Month: September 2018

  • That Judge Thing

    The Republicans have made a deal with the devil to get Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. This is the gross world we live in, but there is just about nothing that could have happened yesterday that would have stopped his approval. The goal has been five conservative votes on the court, and it didn’t matter how it happened, but the Republicans will do anything to get the five votes. And that’s the goal post in all of this. And they will get it. Public opinion be damned.

    And that is the calculation in all of this that I just don’t understand. That fifth vote will cost them in the midterms. And then it will cost them in 2020. This may even go on to 2022 and 2024 if major cases are over turned. It makes the Court an issue for years to come.

    But what I really don’t get is that the Republicans have shot themselves in the foot for the next generation of women, if not the one following. For most girls in high school, Dr. Ford looked like their mother, and they just watched as a political party say that her honesty and suffering mean nothing compared to the destiny of a man to be on the Supreme Court. This will last. I know this to be a fact because I was in high school during the Hill/Thomas hearings, and it was clear that a smart intelligent, successful woman amounted to nothing compared to a man. These are the women that are running for office now because they have seen this shit happen before, they have experienced this shit happening to them or their friends, and here we are, doing it all over again. Men will not solve this problem, only women can and will. And why is the Republican party deciding that it is worth alienating just about all women in this country?

    Women the age of Dr. Ford won’t vote Republican. Their daughters won’t. And what makes you think that they won’t teach their sons and daughter to not trust Republican’s in the future.

  • Thoughts

    I have been so conflicted since I got back from the tour of the puppet show. Most of it has to do with the closing show blues. You get so close to a group of people, seeing them every day, and working with them. It’s like friendship with a very clear purpose or goal; Get the show open. And it was a really great cast. We all got along, and it was a very professional and laid-back group. We had a lot of fun, but we got our shit done. Anyway, I used the word conflicted because these types of shows are few and far between, and coming back to the City, I just feel that I should be doing more creative things, and get out of the job situation I am in. Such as, even if I quite this job, I would find my way to working a similar type of job. Instead of just saying fuck it, and going out there are trying freelancing. I did freelancing for a shot time and I hated every minute of it. It was like being on the edge of homelessness and that worry never left me. Now there is a wife and kid involved, and I don’t know how I would make it happen… But that is the fear talking, and it seems like the fear comes back to me when I get back to the City. When we were on the road, I had no fear, and I felt free, and confidante to handle any challenge. This is the central issue of my life; committing to a creative career.

  • Day After the Election

    Well… The primary election thing didn’t really work out the way I thought. Both of the people I supported failed to secure the nomination. I guess it is still democracy in action even when your candidate doesn’t win.

    Last night, as we were finishing up rehearsal, which happened to be right after the polls closed, the whole cast and crew gathered around a phone to see the early return results. All of us were supporting the same people, and there was a disappointment as the first returns came back, and they weren’t good.

    One cast member wondered out loud why the Nixon/Teachout were so low, because he had only heard from people that Nixon/Teachout were the ones they were voting for. Then he caught himself. “Of course, they would say that. That’s the liberal bubble I live in.”

    And thus… One of the problems of living here in New York, and being in the very liberal arts community; political thought is either liberal, or really fucking liberal. (Hell, I still miss Bernie.)

    I try to keep an open mind, and see if I can find the middle ground on issues. That seems what I rational person should do.

    But at the same time…

    I do think everyone should have access to health care.

    I do think taxes should be raised on the wealthy.

    To pay for things like roads and bridges and schools.

    I think we do need to address the income gap.

    And the coming housing crisis.

    You know…

  • Vote Today

    It Primary Day in New York, which is pretty useless. I had written how to get more people to vote, and this morning there was a piece in the NY Times about how New York state does things that seem to hamper people’s ability to vote.

    Full disclosure, I won’t be voting in the primaries as I am not registered with a political party. The process of registering with the Board of Elections as a member of a party is complicated and has to be done well in advance. (yet another reason why turnout is low, and incumbents stay in power.) I preferred to keep my independence, but now I am beginning to feel that to make changes in the system, I have to start taking part in the party.

    Though I am not voting, there are two people I would specifically be voting for today; Cynthia Nixon, and Zephyr Teachout. And by putting my support behind the two of them, I can see that I am still hanging on to my Bernie Sanders ideology; progressivism fighting and gumming up the system, if need be.

    I want to believe that this stance is part of the solution, but I do know that democracy really does run on compromise, and how much of my progressivism and liberal leanings am I willing to find middle ground on?

    Either way, you should get out and vote.

  • Music Leads to Other Things

    When I was a freshman in college at Sam Houston State, Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits was a CD that just about everybody had in their dorm room. This would be 1995/96, and though it was a still a grungy music world, Steve Miller kept popping up. I never put much thought into it, but as I was making a playlist, and put “Take the Money and Run” on it, this thought formed in my head. I wonder why that was, but as soon as I asked, I know that I will never find the answer.

    What was classic rock to me, are oldies to kids today, as my music has passed into classic rock.

    Another song that I put on the playlist “Just Got Paid” by ZZ Top. (I found a live version on YouTube that made me smile.) Having grown up in Texas, this is the kind of song that taps into a Texas spirit that I don’t think is around much anymore. The same way that Stevie Ray Vaughn and Willie Nelson capture a certain attitude of Texas. Not that conservative, wall building tough guy bullshit. It’s a slightly rough around the edges, individualistic, but respectful attitude.

    That actually does bother me, that the perception of Texas to the rest of the country is that it is a deep red land of reactionary crazies, who love God, Guns, stopping abortions and building walls. Hell, they elected Ted Cruz. Growing up there, it was different. Old Texas let people be themselves, and it was nobody’s business what they did.

    Somehow, I got from classic rock to here… Just connecting tangents of ideas today.