I realize I've been a bit lazy here of late. My blog output has been dropping and for that I apologize.
Apparently there was some kind of election or something last week. It was all over the news. You probably heard about. They even mentioned it on ESPN.
I haven't really mentioned it because [a] I'm lazy and, like I said, haven't been blogging that much, and [b] I really don't know what I could add to the discussion. I always find it interesting when random people feel the need to give their opinion on topics outside their expertise. (my expertise of course being unhealthy crushes on women who ride the metro with me, cleavage obsession, and greasy fast food). I don't know why anyone would want to hear me regurgitate the same things being said on a million other blogs across the country... But since the public (Hector) has been so insistent on me sharing my thoughts, I'll at least say this:
I'm very excited and optimistic, but at the same time I'm a little scared as well. This is the closest I've ever come to trusting a politician with my hopes and dreams. It feels an awful lot like that moment right after you've told a girl "I love you" for the first time and you're just waiting for her to say "I love you too".
Beyond that, I do know what I could say that hasn't already been said by bloggers that are far more eloquent and far more informed than me. So anyway, I'm going to start putting more effort into the blog again, and I'm glad Obama won the election.
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Farting in the Shower is a ramblingand ecclectic mix of short stories, embarrasing confessions, pictures, and fast food reviews.
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9 comments:
"If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no head."
The New Republic wrote an article a few months back on how Obama's rise through politics is really just the culmination of his search for that alter where he can afford the most change. After a hard learned lesson that community organization is a waste (few things are more wasteful than community organization, IMHO) he decided to enter politics - where he believes, real change can be made. See the article here.
My prediction: This next stage in his life will also prove to be severely limited. Politics is not the solution. Politics cannot change behavior, hopes, dreams, and culture - atleast not significantly. In the end, despite all his sincerest efforts, his really smart political advisors, and a congress and public sympathetic to his message, tomorrow will be overall like today. Where the real change comes not from the public sector, but the private sector. If you want to see what Obama's and liberals in general vision of the world is, look to Europe where the same companies continue to dominate. Where unemployment - especially for minorities - is miles higher than it is here in the United States. More politics certainly does not bring the utopianism that liberalism hope it will (the private sector, for example, has long ago had famous black CEO's...the public sector is only now catching up).
That is not to say that I think Obama will be a bad president. On the contrary, my intuition tells me that he will be an overall okay one, perhaps even a great one. But like all presidents of the past, he is limited by the limitations of politics itself. My only hope is that his election finally proves that to many who felt otherwise.
While I mostly agree with what HP has said, I think that some change can come from the political arena. Obama has already said he intends to use executive orders to repeal the Bush administration's policy of enforcing full abortion restrictions and abstinence only education on countries who want AIDS medication, the policy that limits government spending on stem cell research, and plans on drilling in Utah and Alaska. I definitely agree that we will not feel the effects of any of these changes in our day to day lives, I think that the change that comes from politics is experienced in a long term, macro like way.
I also recognize that many of the things that Obama will want to do will be stifled by political procedure, but with a Democratic congress and senate, things may be a little easier than in the past. Then again, the odds are just as good that things stay exactly the same.
My jedi mind trick worked!!!
HP- very well said... I was reading back on the last quasi-political post on the blog, the one by Mike, and my comment was that basically I'm at the point where I have found myself believing that the stripper REALLY likes me... and that's dumb.
I've had a chance to let some of the post-election buzz where off and I'm back to the low expectation, glass is half empty person that everyone is used to. All the joyful, cautious optimism is gone.
My list of requests for Obama is basically down to this:
1. Give undocumented immigrants a path to becoming legal residents.
AND
2. Don't get caught with your dick in an itern's mouth.
That's it... that's the list.
erich- If he can win some of those small battles without fucking up the gig picture I'd be happy.
hector- I have to admit, you totally suckered me in on that one.
HP- I forgot to ask, how was your trip?
My trip was great. A much needed one for me too, as I have been really busy with work, school and a pregnant emotional (I already said that, didn't I) woman. Time with family and friends was fun.
The trip was divided into three parts: the first part was all the family, tiny pueblos in the middle of nowhere stuff - lots of fun, lots of new family I met and of course lots of getting to know where my roots are from. The second part was the tourist part. My dad dropped me and my friend off in Taxco, Guerrero, where we spent a few days taking pictures, site seeing, and eating lots of Mexican food. The third part of the trip was the pure partying and hedonist part. We stayed in Acaplulco for a couple days and went to the major clubs, tittie bars (Tabares was my favorite, though many people will say Foxy's is better), and of course beach, pool and lots and lots of drinking. Good times, all of it.
An interesting part of my trip that really doesn't fit into any of the three categories above is when we were taking a bus from Taxco to Acapulco, somewhere along the way - I think near Chilpancingo but I could be mistaken, I kept dozing off - we were forced to stop by what looked to be a bunch of late aged teenagers. They were 18 to about 23 in age range. The bus driver seemed pretty peeved about it and there was a bus in front of us that was pulled over as well. One of the guys came into the bus and the bus driver went outside, visibly irritated. After some arguments over I don't know what, I saw the teens bring over a big, 50 litros or so, jug and start ciphering off diesel from the bus. The bus driver finally comes in irritated and after the jug is filled was able to go along his way. I asked the bus driver what had happened (I was in the very front of the bus, where you can see the road) and he said that they are occasionally on the road and these teens are actually students. The police leave them alone and let them get away with forcibly stealing diesel from buses and diesel trucks that come by. He said their professors encourage it also. The diesel is used to drive them to their protests in Oaxaca and other parts of the country. The bus driver even said that they are looking for three cars to take down with them. They usually sequester the car from drivers with a promise - that they fully plan to keep - of giving you the car back when they are done, after a month or so. In fact, if you want to go along with them in order to protect your car, they let you. If you do so, the bus driver said, they would provide food, clothing, a place to sleep, and for some, woman for your pleasure. He said many people like traveling around with them.
Lots of good times, all of them.
HP- glad to hear you had such a great time.
I thought I knew exactly where you were going with that bus story, but then you surprised me with the diesel theft. I thought you were going to be “asked” to donate some money. That used to be pretty prevalent in El Salvador but not so much anymore. The only incident I had was actually in Honduras. It was late at night and we were heading back into ES (never a good idea at night) and our car got stopped a few miles before the border. They wanted to check our IDs. Of course we knew what they really wanted so we all stuffed $10 bills into our passports and handed them over for “inspection”. We were all piss drunk and probably stank of alcohol but they never even asked about that… They just wanted to the money.
The next time you’re in the Chilpancingo area you may want to look into renting a car and just cruising up and down that road until some students need to go to a protest and you can volunteer to be car jacked... when everyone asks where you were you can just say "not my fault, I was taken hostage."
And thanks for the strip club run down... I hit several spots in ES and as I'm sure you found out, things are a bit more relaxed in our neighboring countries.
Hahaha...the thought actually crossed my mind. I remember thinking, "man, if I grew up here and didn't have the responsibilities I now do, I'd love to spend a few months partying and travelling with these guys. I have the mean look - I could be the car jacker". :-)
Btw, do you still check your flickr? Cuz if you do...I have you on "family" list...meaning you could see all my pics (PG-13). Let me know if you have a new account...I'll add you.
I think I do still have a flckr account, it's "dcnatswin5" if memory serves me correctly. I'll have to check them out... I wish I had taken more pictures in ES.
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