. ‘Cept for Andy, and that is something that can’t be helped at the moment, unfortunately. This experience has altered my reality so much that I’ve not seen all of it yet. I can tell you that my misanthropy is at an all-time low. I can tell you that I say “I love you” a whole lot more. I can tell you that I thank God, Goddess and everyone else every day that we’re here. And this sure has put stupid shit into perspective. All the dramas of people pale in comparison to mortality. That silly “war” has also been put in its place.

I know that I’m not the only one whose reality has been altered. It’s happened to us all. And I, for one, am grateful for it.

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Today I talked with God

6:20pm

I talked with God today. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that at all. He was in the countenance of a little Indian man named Patel. We chatted at the sari store where I was buying sari remnants and some Hindu chants/religious music. I was rooting through the boxes of CDs, looking at the pictures on the front, trying to decipher which god/goddess the CD was for when God appeared next to me. He asked if I understood the CDs and I said no, so he explained which singers were the best and which gods/goddesses were represented. Then we got into a discussion about the Trinity and how it’s represented in Hinduism and how everyone, no matter what the outward religion, EVERYONE worships the One Power. Religion is the way we mere mortals try to understand the power of the All. He said it’s not the destination but the journey. He said if we’d remember that we are all one, we’d not fight. He said that just the thought of All There Is can be a religious experience. He said every single breath is our commune with God. He said when our minds are perfectly still, we will know God. We will know All There Is. He said that when we can detach ourselves from the drama of human affairs, we will reach Ecstasy. He said when we can understand the Great Nothingness of the Universe, we will be One with God.

My shopping today was not just for saris or CDs. It was God telling me to have patience and to enjoy the journey. It was God telling me that these mortal wars and strife are not important to our Journey. It was God reassuring me. It was God touching me. And I felt it, too. My tears of gratitude are proof that my heart got the message. Loud and clear.

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Terrorism as a Marketing Tool

So, here we are, in year 2 of the Second Generation of the Bush Reich. Dubya has decided that everyone else can fuck themselves because we’re going to war, dammit! He’s also decided that Alan Greenspan is full of shit and therefore should just shut up about the Bush Plan to Save the Economy by Giving Tax Breaks to My Rich Friends and Leaving a Deficit for the Rest of You Poor Schmucks To Clean Up for Years to Come. [Turns out Greenspan was an idiot as well. -A 2015]

Well, here’s my theory: Terrorism as a Marketing Tool. Bush and his Daddy’s cronies are using the fear of terrorism to get every stinking thing they want. National ID Cards? Sure! Deficit spending and lowering tax revenue (Reaganomics)? Sure! Kick Saddam’s ass and take his oil? Sure! Wreck the environment and take away abortion rights? Sure! Piss off the whole world and tell them to fuck off? Sure! Allow N. Korea to arm itself and produce more weapons to sell because we’re too busy with the Bush Family’s Saddam obsession? Sure! All they have to do is holler TERRORISM and the American people abandon all sensibilities and cower in the corner clutching their duct tape. GeeDubya is a sneaky, manipulative little bastard who is using September 11 to its ultimate advantage. Am I the ONLY person in this country full of American Idol watching idiots who sees this?

I mean, come on, people, we’re being suckered! To all of you who are making duct tape and plastic manufacturers come in their pants: YOU ARE STUPID. YOU ARE CATTLE. Do you really think that The Terrorists (capital T’s) give a rat’s ass about your piece of shit home in the ‘burbs? Hell no, they don’t! They’d have to target YOU specifically to expose you to any significant amounts of anything. Dumbasses.

Dubya and his cronies have run rampant over so many things that were right in this country! How the hell is trashing what little environmental controls that we have going to stop The Terrorists? How is taking away our civil liberties going to stop The Terrorists? (I’m sitting here wondering if writing this will get me a visit from the fucking feds! How fucked up is that??) How is taking over Iraq going to stop The Terrorists? Answer: it’s NOT! Wake UP!

It’s marketing and spin. It’s the thing that politicians do best: use the public’s fickle emotions to get what they want. Dubya, et. al. are playing the public like a violin, baby. If you don’t believe that, then you need to learn to read and pay attention. Here are a couple of my favourite quotes from past leaders (you dumb ones will need a dictionary):

“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” — John Adams
“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” — George Washington

It’s the classic diversion tactic used for generations by thieves. The easily led public has been diverted by the magic word terrorism. While everyone is running around buying duct tape and plastic and studying How-To videos a là 1960 (Duck and Cover, anyone??), the economy is in the crapper and we’re about 2 inches from a full scale war. But is anyone concerned? Nah, we gotta get home and seal ourselves in so The Terrorists won’t get us. While GeeDubya stirs shit and wreaks havoc, his minions make sure to mention the word terrorist in every statement made to the public to keep that panic level high enough to distract from their lies and manipulations. Dubya has even alluded that he knows more about economics than Greenspan, so everyone should ignore Greenspan and listen to him, because he is just positive that his deficit spending is the way to go. It worked for Uncle Ronnie, didn’t it? Yeah, baby, yeah, what a blast from the past!

He can say anything, anything at all and all he has to do is say TERRORISM after it and no one remembers anything that was said before TERRORISM. It’s like some fucked up hypnotic trance thing. Or brainwashing. Jesus god, thinking about all this is sickening. Day after day I read the paper and it feels like it can’t really be happening. I mean, it’s soooo obviously stupid and Dubya is such a slime and I don’t agree with one iota of any of it, but it’s happening anyway. And the public is eating it up. Dubya’s megalomania and imperialism is staggering, yet no one seems to notice.

Oops, I guess I forgot the magic word. Silly me, no wonder I’m so bothered.

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NBA Allstar Playahs

10:45pm

You know what I am? FOUL, that’s what (check yer iMood, folks). This last weekend was The NBA Allstar game here in Atlanta and if that’s not enough, there was also the Players’ Ball and some bull riding convention. Oh, yeah, that’s a great idea: let’s invite more fucking people into a city that can’t even handle its usual population! Not just one, but three major events. God, what morons.

For those who are not city dwellers, a Player (pronounced PLAY-ah) is a gangsta, pimp, ho or other lowlife crackhead who comes to Atlanta (or your city) for any excuse they can to trash the city and tie up traffic wid dey Escalades wid da fly rims. This town was wall to wall gold teeth and ALL of them tried to cram themselves into Lenox Mall on Saturday and Sunday nights. I had the joy of working both nights. Saturday the Mall had to close at 6pm due to overcrowding, but not Rich’s, oh hell no, Rich’s stayed open until 11pm as planned. It was a treat to have the Players hang out in Urban wear, sitting on racks, tossing trash and food onto the floor, smoking, pissing in the corners and fitting rooms and generally milling around stealing stuff. Yes, and the festivities continued Sunday night with a probable shooting that begat 2 riotous crowd surges into Rich’s Urban section which led to scared employees and much theft. This time the Atlanta PD forced Rich’s to close and when it was all over, the manager of the store had the nerve to stand in front of us and say “it was nothing, absolutely nothing.” Bastard.

Right this minute, I’d just like to take this opportunity to tell all the people that are pissing me off to BUGGER themselves.

That is all.

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RIP Columbia

2:45pm

I think Andy said it best: RIP Columbia, you will not be forgotten. I’m saddened by this event and I’m very, very afraid that Andy will get into NASA and I’ll have to live through the takeoffs and landings. It makes me cry to even think of it.

But, life and the space program go on and we will continue the quest to conquer the Final Frontier of space. The lives lost are not in vain. These people are explorers of the highest degree and they gave their lives for the furtherence of mankind.

It is appreciated more than we can express.