A man

was told he was a murdering liar for 27 years.

Could you even imagine?

Hello, I still live

I think most people who would actually read this know me well enough to call and chat when they want to know what's going on, but I do know there are some friends who I have not seen for some time. In the spirit that you may stop by, I am going to post about the latest comings and goings soon...

I even have an outline of things to talk about... how nerdy is that?

Anyway... see you then...


-Ian

In the news...

We all have probably wanted to do something similar.

The best thing is that they show a picture of the receipt.

As you probably already knew...

I am voting for Barack Obama.

I grant that when it comes to strict political papers there is just a marginal difference between Obama's and Clinton's positions overall.

Though I appreciate that Obama's health care plan believes that the only people forced to have health care are parents for their children. All the rest will have health care affordable enough so that the only people who aren't covered are those who don't want health care - not because they can't afford it....

Though I love the fact that Obama believes that direct diplomacy is the right diplomacy...

I believe that the final choice in this election is a matter of presidential philosophy and character.

I am really troubled at Clinton's attempts at trying to leverage delegates from Michigan and Florida.

I am troubled that Clinton felt threatened by Obama bringing up her working on the board of Wal-Mart for nearly a decade and decided to exaggerate Obama's relationship to Rezko.

I am troubled that Clinton never seems to have an honest, non-political answer to any question. I mean you could ask her what her favorite flavor of ice cream was and she would conduct a market research survey. Nevermind... back to topic.

And though I think she would be a better president than Bush could ever have hoped to be, she would not be my president any more than Bush would. Her world is politics. It is the air she breathes and the food she eats. She would be a skilled tactician, but I don't think that is what we need for our president. Not today.

Out president needs to be someone who will accept all of America, not alienate them. Someone who can claim the respect of all of America. Someone who is open to the opinions of those around him/her instead of "knowing" the way and only seeking input from those who agree. Someone who believes that the best policies are the ones that all sides can appreciate if not completely agree with.

I think that the strength of Bill Clinton (for all his faults) was that he always asked a lot of questions of those around him, gathering information about policy, finding all the facts, and gathering a base of support before moving forward. I don't feel that Hillary possesses these abilities. What I think that his wife shares, however, is his ambition, aloofness, arrogance, and a thrill for a fight. We have had too much of that and frankly, I just don't trust her to do what's best for this country.

Obama on the other hand, has Bill Clinton's abilities as described above and as made evident by the rally I went to on Saturday, inspires the best of the most diverse people in age, gender, and culture.


Emily and I were in line for two hours about a mile away from the rally and everyone around us (and blocks behind us) were in such grand spirits, I couldn't believe it. Never in my life has there been anyone who inspires so many, so well. Imagine that leadership in a president.

He also has a background to which so much of America (and possibly the world) can relate - his single mother had to raise him when his parents split and he worked his way up against odds stacked heavily against him. He and his mom traveled the world trying to find a place. He, like many confused kids, messed around in some nonsense, but after realizing it was holding him back, got out, pushed through, and more than redeemed himself for his bad decisions. He went to law school, was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, became a community organizer, and then became a professor of constitutional law before his time in the state congress. Imagine that experience in a president.

I think that the president for today should be a living breathing embodiment of what America is. Barack is. He's the child of a girl from the midwest and a guy from Kenya, the child of a single mother, the husband of a brilliant woman, the father of two young children, and statesmen of integrity. He is someone who was given little and made with it much. And though some people try to use it to hurt him, I am glad his name is Barack Hussein Obama, because it tells the world that we are not the country that we appear to be right now. We, together, are not bigots, not racists, not fear-mongers, not all southern white folk. We are a good people who rise despite adversity to make our world better. And I whole-heartedly believe that he can lead this country to make the right decisions and reclaim or respect and leadership in the world.

That is why I am voting for Barack Obama and I hope that you will, too.


Can we make something good happen in this country for once?

Roll the tape Will.i.am!



So go caucus! Here is a place for information (for Minnesota):

Minnesota Caucus Finder

A Few of My Favorite things

Maybe I will bring back the changing things, but right now I am too lazy to edit hypertext, so...

Enjoy:

The Fail! Blog
I like to say it like Darth Vader says "Weak!" in the final battle of Super Star Wars each time I see a particularly good one.

The Sneeze -
Pay special attention to the "Steve, don't eat it!" section, but overall damn, damn, damn funny.

The best e-card site ever
This way you can say what you can't say.

That's all for now.

Later.

They didn't even tell me

Little did I know that a couple of my friends went off and started a bhangra-style pop band. They named it after one of them (man, he grew his hair out since the baby!) and the other grew out a beard and found Sikhism apparently... Well, here they are singing something that sounds like "I am Awesome" and eating food while sitting on the table:

The is that is

I am getting comfortable...
in the good sense.

I am finding a rhythm that I haven't found in quite a while... or maybe I just feel that way at the moment. Time will tell, but right now is good.

