There was an interesting interview on NPR last night with John Waters. An article he wrote for the Huffington Post on Leslie Van Houten.

Yes, the Manson Girl.

I know the La Bianca kids don’t have a mother around anymore partly because of my friend Leslie. No matter how patient Leslie or her supporters are, we know this terrible fact will never change. But when, if ever, will there have been enough punishment?

Listening to John Waters discuss the case of Leslie Van Houten set of two similar trains of thought.

First, which was brought up by John Waters, is: would she have been released on parole years ago if she had not been a Manson Girl? The crimes committed by the Mason Family were horrific, no one is debating that, but should she be judged as an equal of Charles Manson, or instead as a young woman who was completely under the sway of a charismatic and evil mad man?

That brings us to the other question, which is what type of society are we? Are a society that seeks retribution from criminals? Or a society that seeks to rehabilitate criminals? I have always been struck by that fact that the very people who claim they want to live in a Christian society are the same people who clamor for the death of murders, and seek a return to the chain gang and corporal punishment.

Would Leslie Van Houton still be in prison if she had not been a Manson Girl, and if the Manson case were not seared in the minds of Americans?

Regarding the “carry your guns across the country” bill that was defeated today, I have to say that as much as I believe in a liberal reading of the second amendment, I think that being able to conceal carry anywhere in the US because you have a permit in one state is a poor idea.

Mostly I’m posting this because I’m curious what other people think. (Especially you Andy.)

I got company on Sunday! Specifically, neurondoc, her spouse and offspring!

I made pizza, and received assistance in decorating the pizza; then we had oreos for dessert. Mmmm! (Yes, you should be jealous.)

Also, neurondoc’s daughter is apparently part bumblebee, and is very fond of pollen.

My assistant and I made pizza.

Me and neurondoc.

AND I even got LOOT! Yummy chocolate LOOT!

And just for Nathan…

Yup. She got me bacon chocolate! Now I shan’t be eating this as bacon isn’t in my dietary repertoire, but I am very tempted to save it just for Nathan!

President Obama Extends Federal Benefits
Executive memo gives partners, including same-sex partners, of federal employees access to some benefits.

Brent Benjamin should have stepped down from the Massey case.

…(T)he $3 million Blankenship spent to unseat the incumbent justice who was seeking re-election and replace him with Benjamin “had a significant and disproportionate influence in placing Justice Benjamin on the case.”

Something to note here:

“It is an old cliche, but sometimes the cure is worse than the disease,” Roberts said. He wrote that it is not clear that Blankenship’s money even affected the outcome of the election.

“I would give the voters of West Virginia more credit than that,” he said.

In fact, once WV voters realized what Blankenship was up to, we did soundly reject the candidates he supported. Unfortunately, when Benjamin was elected, it wasn’t clear what was happening. The next election, however, it was clear what Blankenship was doing, and his efforts to buy WV politicians was soundly rejected.

Lets hope that state law remains so that when Blankenship and his ilk attempt to buy WV politicians, we can see where the money is coming from, instead of hiding that money behind fake groups such as, “For the Sake of the Kids.”

Place the countries in the middle east on the map.

No time, no score. Just see how long it takes you and how many mistakes you make.

I did terrible in Western Africa, and I mixed up the location of several of the -stans. For most I got the general area correct, but specific placement was occasionally off.

Considering I’ve never taken a geography class–ever–I didn’t feel too bad about how I did.

Apparently McCoy 6 wants to SUE the city for condemning one of their apartment buildings.

This is AFTER the city tore down and cleared the decrepit buildings in the old stadium loop and then charge the Warners only $1 (one single dollar) a year lease.

Let me share the experience Michael had in college.

TO clarify, many “apartments” in Morgantown are old houses divided into multiple living spaces, with kitchens and bathrooms added in somewhat randomly.

Michael and his roommate were shown an apartment, signed a lease, and then told that the apartment they were renting not only was not the apartment they were shown, it wasn’t even in the same house.

When they moved in the place was filthy. Disgusting. The stove looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in years, the kitchen floor was sticky, the carpet and furniture were horrific (dirty and stained and unhealthy looking), and the bathroom was a disaster. Many things didn’t work, including the drain in the tub (by the time you were done showering the tub was full of water. Disgusting water.) When they moved in they complained about all these things, and were told that something would be done.

No one ever came to repair anything. Ever.

When Michael moved out after a few months, McCoy 6 refused to return his security deposit, listing all the “damage” done to the apartment, which was the list of the problems Michael and his roommate had complained about when they moved in.

Needless to say, Michael is not the only person they did this to.

Friends who moved into Mountaineer Court soon after it was built had complaints about the foundation, structure, and construction of the apartment. Time has not been kind to the building, and if they maintained Mountaineer Court in the same manner as they maintained the apartment Michael rented, it’s a small wonder the building was condemned.

