Weekend Edition: Observations, Pontifications, and News from the Homefront

I knew I went into the wrong profession........I had no idea that plumbers would be raking in so much dough they needed special tax breaks just like the ultra rich do. I know I'm going to really miss being trickled on when Obama takes away their big tax cuts.

What really galls me to no end is this constant drumbeat by conservatives that "government" is such a big, horrible, evil creature that is out to destroy all of us. Now wait a second.....I am one of those fortunate ones who actually had a civics class in school (yes, Virginia, they once required us to learn about our own government and how it works) and the way it was explained to ME was that this is a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people. No, we do not toil beneath the heels of some royalty; we elect our own representatives to run the government for us and make our lives better. So, where does this crap come from that government is something, in THIS country of all places, that is out to HARM us? Are you kidding me? Ohhhhhhhhh, I get it.......you thought that government is supposed to be some etherial entity that makes it possible for everybody to get rich if they worship the right God, know the right people, and never expects anybody to pay taxes to support that government, you know, that "thing" that paves the roads and builds schools and things like that.

Yep, somehow we think that there is a money factory somewhere that magically buys our troops bullets and tanks and bombers, keeps the electricity on at all times, and gives joe six-pack insurance to rebuild his house on the beach every year because those damn liberal hurricanes caused by gay people keep blowing through like clockwork. And we think that all those people up there in Washington came from some other planet or maybe even overseas because they are all "special interests", unless of course they are catering to NASCAR, Mountain removal, and deer hunting with AK-47's. Funny how these good old boys demand the right to own a weapon manufactured by "commies". I hope one day they finally win the war against those terrifying deer that your ordinary high-powered rifle doesn't seem to be able to stop.

Right up the road from Pendragon Hold is a State Park. If you go walking (I can't bring myself to consider walking along a perfectly flat trail amongst pine trees "hiking") through this place, you can many times luck out and come across a deer. When I see these creatures, I try to imagine a time when I thought that killing one was "sporting" and was supposed to be enjoyable, despite the fact I never needed to do it to eat. Yes, being at the top of the food chain, I would kill an animal if it meant putting protein in my belly or starving. Things have to get alot worse than they are now before I can see that happening. Chicken breast fillets, be afraid....be VERY afraid!

The price of gas is coming down, and I know why. A bunch of not- quite- as- rich- as -they- used- to- be-movers and shakers told the boys over at Exxon, "Stop taking all the goddamn MONEY!! " So, with their coffers bulging and being flat worn out tying to come up with new ways to spend it all, the Oil barons decided sure, we can back off for awhile. There's always tomorrow......

In Michigan there has been a 34% increase in student homelessness. That's a very large segment of our future having no place to go home to after school. The trend started by the Reagan (Morning in America) administration continues with a vengeance as families, lured into homes they could not afford, lose those homes to insanely stupid kinds of mortgages that no responsible lender should have talked them into. I have had a mortgage with a terribly high interest rate for eight years now, but it was a fixed rate and I'm sure it contributed to the bankruptcy we endured last year. Yet, somehow, we manage to pay our mortgage each month, because by now, rent in a decent apartment, at half the size, is not an alternative. This is Morning in America. I sometimes cry.

On the work front, it seems that I and a new aid recently transferred in are the only two aids left out of a rash of injuries and illnesses. Looks like I might be able to get in some overtime. THE Wife, on the other hand, has become a force to be reckoned with at HER job, as she was responsible for heading off an employee rebellion when personalities clashed, tempers flared, and people threatened to walk. The woman this employer was reluctant to hire initially due to her age, inexperience in this narrow field, and asking wage has become an invaluable part of his business, just as I knew she would given the chance. I am so proud of her.

We are working on getting the shade garden tidied up for Samhain, our most important Sabbat. THE High Priestess of Pendragon Hold has been working hard on the ceremony, and I and the Resident Twin are working on an ornate table we will be installing just outside the entrance arbor to the garden. She's tracing out an intricate woven pentagram and moon which I will burn into the wooden round, which after staining and sealing will be installed on a post to be used for tools used outside the circle, such as my smudging pot. I'll have pictures when we finish it.

I just made the second-to-last payment on the Focus, and hopefully, saving the payments that would have gone to Ford Credit, we will have a decent down payment in a few months to put towards a small truck. All I can do is hope that having established our ability to make car payments despite the economy and a bankruptcy, we can get a another car loan. I know that if the auto manufacturers don't want to ALL go down the drain, they are either going to have to finance their own cars or persuade the banks to loosen the purse strings for the good of the nation. But, American-style capitalism is all about putting the hurt on the competition, not cooperating to raise everybody up equally. Like I said before, in this country commerce is a weapon, and it is being welded like a broad axe.

Tonight Sarah Palin will be playing herself on Saturday Night Live. Maybe she'll explain to us the "New" family values that she brings to the "conservative" movement. Like allowing the hockey playing baby-daddy of your underage (didn't just say NO) daughter to drop out of high school to get a job on the North Slope. Like praising her for having the baby while condemning others for even getting pregnant in the first place, and not mentioning the hypocrisy of it all. For declaring "spiritual warfare" on "witches" while simultaneously utilizing you own unique brand of spell craft to bring harm to others. Yes, Sarah, I want you to play yourself with at least as much accuracy as Tina Fey has. Just in time for Halloween, so that we can truly be afraid.....VERY afraid.........

I hope you have enjoyed this weekend edition of The Chronicles of Pendragon Hold, where family values are savored, not sold to the highest bidder.