I traded my parking contract for a bus pass and it makes me feel so liberated. Granted I am bound to a bus schedule, but we all need a little discipline to feel free, right? And I can definitely appreciate not pumping gas into my car for so, so many reasons.

I am getting a chance to read again as you will read about in an upcoming blathering blog about Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series. I just finished that, but am now back to the other eight or so books of which I am currently finished in varying degrees.

I still have thoughts in my head of writing (at least a novella) for kicks, so I am once again attacking Campbell's "Hero of a Thousand Faces." ***Aside: I give permission to make as many "Hero of a thousand Feces" jokes as you like.*** Not that I am going to use Campbell's work as a template per se (like George Lucas admittedly did in the Star Wars series), but as he argues in the book and elsewhere, there are reasons why these themes are reinforced through many cultures and eras.

But I also have rediscovered "The Tipping Point," am back to visiting "Hawaii," and keep trying to read about Mysticism from Evelyn Underhill... but I don't think I am quite ready yet.

There is a part of me who holds to the notion (reinforced by some of the topics of the Pullman books) that as long as I hold up my end of the bargain and focus my energies properly, life will point me out in the right direction where necessary. I take heart from strange coincidence. So if I am feeling aimless and something aims me in a direction, I will go that way.

At this point the way is straight ahead, but slowly. I went to the Minnesota Green Expo to mingle with people in my chosen field. Though I found a number of job openings and submit a number of resumes, I am a little apprehensive of the fluctuating economy, so I will tread carefully upon this foggy path.

I am rediscovering music... which might be presumed to be a given being that I have a radio show and was always blogging about it in the past... but I had a bit of a dry spell where I was hearing a lot, but not really listening to it - in fact I was listening to political talk radio more than music stations. This seasons releases were pretty weak and aside from Iron and Wine's new disc (A note: How come it was voted one of the best albums of the year on the current, but I only know of maybe two people who actually listen to it?) anyway, aside from that album, I haven't found much to crow about. But I saw a really good show a few weeks ago (Roma di Luna and the Pines) and I am using Pandora a lot again - finding plenty that makes my ears perk. If you want to listen a long, just click the "Feels Like Home" station on the right over there. --->

And I picked up my guitar again last week, remembering how important calluses really are and how hard fought they are in achieving. I also realized how greatly I need new strings. Sounds like I am playing shoelaces draped across a cardboard box.

I haven't painted since class though...
I think a part of it is not having an instructor giving me any assignments. So I invite anyone who has any suggestions whatsoever, to throw them out there. You will be doing me a favor. I want to get back into it and thanks to a receptive and supportive group of people around me, I have an easel to work from.


Well,


I have to catch the 21 at 8:20 tomorrow, so I will have to catch up with all of you later on.

Take care and be well.

See you sometime.

Iowa's Caucus and Coffee

I woke up this morning to watch Joe Scarborough talking about politics from Java Joe's - the coffee shop I spent most of my time at in my Iowa high school days. This is the place where we drank coffee pretty much every day and wrote shitty poetry. Where I went to one of my first "raves" and had my first "smart drink." And the place I first performed on stage. In fact, right before I moved up to Twin Town, a friend and I landed a gig there to play Monday nights for tips. Well, that fractured, but my memories of that place are still strong.

It also draws me that much more into the results of today's caucus. Here are my predictions:


Democrat: Obama

I ranted a number of months ago about how I had little hope for American politics and that I was upset about Barack Obama not showing the strength of character or conviction that I expected from him. I am glad that he has proven that to be unfounded. For the last few months I have been pretty excited to see him doing well. I still hold a similar opinion of the other candidates on the Democrat side - Edwards not being horrible, but still seeming to just say what will get him elected regardless of if he can actually make it happen. He said something about curing cancer by 2011 or something. That's just absurd, but I wouldn't mind too much to have him as vice pres. Clinton is just a crap choice and will represent all of America about as well as Bush has. With Democrats in control of basically two of the three branches of government, they will spend like I do on payday and we will just whiplash back into the conservative movement, if we don't have a leader that captures the inspiration and imagination of the greater country.

But being that I lived in Iowa for a major part of my life, I am amazed to see that how well Obama is doing there. I may have over estimated America's latent racism and mistrust of a man with an African name. A part of me still thinks that Edwards will take it because visually and audibly he remains a mirror of the people who live there. And given the nature of the caucus, he may capture the runoff vote and therefore move above the original front-runner. But I have hope that Obama will pull it off.

Here is a video that is sort of inspiring to me.

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On the Republican side:

I think Romney is pretty much a given. Iowans have are showing themselves to be very centrist on social issues. Plus he looks a little like Reagan so they may just say, "Why the hell not?"

Well, that and every other leading Republican candidate comes across as a bigger douche bag than he does.



Well, until later, my friends.

I hope you are all well in this new Year.