Are We a Nation?

Caution: The following is a poorly thought-out proto-rant composed while waiting for the sleep deprivation to catch up with me. You have been warned.

Is the USA still a nation? In order to answer this question, first we must find an acceptable definition for nation. Wiki maintains that "a nation is a group of people who share culture, ethnicity and language". Let's think about this: Culture? Not even in a petri dish. I defy you to find a single cultural more, folkway, or tradition that is constant throughout the USA. No, bitching mightily does not count.

Ethnicity? Honkey, please. Don't get me started.

Language? At the risk of outing myself on the immigration issue, any time you can get all government publications in the language of an invading nation your country is not united by language.

Apparently 81% of Americans are in favor of the new and improved TSA "Freedom Harassments".

I'm going to sleep now. More later.

Well That's Unequivocal

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has this to say about our most recent ex-President:

It's good to be reminded of real conservative values, which include abhorrence of torture and a dedication to the rule of law. By those standards, George W. Bush is not now a conservative, merely a thug, twisting the law to engage in something utterly alien to Anglo-American ideals. And a smug thug at that. Watching his interview on Hannity - yes, I managed to get through most of it - I was reminded of this man's utter shallowness and moral unseriousness. Glib doesn't begin to describe his solipsistic denial of his own barbarism.

Read it for yourself.

RIP

Kevin Abascale, my brother-out-law, passed away this week. He was 30. Cause of death is not yet known, although "too awesome too live" may be the final diagnosis. Kevin didn't have a mean bone in his body. He was one of those rare good people you find on this planet, and I am honored to have known him.

4.5 billion assholes on the planet, and this guy has to die.

I have to go to the funeral home now.

Just a Little Bit Off

I'm off work for the next week, which would be fun, except I'm taking the board exams on Thursday. Big, day-long, high-stakes test that determines whether or not I get certified as a specialist in my chosen field. There may be some drinking afterward.

Hurricane Wrap-up

There are NO STORMS in the North Atlantic. My roof is still attached, and I didn't have to replace any flooring this year (well, except where John had his "accident"). I'll take it.

Justice, You Got Served!

Tomorrow I go to court. I was subpoenad in a case, probably related to work, but I'm not sure. The ADA didn't list any contact info on the subpoena, so I had to use my Google-fu to find him. I got some phone numbers, but the DA's office has completely failed to call me back.

What I would have liked is to review the chart, and, ideally, given a deposition before the trial so I could avoid the trial date completely. You see, I have to work tonight, so I'm really not going to be at my best tomorrow morning. Further, I STILL haven't had a chance to look over my notes regarding the case (and I CAN'T, because I have no idea who the victim is).

I'm starting to wonder if they actually want to win this thing.

UPDATE: Traffic was miserable, parking was unexpectedly awesome, guard at the door to the courthouse was a complete tool, his partner was a reasonable human being, it took me forever to find the court because IT WASN'T LABELLED, got some studying done waiting for the case to start, and then the perp plea-bargained out.

I call it a wash.

What's Cookin'?

It got cold this week in N'awlins. Not "need a fire to keep from dying outside" cold, but chilly for the swamp. I had to turn off the AC, and even considered letting dogs onto the bed.

All of which raises the question: what's a good chili recipe? It seems I have a few spare peppers lying around....