EJ ICQ w/A (politics)
)
Jan. 21, 2004
evile: *hugs* whenever you're back!
good news: I thought it was going to just be me and one other person
going to dinner & the play tonight, but now I have ladydreamtime meeting us
for the play, and Sunshine going to both. So it won't be 'date' ish
anymore :)
Life is good!
SkyeDS: [Auto Response] I am currently away from the computer.
SkyeDS: cool :)
evile: Having a 'nose to the grindstone' kind of day here. bleh.
SkyeDS: nods, me too (but tis lunch now)
evile: We finally got all the mail that was delayed by MLK on Monday.
yuck.
SkyeDS: ew
evile: It's really no biggie, but my boss freaks.
SkyeDS: I don't find much productiveness comes from freaking
evile: nope. But it must make her look productive to her superiors.
evile: Apparently they like panicky & disordered around here rather
than calm & organized. Our OM has a total wreck of an office & is
always rushing around with armfuls of crap that she is in danger of
losing, and she's apparently been rewarded by keeping her position
but having parts of it delegated to other front office people. No
docking in pay, of course.
SkyeDS: we need jobs like that.
evile: the $ would be nice, anyway.
SkyeDS: nods
evile: But I'm winning the lottery today, I've decided. My horoscope
said I could have whatever I wish for today, and that's what I want.
SkyeDS: nice.
evile: *shrugs* it's pure bunkum, but nice to think about. :)
evile: ...I hope Sunshine isn't dressed too inappropriately to see a
play...then again, this *is* Austin & people dont' dress up for
theatre.
SkyeDS: we have a high portion of the population though that does
patronize the arts, which is good, even if we don't dress
appropriately
evile: Yep. Austin is a bunch of literate slobs. Besides the arts,
we also have highest per capita number of bookstores & restaurants :)
SkyeDS: yep, kinew about the restaurants and bookstores
evile: I think the rest of the nation is following that trend though,
casual is OK everywhere.
SkyeDS: we came to it a lot sooner than the north
SkyeDS: where they laugh at us for wearing boots and hats with suits
evile: Hey, that was all the rage after Urban Cowboy came out :)
SkyeDS: lol
evile: Sweetie says he checked the Dell contact lists & sineater's gone. So I
guess he's officially done with his gig for now & can go play zombie.
SkyeDS: no, they remove him and he has to get put back on
SkyeDS: he's still there
evile: bizarre.
evile: When we talked Sunday, he said he probably had at least 2
weeks left on cleaning up the dead project.
evile: Then again, I wasn't really too awake for that conversation,
so maybe I mis-heard :P
SkyeDS: right
evile: Sweetie's interview for today got cancelled.
SkyeDS: :(
evile: They couldn't schedule all the interview-ers properly,
apparently.
SkyeDS: no surprise there
SkyeDS: Dell HR has always sucked
evile: It's Dell, so he should probably get used to some underling
telling him "mr J will see you tomorrow" and then coming around a
while later and saying "Oh, gee, Mr J is actually on vacation" or
whatever. seems pretty common around there.
SkyeDS: tis
evile: I'd be just as happy if he didn't get on there full
time/permanent. They're a bunch of jackholes.
SkyeDS: that they are
evile: I know he wants FT and benefits and all that good stuff...but
something better is bound to come along.
SkyeDS: I do think the economy's getting better slowly but surely
SkyeDS: and the powers that currently be will do all they can to keep
it that way because it's an election year
evile: Indeed. Now if they could get me a raise...
SkyeDS: Bush last night put forward an idea similar to yours
regarding health care
SkyeDS: about collectives he called "associations"
evile: that's terrifying....
SkyeDS: lol
evile: If the right people could be found to pull his little strings,
W would make a fine little puppet.
SkyeDS: I thought he already was one
evile: For some reason, people find him very likeable & if the polls
can be believed, he's still quite popular despite war abroad and
poverty and unemployment at home.
SkyeDS: I wish he'd kept his religion out of the SOTU address last
night
evile: I'd just like someone besides Cheney and Ashcroft pulling the
strings.
evile: I didn't watch the SOTU. I was too busy drinking beer.
SkyeDS: Ashcroft scares me beyond anyone else
evile: he is a wackjob. At least Cheney is just greedy and arrogant.
SkyeDS: i'm hoping they'll let the patriot act expire but not the tax
cuts.
evile: We'll see, I guess.