Did I mention that the Warners are some of the better known Republicans in the state? One brother ran for governor, another was chair of the state Republican party. And now you know why I have such disdain for Republicans in West Virginia.

As I was listening to the radio Friday morning while getting ready for work, they played a segment on the plans Obama has for changes to the tax system, and I was struck by one idea mentioned several times by the Republicans: if we change the tax breaks for charitable giving, then people will give less to charity, which would be terrible at this time, while more and more people are relying upon charity.

I immediately thought, are you kidding me?!

Do the Republicans really believe that the only reason people make charitable donations is for the tax breaks?

If that’s true, it explains an awful lot about what’s wrong with the Republican party.

Let me make this clear, I make charitable donations–in fact Michael and I donated two cars to Good News Mountaineer Garage (last when we bought our new car in 2003).

I make donations every paycheck to local United Way groups (I always give money to the RDVIC, Christian Help, and one other group that often changes from year to year.

We make regular donations of clothing and items to either Christian Help or Goodwill (if I can’t make the hours for Christian Help), and I’m always amazed by the people who insist on getting a receipt for their single measly bag of used clothing (they set the dollar amount of the donation).

And we have never once claimed a charitable donation on our taxes.

I don’t do these things because I expect to be rewarded for my actions or donations.

I do these things because it is the right thing to do.

Apparently some Republicans don’t quite get that idea.

Nathan took me to task for not bringing up an important issue in front of the WV Legislature: Delegate Jeff Eldridge has proposed a ban on Barbie dolls.

I’d like to point out that Eldridge is from Lincoln county. I live in Monongalia, so this guy is Not My Fault.

Now, to address this mess.

First, thank the gods this Legislator is male and not female. Can you imagine how this would be spun if it was a woman who proposed this bill? Wackos like Rush Limbaugh would be denouncing the lesbian feminist agenda in our legislatures, blah blah blah. So at least we missed that bullet. Not that what we left with is much better.

Second, I don’t like Barbie dolls, and never had one as a child or pre-teen. (Most of the dolls I had were rag dolls, and they were beat out by the stuffed animals.) I also agree somewhat with the premise that Jeff Eldridge is putting forth: I don’t think that Barbies (being humanly impossible and all) are necessarily a good role model for girls and pre-teens.

Elementary aged girls are now dieting, because they don’t look like the TV stars and models. We are creating a culture where more and more young women are getting eating disorders, and this is a terrible problem, and a problem that needs to be addressed.

However.

Banning Barbie is not a solution. I mean, shall the state police arrest people coming across the border with desired Christmas presents for their daughters and granddaughters? This is an incredibly stupid idea.

Even more importantly, however, this bill is a phenomenal waste of time. I recognize that Jeff Eldridge doesn’t really believe his bill will pass. Which means he has put up a bill solely to garner attention.

Sir? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of an economic recession/depression. West Virginia is losing tens of thousands of jobs as manufacturing companies close down and consolidate.

So why in the holy hell would anyone waste time with something like this?

I can’t answer it, but I hope the voters of Lincoln county demand an answer from Jeff Eldridge. Because we have issues of greater importance to address, and although female self image is important, calling for a ban on Barbie dolls isn’t going to do a damned thing to solve the problem.

Saw this car in the grocery store parking lot and thought of Jim.

Now that’s a convincing message.

…and it makes me happy every time I read it.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

I would like to point out that eight years ago, the depths and horror of the Bush administration were predicted in “Bush: ‘Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over’“.

But today we can begin the reversal of the losses of our civil liberties.

Today we are taking the first step in the right direction to turn the country from the darkness of the Bush administration, an administration that allowed banks to run a muck by placing profit in front of the security of investors and investments. An administration that violated civil liberties after Bush declared that the terrorists hated us for our freedoms (obviously the solution was to curtail those freedoms, so the terrorists would no longer hate us). An administration that believed the environment existed solely for the extraction of natural resource. An administration that fought advances is medical research.

Today we turn the page on that dark past and start the hard work of moving forward. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be pretty, but we can do it.

Yes we can.

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
–Abraham Lincoln

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
— Benjamin Franklin

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
— William Faulkner

…
Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base….
(more…)

Last night, Michael (who may be the most wonderful man in the entire world) spent more than two hours on the phone helping Grandmom get a new Medicare Part D prescription plan.

Over the course of the evening he spoke to at least four people (if not more), and had to give them all the information on my grandmother’s medication including drug names (spelling them of course), dosages, and the number of pills taken a day.

Every single person he talked to last night was nice, patient, and unfailingly polite.

This is despite the fact that he was trying to spell drug names over the phone (names that in some cases were written down for him in correctly), trying to get information from my grandmother as he spoke to them, and in general sharing a lot of information over the phone, when we could he how loud it was on their end. (They are definitely in cubicles and not offices!)

I was delighted with how easy they tried to make the process, even when it was complicated and they had to repeat things multiple times.

Kudos to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Thank you for making a long and complex process as painless as possible.