Benign Prostatic Hypaplasia!

...
No, not me. I'm fine. It's just the first 3 words of the latest spam I got, just before I started this post. Never got one to the blog until about two or three months ago and then BAM! I get them all the time--spam, not the BPH or whatever they are.
...
I've come here several times today to post a post, but all I could do is dream a dream, so I clicked a click and went somewhere else.
...
Beautiful day today. The front door and windows are still open! Nice night for a walk as well. Except we got to the corner of 44th just as a very vocal cat fight started. Fernando froze at the corner. The folks that live there came out of their upstairs master, which has a separate external staircase and came running down in robes, yelling "Teddy." (I hope it's the cat's name. Not an announcement of what she was wearing!) Well, of course they saw me and know Fernando follows me and probably assumed he was causing it. I'd moved past it by the time they came down. Fernando came around it and dutifully came home with Biggs and me, but I'm not sure they ever saw that. Don't know if we're being cussed at that end of the block or not.
...
Focus. Focu. Foc. Fo.... that's been Ponzi this week. Cutting down first act, getting to meat of it. Working on it. Pulling out things don't need. Tightening the focus of the story and such. Striking things. Including the whole idea of "ponzi"... sure it's inherent in it at this point--in the structure and many of the choices--but I'm not thinking about it anymore...at least not at this point. I'm just rolling with the story. The ride. The conciseness of it. The sting.
...
Sure, I was dissapointed in the Massachusetts election. The irony: Ted Kennedy works dilligently for his whole life trying to ensure health care for all, then dies right before the finish line and the voters of the one state that already has universal health care, vote to replace him with the vote that could kill it. Hmmmm? Go figure. Spit on his grave, why don't you, Massachusetts?

Yet, I can see lots of possible silver linings, so I'm going to breathe and chill and see what happens.

My first thought is the Senate needs to realize they won't get the 60 votes, so forget about that and have the guts to invoke the rule that says you only need 51 votes and adopt the house bill, which is stronger than their anything-to-avoid-a-fillibuster version. Hey, it's what Bush did when he felt it was critical to pass a tax cut for the wealthy--the same tax cut that when taken with his two wars he started, pretty much got the govt to this point in deficit!

Why can't Dems do it? Why can't Dems have guts to ram something through, like the Republicans always did? Why do Rs get to spin it like Ds are the bad guys? I'm more than a little sick of that--and I'm not blaming Republicans here (well, I am, but not totally...) Democrats are horrible at letting the Rs spin and spin and spin until Ds look bad.

And most of all, I'm sick of Democrats being Republican-Lite.

But, hey... I remain positive and optimistic that we'll get health care passed. That this new bump may force Dems to have to get more aggressive and come out with a better product. Unless of course, conservative Dems get scared because of today's election.

And it all just makes me question our founding fathers even more.

We're a country founded on squishy compromise and there we remain. The FFs were so short-sighted and created a government that gives much more power (relatively) to rural, sparsely populated states...which may have been a good compromise at the time, but given the system makes it damn near impossible to change today.

In my humble opinion, the most just US Government would be the same three branches and balance of power, but the Legislative branch should only have one house--the House of Representatives, which of course is based upon distribution of population. It is insane that South Dakota and Texas have the same power in the Senate, or Maine and New York, or Wyoming and Florida. (AND, the House should be elected for 4 year terms, with a two-term term limits.)

But, like I said before, that's not going to change in my lifetime, so I won't get worked up about it. And, I sit here, prepared to watch these next few weeks to see how they will act. I choose to remain optimistic.

And frankly, I'm more than a little sick of politics...sort of like, beyond caring. Sort of like, it is what it is and both sides are rife with arrogant lifers who only care about being re-elected and serving long enough to enjoy their Cadillac Health care and retirement and the benefits of having served (read: lobbying, cashing out on a book, etc.)

I'm tired of elections, and of elections coming up so often and feeling like they're the most critical thing and people asking for money and bombarding me with emails and mailers and phone calls trying to get me to volunteer and donate and such. I'm tired of it on FB and all that. We have elections so often in this country that no one can govern! Everyone is always running for office. Campaigns start way too early. And it's burning me out.

I have come around to the position that term limits are a good thing. (Sorry, Tom, but hey...)

I have come around to the position of much of the Gay and Lesbian Leadership that we need to stop giving money to Democrats for awhile (and of course Rs. Duh! It's pathetic that anyone ever did!) because they continue to come to us, looking for us to belly up to the bar and be included and do our part to get them elected--but then, our issues are just too sensitive to push the moderate and conservative D's to have to act upon. If the timing's not right when we have substantial majorities in both houses, when will it be?

My dear friend Jim Arth said to me way back in the early 90s that it will be the courts that grant us equal rights, they always do. They are the protectors of minorities and minority opinions in this country. And he appears to be correct. Elected officials are pretty spineless, from the State House to the White House.

But, we need to elect the people who appoint the judges who.... And elect the people who re-district the districts and... ¡Ay Dios Mio!

I don't know how long I'll remain of that sentiment. And hey, I don't have any money anyway... but if I did, I'd tell 'em! (And, it's important to note that that was the pattern that happened repeatedly with other minorities until they finally got angry and demanded their rights!)
...
And that was my Tuesday...and yours?
...
I had a great power walk, just past dark tonight up and down the Avenues. Lots of screen doors open, smells of things being cooked wafting out, music or TV coming through the screens. Etc.
...

See?! Just like I warned: Benign Prostatic Hypaplasia!....

I hope y'all have a wonderful Wednesday!
I know I will.
I'm going to FronteraFest! (And maybe a Fusebox kickoff night?)
Check out FronteraFest: http://www.hydeparktheatre.org/site/index_right.html
There's some great stuff happening this year!
(especially in the Long Fringe and maybe the BYOV!?)

Cheers!
,m