SkyeDS: nobody likes t he patriot act except g and his buddies
SkyeDS: there are peeps on both sides of the aisle that don't like it
SkyeDS: don't like the Mexican thing either
evile: yup.
SkyeDS: he's fucking around with his conservative base because he
knows it doesn't matter if he pisses them off, he's the only boat
they've got, and they won't rock it while they're in it
evile: sad but true. I have heard of some republicans trying to get
away from the religious reich & do the fiscally conservative line
again. that would be interesting.
SkyeDS: if they would get away from the social conservatism I would
vote for them
SkyeDS: if they were strictly fiscally conservative
evile: exactly.
SkyeDS: but I cant stand the Republican social values nor the
Democrats fiscal values
evile: I'm a littel tired of the whole 'throw money at the poor
people until they go away' Dem. philosophy
SkyeDS: Dems like to create grasshoppers and this ant is tired of it
evile: And if I hear 'for duh chylllllldrrrruuuuuuun' one more
fucking time, somebody's losing body parts.
SkyeDS: amen sister, preach it
evile: I agree that a healthy, well-educated citizenry is good for
the overall economy, but dont' rob our veterans to spoil somebody's
diapershitter
SkyeDS: we need better education, but we don't need it for free
SkyeDS: people do not value things they don't have to work for
evile: 12 years of free education and kids still can't read or do
math.
SkyeDS: that tain't even free, your property taxes are paying for it,
even if you are sprogfree
evile: exactly. I have no objection to paying taxes, but let me see
something besides foul mouthed hooligans and big fat politicians
driving big fat SUVs
SkyeDS: and mouthing environment while driving said SUVs
evile: I can spend my money better than that...if they'd let me.
SkyeDS: we need Statesmen
SkyeDS: and I don't know if we've had one in my lifetime nor in how
many lifetimes before mine
SkyeDS: the Founders are no doubt rolling in their graves
evile: Probably not. It's all big business & their friends now.
SkyeDS: sometimes I think, if God wanted me to vote, S/he would have
given me candidates
evile: true. You get tired of voting for the lesser evil.
evile: I just read the SOTU...not too bad on the god stuff. defense
of marriage is annoying.
SkyeDS: I try to ignore the God stuff but last night was thicker than
usual
SkyeDS: and DOMA is just unconstitutional as fuck
evile: he mentioned that Clinton signed it.
evile: now that's some fine vintage irony.
SkyeDS: Barr wrote it and Clinton signed it
SkyeDS: there's irony for you
evile: hee.
SkyeDS: was very happy that Barr lost his seat
evile: yup.
SkyeDS: wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the CO of Ft.
Hood told him that this isn't Georgia and he isn't the COC and that
what happens on his base is none of Barr's fucking business
evile: : P That must have been awesome.
SkyeDS: over the wiccans at ft hood
SkyeDS: barr tried to make them stop
evile: Things got pretty ugly up in that area for a while, if I
recall.
SkyeDS: yep
evile: Luckily the pagan folk didn't turn it into a big freak show.
Seems like it was handled pretty well.
SkyeDS: Xians sure did try to
SkyeDS: but then they usually do
evile: yeah.
evile: brb-potty break.
evile: back :)
SkyeDS: wb
evile: Politics are so tedious. Americans are spoiled. They want
everything and they don't want to pay for it.
SkyeDS: sad.
evile: I wonder where all the 'entitlement' thinking even came from.
Our grandparents didn't feel that way. I know people of that
generation who won't even get a mortgage.
SkyeDS: we may suck but the rest of the world swallows, so we're
still the best thing going. but for how much longer?
SkyeDS: entitlements were something the founding fathers abhorred
SkyeDS: as well as income taxes
SkyeDS: deficit spending
SkyeDS: and backless currency
evile: ecch.
evile: hard to believe something could go so wrong in such a short
amount of time, historically-speaking.
SkyeDS: yes, but all empires destruct, and we are probably about due
evile: yup.
SkyeDS: although we started destructing, if you want to be a
Constitutional purist, between the Civil War and 1913
evile: hindsight being 20-20 and all...
SkyeDS: and again with the welfare intended to get us out of the
Depression
SkyeDS: nods
SkyeDS: welfare was fine as a stopgap, when there were 20 people
supporting every 1 person on it
SkyeDS: and when people weren't abusing it
SkyeDS: but nothing is more permanent than a temporary solution I
suppose
evile: happens a lot.
