Dumb people and other love songs

Haven't done this in awhile. I hope I remember how...

I'll be trying to post my more inflammatory statements through the blog so I piss off fewer people.

Have you noticed that Joe Arpaio does more ridiculous things as the federal government gets closer to nailing him for his racial profiling and incompetence at his job? Also, most of his campaign money comes from outside the state.

You would have to be completely lost in your own paranoid brand of unreality to believe - even for a minute - Rush Limbaugh's statements that the President of the United States actually hates the country he runs. Pretty stupid.  I can respect people who disagree with the policies of the president or others on my side of the political divide, but as soon as you say actively stupid things, I can't respect you anymore. (To be clear: "I don't think the president is doing a very good job turning around the economy" is fine. I disagree, but I can understand. When you say "I wish this president would learn how to be an American," you have crossed the line into stupidity.)

Don't read the comments sections of any online posting. Most of the time the people who respond to online articles have been required to fail an IQ test before being allowed to post. Also, don't comment on news articles. Please.

I can't wait to stay on the North Rim.

I hope California is foggy when we get there.

I was worried about Katie's high school reunion, but it was fun. I didn't know those folks very well, but it was still great to reminisce over the shared experiences we did have together.

I love my job, but I wish the people I feel best about working with would stop leaving. Not only am I losing out on the chance to collaborate with some terrific educators, but I'm starting to get a complex! This time, I still have a couple teachers left to work with, but just by the skin of their teeth.

I'm not leaving the Catholic Church, but I'm not very happy with the state of affairs therein.

I'm really glad that I finally talked Katie into getting a Facebook account.

And speaking of Katie, I am the luckiest man on earth. Not only do I get to spend every day with a couple of terrific little boys, I also get to look at the best person I have ever known as I fall asleep every night. Her strength and beauty–in every aspect of her life–inspire me every day.

I wish I could have been at my baby cousin's wedding. As it turns out, she isn't a baby anymore. In fact she's a doctor, but I still wish I could have gone to her wedding.

I guess the Diamondbacks are going to trade Justin Upton. I have no idea why they would do that. And on the subject of the D-backs, where the heck is Daron Sutton?!

Thanks for reading. I'll try to do better next time.

Just tired

Maybe I'm over-tired, at home with a sick 4 year old, but I'm a little emotional today. I watched Gabby Giffords resign today. I heard the things her colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, said about her. I want to believe those things.

When I was a little kid I would say, like all little kids, that I wanted to be President someday.  I don't actually want that anymore, but I want to believe that the people who represent us are good people.  I want real people who are doing what they think is right to run this country, not people who will say one thing one day, and change their tune to deny an opponent a victory.  I want to believe that the tears I saw on the floor of the House of Representatives were real.  When I see John Boehner, I don't want to think he's prepping a photo-op.  The system as it stands now makes it hard for me to believe those things, though.

I haven't stopped believing in the things I have always believed in.  I am still a ridiculously left of center liberal.  I just don't want to be a bomb-thrower anymore. If someone I know believes something from the right, I don't want to think they are bad; I just want to think they are simply wrong.  Watching the State of the Union and Rep. Giffords resignation, I got a brief reminder of how it felt when I could believe passionately without hating passionately.  

I don't want to believe that all Republicans are Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter or Russell Pearce or Joe Arpaio and I don't want to be the liberal equivalent of those hate-mongers.  I fear that is precisely what I have become.  I want to remember that you can disagree with someone and still believe them to be a fine person. And I want to remember that even people I generally agree with and admire make poor decisions or have bad ideas; I don't automatically oppose you because I disagree with you. 

I need to believe that people are basically good, whether I agree with them or not.  I'm tired of being cynical.  I am tired of being angry.  I am tired of pointing fingers.  I am tired of my thin skin.  I am tired of the political person I have become.  I can't change the system, and I can't change what others think or say about me, but I can change me and that is enough.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to do better next time.