Musings

My Tivo has decided that I really ought to be watching the BBC’s series, Robin Hood. There were a bunch of episodes lined up on the Now Playing list, so I decided to give the show a try. It’s reminiscent of a KNIGHT’S TALE that movie with Heath Ledger, but no where near as good. I was hanging in there until I watched an episode that just had me in hysterics.

I understand in 2008 women don’t want to watch a show where members of our gender get rescued, or sew a tapestry, but when it turned out that Maid Marian is actually a mysterious figure called the Night Watchmen, and she not only knows kung fu, but she’s also trained in gymnastics, _and_ she dresses as a man (I guess nobody told the writers that the church burned women for wearing male attire) I just lost it. I giggled my way through the rest of the episode, and I still haven’t recovered.

This is also one of these shows where the evil (and boy is he Snidley Whiplash evil) sheriff of Nottingham wants to silence some children who have seen his new secret weapon. But this is a family hour show so they can’t kill a bunch of sweet faced urchins so they tie themselves in knots to explain why the boys haven’t been killed until Robin can rescue them.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the sheriff had a sister who dressed in black leather pants and boots and travelled everywhere with a box filled with poisonous snakes. Of course she falls into the pit instead of Robin Hood and her “babies” bite her and she dies. And they have a Mission Impossible moment where she pulls off the putty nose and wig to reveal Cruella De Ville rather than the simple woman who has been chained in the town square for pilfering food.

If anachronisms won’t drive you crazy, and you and you need a giggle this is the show to watch. Apparently it’s a really big hit. Which is just terrifying.

My friend Janice, smofbabe.livejournal.com/ forwarded this to me. www.thepetitionsite.com/1/obamapin This is a campaign pin being handed out by the Texas GOP. I went and signed the petition, and I think I had a pretty good zinger for these ignorant pukes. I wrote to them that I was the CEO of an natural gas and oil company, a lawyer, and I ought to be a Republican. Then I added — “This is precisely why I’m not.”

Combine this with the couple in Utah who are selling sock puppets of Obama which cast him as the monkey Curious George. To quote Daniel Abraham /bram452.livejournal.com/“I hate people.” For those of you not familiar with American racism it has been a century old tradition to compare African-American men to apes or monkeys.

I expect such filth from white supremacist sites or neo-Nazi sites, but this is beyond offensive.

Went out with George last night for dinner at Maria’s and then off to see Kung Fu Panda. I happen to really like animated films, and this one was a lot of fun. The art work was beautiful, and the voice talent very well cast. I’m told if you’re a real authority on kung fu flicks you will see many homages to the great fight scenes. I did catch one from Drunken Master. (Or at least I think I did. I could be totally wrong.)

There was a preview for Wall:e and that looks very fun too.

I couldn’t resist. My friend, Pat Rogers took some photos of Vento. I especially loved this one because he looks so goofy.

I’ve been quietly celebrating the very important decision of the Supreme Court on Thursday when they declared that Congress and the President had no power to strip away the right of Habeus Corpus. I’ve been listening to the news while I cleaned up the kitchen, and heard John McCain at a town hall meeting.

I know the media has been presenting this guy as a maverick and a moderate. _He Is Neither!_ He has voted in support of Bush’s disastrous policies 95% of the time in the past year. Prior to that he was rated by a Conservative think tank as a proper right wing voter 85% of the time. He has backed away from his stance against torture. (I guess torture is now just fine), he is anti-choice, and he will pack the court and destroy the country.

The reason I know he will destroy the judicial safeguards that protect our Constitution is what he just said in this town hall meeting. He excoriated the court’s decision on Thursday, and sided with these absolutely terrifying dissents from Roberts and Scalia. McCain railed against unelected judges legislating from the bench. This man wants to be President, and the primary duty of the President is to defend the Constitution, and apparently McCain knows nothing about the Constitution, or at least doesn’t understand it. It is the function of the Supreme Court to rule on the Constitutionality of laws passed by Congress and actions taken by the President.

The Right claims to hate and fear government, but then they tell us to trust them. The stripping of Habeus Corpus only applies to these detainees. It would never be used against American citizens. Tell that to Jose Padilla. And how long until some new convulsion of fear has the president and congress deciding that certain ethnic groups need to lose their rights? Or certain religious groups. Trust us. We’re the people who tell you to fear government, but _trust us_. We’ll never take your rights away.

Consider the quote by Martin Niemoller. There are a number of versions as he made this speech several times, but I’m offering up the most famous version for your consideration.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me–
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

John Scalzi has written a stunning, funny, brilliant rebuke of the pinheads at Fox News. (I just hate to append the word “news” after Fox) Anyway, this will brighten your morning.

So, Ty Frank and I were chatting on Sunday morning while I watered the day lilies, and casually discussing whom Obama might select as his running mate. The governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, is an terrific politician, has a great deal of experience in foreign affairs, and he’s Hispanic, so he was on our list as we ruminated.