SkyeDS: well look
SkyeDS: if you subsidize something (Pay people to do it) more people
do it
SkyeDS: if you tax it, some people stop doing it (but not all)
SkyeDS: so if you pay people to play golf, and tax people to play
tennis, more people will quit tennis and play golf
SkyeDS: so why tax people who work to pay people who don't? what did
they THINK was going to come of that?
evile: When mom taught on the south side of SA, she had whole classes
of kids who had been born & raised on welfare & expected to live
their lives that way to. Other students expected to get out of HS and
go to jail for the rest of their lives.
SkyeDS: like the movie Blow
SkyeDS: why would you work an honest job when you make more money
dealing drugs or on welfare
evile: sad.
SkyeDS: legalize at least some drugs, tax them, regulate them, etc,
remove the prohibition
SkyeDS: the alcohol prohibition MADE the mafia in this country
SkyeDS: and just like the mafia, the drug cartels are laughing all
the way to the bank
SkyeDS: as far as the crime is concerned, if consumption and selling
isn't criminalized, everything else (assault/battery, armed robbery)
is ALREADY against the law anyway.
SkyeDS: as is contribution to a minor (alcohol, cigarettes)
SkyeDS: that will solve the "I make more money selling drugs
illegally" out of the equation
evile: it makes somebody in charge more money for it to be illegal.
SkyeDS: and one shouldn't be able to make more on Welfare than
working at McD's
SkyeDS: exactly
SkyeDS: I don't know enough about the various drugs to know the
logistics of what to legalize and how, I'm talking strictly theory
(I'd rather talk about practice but I don't know enough)
SkyeDS: I hate to say this but in one instance, China has the right
idea
SkyeDS: you get money for one child
SkyeDS: you have as many as you want, but you only get money for one,
after that you're on your own.
evile: It took a lot for them to get to that point, though.
SkyeDS: I saw it said somewhere that no matter how far down the wrong
road you've gone, it's never too late to turn back
SkyeDS: the optomistic side of me hopes that's true, because if it
isn't, we're fucked
evile: Even enviro-freak groups won't say anything about
overpopulation, though. It's the most obvious solution to a lot of
our problems, but nobody wants to suggest that people stop breeding
SkyeDS: enviro groups have the same problem all cause groups have
SkyeDS: the freaks ruin the real cause
SkyeDS: animals, women's rights, environment, faith, you name it, the
freaks fuck it up
evile: But in order to keep the funding coming in you have to be a
breeder-pleaser in most organizations.
SkyeDS: no one wants to suggest that we do away with the majority of
entitlements, deficit spending, income tax or go back to a
silver/gold based currency either
SkyeDS: because it would be hard
evile: And you *have* to appeal to the middle of the road, even if a
m-o-r solution isn't gonna happen.
SkyeDS: well no shit sherlock, yes it would be hard
SkyeDS: no one wants to suggest that we temporarily sterilize women
having crackbabies if they're getting government handouts
SkyeDS: or that the gov only hand out enough money for one kid, and
not however many breeders choose to squeeze out
evile: oh, no, because it's a fundamental human right to have babies.
Of course.
SkyeDS: actually I could, I think, if I tried, make the legal case
that women don't have the right to keep having FAS or crackbabies,
but I'm not sure
evile: And where do you draw the line? if you entrust your
reproductive rights to the government, what happens when they say
*you personally* can't have them. or you personally MUST have them?
SkyeDS: but if you want to talk about the rights of unborn children,
well, the right to be born without being addicted is one of them
SkyeDS: the only rationalization for this would be for women who are
accepting taxpayers money thru the govt
SkyeDS: there is no way that the govt should be allowed reproductive
control of anyone else for any reason
SkyeDS: but there, you have the camel's nose in the tent/slippery
slope problem
evile: if you publically educate or birth your kids in a hospital,
there ya go. Government funded, therefore they can tell you what to
have.
SkyeDS: I meant specifically welfare checks
evile: right.
SkyeDS: but since, in theory, our criminal law is based on the fine
balance between the rights of the individual and the rights of society
SkyeDS: and the idea that you can swing your arm wherever you like
until you hit someone else's nose
SkyeDS: giving birth to a baby born addicted to whatever IS hitting
someone else's nose
SkyeDS: a great number of someone else's noses actually
SkyeDS: the baby's, to begin with
SkyeDS: and the taxpayers who have to pay for the baby's considerable
medical expenses all its misbegotten life, in addition
evile: But who's to stop an outside agency from going from the
welfare mother/crack junkie's uterus to yours or mine?
evile: Once you give them power over one womb, they can get into
yours.
