Okay, I am ticked off about Maine.  There is no legitimate, governmental or cultural protection basis for denying same-sex marriage.

Other than that important issue, I find myself a bit flabbergasted by all the brouhaha on the left and the right about what the election of two Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey.  As stated in an article in today's LA Times, this has some folks quite rattled.

Blue Dog (some call them moderate) Democrats are supposedly shaking in their boots over the idea that these two gubernatorial elections (quite different from congressional elections, imho) bode poorly for those who dare side with the "ultraliberal" Obama.

The problem with that argument is twofold:

1.  The Blue Dogs AREN'T siding with Obama.  Yet, anyway.
2.  At least one of the losing Democratic candidates in Tuesday's election distanced himself deliberately from Obama.  And lost.

I think the Blue Dogs will take more of a licking from independents if they continue to drag their feet and acquiesce to the party of "no" rather than the party that promised change and hope.

Just one chemo-soaked gal's opinion this fine Thursday.  (Somewhat bolstered by Anna Quindlen's recent Newsweek op-ed.)

Three years ago, when Dan and I were returning from our 25th Anniversary cruise, we had a few over-limit items to declare upon our wee-hours arrival to Miami airport.  It took the customs agent quite a while to figure out what we owed for which purchase (apparently there being different customs taxes for various types of purchases from various countries).  The agent had to look up what we owed in a "Pep-Boys" style of loose leaf books.

As is my habit during such situations, I made a small joke.  I said something like, "At least we're spending all this time to help pay your salary."  The agent looked at me with a completely blank face and said, "Oh, no ma'am.  Your duty payment goes to Washington.  We're paid by the Customs Agency."

I'm not sure if my equally blank look conveyed to him on any level that the Customs Department is funded by "Washington."  I hope the coin has had a chance to drop in the last three years.

Probably not if he's listening to Rush.  I just got home from a scan and was listening to Senor Limbaugh on my way.  He was taking a call from a man who is incensed over the idea that if we have "public health care" (something that's not really on the table right now, but we'll let that pass), then someone else will decided which services you can receive in terms of treatment.

Gasp!  As if his insurance company doesn't do so now?

Rush egged this guy on with horror stories loosely connected to his diatribe of the day which is limiting bonuses for senior management where their companies have accepted bailout monies.  Imagine, said Rush, what would happen if the government started deciding how much to pay police or firemen?  What happenes if government were suddenly to decide which crimes to prosecute and which to let go.

Hello?  The government does decide how much to pay these folks.  The adminstrative arms of these branches of local government do decide how to prosecute fire protection, suppression, which crimes to focus on and which they don't have the manpower to fight despite the law.

Sheesh.  A little intellectual integrity would be nice...a sort of through line of reasoning.

Now I'm going to go get disconnected from my chemo.  I'll have to watch some good ol' trash tv to get the Rush taste out of my brain.

What a great morning for gardening...and that's what I did.  I am happy to report that my pots in the front are all respectably trimmed back and replanted as need be.

I treat myself to music and (to the dismay of neighbors) off-key singing during gardening.  One of this morning's songs, World by Five for Fighting, had me singing especially loud. The key lyric in the refrain is:

"What kind of world do you want?"  The song invites you to imagine what you might do if you could start it "at the start" and "build a masterpiece."

So that's today's question.  What kind of world do you want?

(Be careful what you wish for...history starts now.)

Tim Rutten wrote an interesting op-ed in the LA Times today about what he called the Obama administration's immigration policies.  I have to quibble a bit with his labelling.  It's actually Bush administration policies being enforced (as they are still the law of the land) by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Rutten's main beef seems to be that rather than deporting improperly documented workers at a local LA garment maker, ICE required the company to fire the workers.  I find his position interesting because it seems to be inconsistent with his liberal positions on immigration reform (in the same op-ed piece).

(If the investigation had concluded under Bush, the undocumented workers would have been deported in addition to losing their jobs...somehow that's "better" to Rutten than the milder penalty.)

I was also interested on my own reaction to the article.  In my former life with a Food Pantry, we regularly provided assistance to folks who were likely undocumented workers.  We also provided the same food to folks who were clearly American citizens.  My friend, Pat's explanation was always the one that convinced me.  She said when she had someone question our policies, she offered to line up the children we helped feed and then she would allow the offended party to choose which ones would go hungry.

