Hell in a handbasket

Not sure who the broad in this picture is, but it was the best hell-in-a-handbasket image I could find on Google (well, on page 1, I don't have all day). I felt like I should post tonight, but nothing too particular jumped to mind. But I did get the overall sense from the Daily Show and Al Franken and my CNN mobile updates that we (being the U.S.) are generally fucked. But before I go into, let me give a shout-out (how old school of me) to Katia, who is the ONLY person who reads this blog and bothers to leave comments, and she's all the way in Malta. So THANK YOU KATIA, and all your little furry nieces here miss their Auntie K.

So we're still pretty much screwed. Why you ask? Is it because we have a Congress that won't convene for another 3 weeks while information continues to emerge about how our President (sorry, YOUR president, not mine) authorized the FBI and NSA to spy on Americans' phone calls and emails trying to find al Qaeda? Is it because the man who orchestrated the only attack on American soil in 200 years just said in a tape that he's planning to do it again (actually that was about 2 months ago that he said it, so they're probably a little ways along)? Is it because our Justice Department's main goal right now seems to be getting ahold of Google search records to find people who look for porn online (okay, they say they're going after child porn, which obviously I totally support stamping out, but knowing the way they think, I fear for anyone who likes even the normal kind of porn)?

Sure it's all of those things, plus so many more. You know, it's just hard to have a positive outlook on our country when there's so many assholes in charge. I think this is what I feared when George W. Dickhead won in 04--the end seems so far away. And right now, I'm not even confident that it will change then. We're just stuck in this hopeless stretch where they can do anything they want and we're totally powerless. It would really be cool if something dramatic happened in the Congressional elections this fall--I mean, think about it, ALL 435 (I think it's still 435) seats are open, and while it's uncommon for anything wild to happen, don't forget 1994 when Gingrich's Republicans swept in their first majority (that was the beginning of the end). There's a LOT of discontent out there among people, and House races can be wild. Getting control of the House back would be really good for the good guys. I'm not sure how many Senate seats are up (too tired to do the research), but probably enough to swing the majority there too. Wouldn't that be great if we got both, and we could really fuck with the administration for the next 2 years?

Problem is, people have such short attention spans, we lose focus on the things which matter. Lots of people were starting to get really pissed off about the way last year, but then it was taken off our radar. I think there are actually people out there who believe that we went to war in Iraq originally to bring them freedom and democracy, and that it was worth all the people we lost. But guess what, if you didn't pay attention, you'll probably have another chance soon, since we're probably going straight from there into Iran. Notice how the administration is starting to take the same tone about letting the UN manage this whole atomic energy crisis there. Saying how no matter negotiations are made, you can't trust Iran. Anyone want to put money on the fact that if we DID invade there, we would end up finding no trace of weapons of mass destruction? Of course, the difference is, we'd LOSE if we invaded Iran. Sorry to sound unpatriotic. I believe in our military and (most) of the people who actually do the fighting, but the problem is that the jackasses in charge won't make the right plans (which in this case is, don't fucking invade Iran!) and won't make the right commitments, and this time, the shit's going to hit the fan on the way in, not a year after.

Anyway, got off on a tangent there. Felt good. It's cathartic, like any blog should be. I feel better. Time to finish off the last bottle of wine in the house, watch SNL tonight, and have a totally lazy, pointless Sunday. Cheers all.