SkyeDS: zactly, hence why it is camel's nose/slippery slope
SkyeDS: but not like welfare reform would even get that far
SkyeDS: because nobody wants to get rid of welfare
SkyeDS: except those of us working our asses off to pay for it
evile: You're not a fit mother because you're a witch. I'm not a fit
mother because I've been diagnosed with depression. conversely, we
must both breed for the good of the USA because we have college
degrees and we're white....neither option seems very cool to me.
evile: And any agency we gave that kind of power to, might decide
things for us either way.
SkyeDS: brb, technical expert wants to consult with me bout sometihn
evile: OK
Jan. 21, 2004
(lost some middle stuff, politics, )
SkyeDS: me too
evile: Oh well. I guess in the meantime we just keep a low profile
and see if there's anybody worth voting for. J-Law is all excited about
Kerry.
evile: Apparently Dean tanked recently. Oh well.
evile: You know....it's hard to find a candidate who says 'family'
and does not mean 'man and woman with 2.5 offspring'
evile: Time to go make a bajillion copies. *hugs* if I don't get a
chance to check back in before go-home time!
SkyeDS: hugs - will be here when you get back, I hope
SkyeDS: got taken off in search of ergonomically correct chair, etc.
I suffer so much neck and head pain when I'm here that i almost can'
tfunction
evile: I'll be so glad when extended benefits are really over. TUC
frauds are suck.
evile: Nice of them to do ergonomic stuff for you, BTW. Even
permanent FT people with notes from their Dr can't get anything here.
Our lovely disorganized OM strikes again.
SkyeDS: we found what they think is a better chair, and we've propped
my laptop up on a phonebook and slanted binder. Best we could do, we
don't have anyone handling ergos here for OSHA reqs.
SkyeDS: the pain is more incapacitating in its way than migraine
would be
evile: yuck.
SkyeDS: I can't turn my head at all, the pain is constant, and even
worse when I swallow, cough or sneeze.
evile: huh. Wierd.
evile: I get that way when I sleep funny and/or have allergies. But
luckily that isn't too often.
SkyeDS: have never gotten this way before recently
SkyeDS: maybe I need a neck pillow
evile: I buy new pillows and/or change pillows frequently.
SkyeDS: I wonder if I have whiplash. and where I would have gotten
it.
evile: I got a really good foam one at Bed Bath & Beyond for $28.
Then I found one almost the next day at Big Lots for $11. *sigh*
evile: It's possible that y'all got banged up during your tire
blowout ?
SkyeDS: was hurting long before that
evile: hm. dunno then.
SkyeDS: started to hurt some time back, when at home, in my big ergo
leather exec chair, when I sat up for too long at puter.
SkyeDS: but not nearly as bad as here.
SkyeDS: but then I didn't stay in front of the puter as long as here
either.
evile: yeah.
SkyeDS: and I wonder if some of it isn't stress as well as posture.
evile: could be. You could always close your door and stop for some
yoga every couple hours.
evile: Nothing major, just some good stretches & stuff.?
SkyeDS: I try to do headrolls frequently but it doesn't seem to help
at all :(
SkyeDS: but if I could lie down on the floor and do an asana on my
back to put pressure on my neck that might help
evile: http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yogaindex.html
SkyeDS: tante grazie
evile: No prob. Our OM printed out this page in its entirety,
photocopied it & passed it around a while back. "safety training" my
fat ass...but she got credit for it.
SkyeDS: I can't hardly even do the first one, it hurts my neck
evile: Probably means you need it :P
SkyeDS: sineater wants me to take back med and I can't do that, it will
make me sleepy
evile: are they the kind you can break into smaller pieces, or the
scary ones that say 'TAKE WHOLE'
evile: I get spacey if I take a whole dose of allergy/sinus, but not
so bad when I take half a dose (1 pill rather than two)
SkyeDS: think they're big enough to break in half
SkyeDS: bout now I'll do anything.
evile: They sell pill splitters at most drug stores. You can break
them with a butter knife, but it's not as 'scientific'
SkyeDS: bet an exacto would work fine
SkyeDS: or one of the baby swiss army blades in my nanta bag
evile: watch your fingers :)
SkyeDS: lol
evile: Of course, there are those who recommend putting your hand in
the fire to keep your attention away from a bleeding leg wound...:P
SkyeDS: or having someone step on your foot or kneecap you to forget
about a headache, lol
evile: sure. I'm sure it works...but if your objective was NOT BEING
IN PAIN, it's a little silly.
evile: I'm so used to allergies now, I would probably freak if I woke
up without a headache one day. But it would be nice.