I would still do the same thing at the Pantry.  I am still in favor of a more reasonable policy for immigration and for seasonal workers/non-American workers.  And I don't agree at all with Rutten or the folks he quotes that this situation is a horror.  If anything, ICE chose the middle road.  Deportation would have been worse for those families affected.

Conservatives and antii-immigration folks will no doubt be upset that there weren't any deportations.  But will they agree that it's better for these folks to be employed, paying taxes, buying goods and services than to be jobless and still here?

Liberal and pro-immigration forces are clearly outraged that prosecution of this case continued after Obama took over as President...but are they willing to do what it takes to get the law changed to match their views...or are they just content to carp about "the Administration?"

And me?  I wonder how many of our 9.8% unemployed citizens will be applying for the 1,800 garment worker positions that are now open.

My friend, Steve, is rereading all of the "classic" economics tomes (think Wealth of Nations et al).  An admirable pursuit, indeed.  Since my reading speed these days is just slightly more highbrow than The Bobbsey Twins, I will not be emulating Steve in this endeavor.

I did want to refer folks, however, to a great article in the September 6th New York Times Magazine by Paul Krugman entitled "How Did Economists Get It So Wrong?"  In the article, Krugman (who is an economics professor at Princeton) does a great job of keeping the discussion centered on economics and out of the shoals of political posturing.  As a result, it's a great summary of the flaws in the descendants of free market and Keynesian economics.

The article is lengthy indeed, but well worth the investment.  Especially if, like me, you prefer a primer to an exhaustive review of the literature.  (Go Steve!)

Dan and I just finished watching (courtesy of netflix.com) the HBO special on John Adams.  Amazing performances all around by Paul Giamatti as the title character, Laura Linney as Abigail Adams, Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin and Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson.

The film helped me grasp, in a more visceral way than I had before, just how delicate the state of our nation was when it was born.  For those who admire politics over principle, there is plenty to like in the film's portrayal of Benjamin Franklin.  For those who prefer principles over the strum and drang of political wrangling, Adams is your man (despite my disagreement with the Alien and Sedition Act).

But for sheer strength of character, I admire the fictionalized version of Abigail Adams the most.  She brought out the best in John, called him on his stubborn nature and his pride, and loved him with passion and humor.  (Necessary in the loving of curmudgeons...just ask Dan who loves yours truly!)

At the end of the movie, there's a moment where John is walking with his son, Thomas.  He has a moment of nearly ecstatic vision wherein he says, "Abigail was always after me to appreciate the [pedestrian things] in life."  He tries to fall to his knees, exclaiming, "Praise always."  Thomas is bemused but as someone who daily counts the blessings of egrets, butterfly bushes and the monarchs they attract, thistles that some count weeds...well, words to live by indeed.

I highly recommend viewing the series if you have not!

Wow, it's been a long time!  I've been tempted to blog a few times since my surgery (7 weeks ago today), but this is the first time I've actually had energy to log on.

(Okay, and maybe I've been hoping that Congress could come up with some kind of health care legislation in the same amount of time it took me to regrow 75% of my liver.  Dreamer!)

At any rate, I've been reading (mostly trashy) books, watching television and movies, and napping.  Today was my first "big" walk with Hal and Charlie and it seems to have done the trick for garnering me some energy.  (It's 5:46 and I haven't had a nap yet...that's some kind of record.)

The main item drawing me back to the blog today is not a general update; however, it's to recommend a film from among the many that I've watched.  Called Sin Nombre,  written and directed by Cary Fukunaga, the film is presented with Spanish subtitles.  Despite the challenges usually entailed by subtitles, this is a highly engaging film--part thriller, part love story, part political statement--that asks important questions while telling a compelling story.

I'd say Fukunaga is a man with a future in film.  He's done just about every behind the camera role in film making.  It's clear from the film he put together in Sin Nombre, that his apprenticeship paid off.

A light question today.  I'm updating my ipod in preparation for being in the hospital.  If you were doing the same, what music would you upload for a seven day hospital sojourn?

(Or, if you prefer, if you were stranded on the proverbial desert isle?)

For my upcoming liver resection.  Scheduled for Monday, August 3rd.  I'll find out the time tomorrow.

As you can imagine, I'm not registering much from a blogging perspective (although I am reading excellent info on our health care system in World News magazine).  I plan on a Sunday question, a humorous (if not for the fainthearted) update on the Colon Cancer blog on this site..and that's about it until I'm out of the hospital (Lord willing) and home mending myself (and regrowing liver).

Catch you on the flipside.