I began to muse that such a selection might send any would be racist assassins into vapor lock (rather like a killer computer when faced with Captain Kirk’s astounding logic). At present these evil jerks would have to work their way through three people before they got to a somebody who would meet with their approval ie white and male. That would be Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia who is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Which sent me off to research the actual line of succession because it’s been a long time since I’d considered such matters, and this exciting election season has me thinking about all things political.

So, for your consideration and general bemusement: Drum Roll — the Succession.

President
Vice-President
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State,
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health ad Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security.

Today is New Mexico’s primary election day. We hold a presidential caucus in February, but this is where we vote for the candidates for Congress, county commissioners, etc. I’m one of those “super voters” I vote for the school board, I vote in the primaries.

As I walked into that elementary school I had a deep shiver in my chest, a real thrill because I was going to vote. This probably sounds corny, but when I vote I seem to see this ghostly line of people extending back into history who fought to bring me this right. Because I’m a history buff and a former lawyer it starts for me in a field in England in 1297 with Magna Carta. Since then we’ve seen abolitionist and suffragists, the power of a court declaring that “separate but equal” was by definition not equal, and attacking head on the American original sin.

And tonight an African American will carry the standard for the Democratic party. AS Keith Olberman said — “I wonder what Lincoln would think tonight.” Again, I felt that shiver.

Obama’s speech was amazing. He did his brilliant jujitsu on McCain, he brought the crowd of 17,500 people to their feet. He brought back to me the emotions I haven’t felt in far, far too many years. We’ve witnessed history tonight. That doesn’t happen too often in a person’s lifetime.

It’s hard for me to express how deeply I’ve been moved by this night.

I was wondering if those of you who wander by my blog would be willing to check out your local Borders and see if they have my book. The two Borders in Santa Fe don’t have my book because the chain “hasn’t ordered it into this area.” The word is that Borders is in financial trouble, and they are giving a pass to many, many books.

On the other hand there are only two chains, and it seems my book isn’t in one of them which is pretty disheartening. So, thanks in advance for making the inquiry.

Meanwhile, if you want the book may I suggest Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Saturday I went out on my first real garage sale crawl with my friend, the amazing, fun, funny, elegant, Patricia Rogers who is one of the people who makes our local science fiction convention so wonderful. She is a very knowledgeable antique collector, and she has a technique for this that puts many military commanders to shame. First she checks the newspaper ads, then she marks on a laminated map the locations of the sales, she then plots the route for maximum coverage with minimum driving.

We set off at 8:00 am. Pat picked me up and we headed into the wilds of El Dorado. Most of our stops consisted of baby cloths, toys, and general junk, but at one house there was a small collection of insignia pins and medals from the civil war to WWII. I happened to mention that I was more interested in English insignia, and the man went into the house and returned with a box and a plastic grocery sack filled with more items. His father had been a collector, and the son didn’t particularly care so he was selling them at ridiculously low prices. I got a remount pin from WWI — very elaborate with a brass frame holding a rearing silver horse, and a Berkshire pin which is a copy of one of the prehistoric chalk horses that you find on hillsides throughout England.

Among the pins and medals was a Polish ribbon and medal issued to Auchwitz survivors. I looked at it long and hard because I wrote a book about the Holocaust (which I’ve been unable to sell. Maybe someday) Anyway, it was an incredible piece of history, but I find that entire episode so deeply disturbing, that I ultimately put it back. This is not to say that I want to sweep it under the rug, or not look at these episodes of human barbarity. I think “never forget” is an excellent policy, but it was just too much for me emotionally.

Next we headed into town and an estate sale at a beautiful compound up near Museum Hill. There was a main house, guest house with loft, separate garage on a lot of acres. Everything was for sale. Furniture, rugs, dishes, pots and pans, etc. etc. I love seeming houses, but there was something disturbing to me about strangers arriving and breaking up this home. It made me reflect on how I have no children, and that will, most likely, be how my estate is settled. Not that I’ll know or care — I’ll be dead. I mentioned my reaction to Pat, and she had the most beautiful response that I found very comforting.

Kids usually don’t want their parents “junk”. Think about the son selling off his father’s collection of medals and insignia. They have their own interests, and they shouldn’t be forced to honor yours. When your property is sold after your death it will go into the hands of people who share that interest, and they will be thrilled to have that small object and will treasure it. As Pat said, “I think we just borrow things for awhile and them we pass them along.”

We didn’t find anything else of note — oh, I did buy a deviled egg container complete with little dished trays and a lid — because I make really great deviled eggs, and I’m constantly asked to bring them to parties and barbecues. Do you know how hard it is to transport deviled eggs on a plate?

We had lunch at a nice Indian restaurant, and then toyed with going to see Sex and The City, or go to see Vento. We both voted for Vento. Pat was a great sport, and even let me ride him. She took a lot of pictures so maybe some will come out okay and I’ll post them here. It is really hard to photograph horses, especially with digital cameras.

I ended the evening dining on part of a Stouffers lasagna, a tossed green salad, and I watched a tiny bit of the Andromeda Strain. It struck me as kind of pointless. It was a really good movie, back in the day. Now I really have to get to work on my paladin story, and get it finished.