SkyeDS: I stopped having daily headaches when I didn't eat carbs.
evile: It definitely makes a difference
SkyeDS: combination of sudafed and excedrin usually takes care of
allergies, if that doesn't nothing does
evile: I get too spacy on sudafed. It's fun, but nonproductive.
SkyeDS: benadryl makes me spacy
evile: benadryl knocks me right on out.
SkyeDS: tomorrow I'm seriously considering pain reliever, neck pillow
if sineater can find me one like he says he can, and either heating pad
or those thermapads
evile: I hear those stick-on heat pads are awesome. Lots of my
girlfriends use them for their monthlies.
SkyeDS: would try anything right now
SkyeDS: would be great if they work for that too
evile: I don't know if the ads are just playing 'coy' like the
vibrator held up to the cheek thing, or what, but the ads show the
heat pads on arms, legs, back, tummy, etc.
evile: If I have my way, I'll never experience any of that again. :)
SkyeDS: <wistful envy>
evile: More hoops: 1) radioactive dye up the cooch and exray to see
if Essure 'took'. then either 2)a tubal (if Essure didn't work) & 3)
endometrial ablation or 2A) JUST the ablation. I am hoping to be
done done by end of April at the very latest.
SkyeDS: :-/
evile: Looking at at least another $1000 in copays. :(
evile: Plus some time out of work to recover (paid sick leave is good)
evile: It'll be worth it.
SkyeDS: nods'
evile: I wish I wasn't having to be *slightly* dishonest with the Dr
(more like letting him make assumptions and not correcting
them)....it still offends me to have to lie to get what I need.
evile: I am pretty sure I passed one spring, at least. So probably
tubal & then ablation. But those can be done at the same time.
Theoretically under local anesthetic, but my Dr. likes general.
SkyeDS: I'd do general for just about everything because I'm a big
wuss but ya know they usually don't let you
evile: Maybe Dr. Davis learned the hard way to knock his patients all
the way out :P
evile: Or maybe it was the preference of the place where the
procedure was done. They make more $ off ya if they knock you out.
SkyeDS: Tad didn't knock me all the way under for the abortion.
SkyeDS: I don't think anybody does because that runs the cost up.
evile: Recovering from general anesthetic is traumatic to me. And I
would have preferred to drive myself home. But oh well.
SkyeDS: I've only been all the way under once in my life and I loved
it.
evile: I have been under twice. the first time was very seriously
traumatic, the 2nd was more pleasant but still not great. I didn't
enjoy being so out of it.
evile: which is also why I don't like any drugs but booze :)
SkyeDS: I think I'm too scared of some things not to be all the way
under, but then my one time under was very pleasant
evile: I think a lot of it depends on the recovery room staff. The
lady at St. Davids after my ovary removal was a beeotch. The folks at
Bailey Square were treating it like happy hour
SkyeDS: they put me under to take out all four of my wisdom teeth
evile: ooh, almost time to head out. I have to get gas before I get
Sunshine. & my winning lottery ticket, of course.
SkyeDS: gave me laughing gas, slipped a tiny iv needle painlessly
into my arm, and I was happily napping away.
evile: I only got local for the wisdom teeth. Didn't like that much.
I think I threw up in Stepdad's car.
SkyeDS: for two hours after the procedure even
SkyeDS: I don't think they do general unless they do all four at once
evile: wow.
SkyeDS: and there may be problems with roots entangled with nerves or
some such
SkyeDS: mine were pretty badly compacted
evile: yuck.
SkyeDS: impacted, one or t'other
evile: cre8tive babynaming at its best: Dartnyun
SkyeDS: my mother had a student named Placenta once
evile: Mom must have been trying very hard to spell "D'artagnan"
under anesthesia :P
evile: PlacentIa is spanish. But without the I...no.
evile: anyhoo..I need to make a final round of paper-ditching & then
off for the evening's crazy stuff.
SkyeDS: have fun
SkyeDS: hugs :)
evile: Hope so :P I know I won't be getting to bed before midnight .
eee.
evile: *hugs* talk at ya later!