A Microcosm

The legislatures in both my native state, Virginia, and my home state, Washington, failed to agree on a budget before their respective clocks ran out this week. In my previous home state, Arizona, the legislature is still in session but the fact that AzCentral has a Budget Crisis web page does not augur well.

Such is the contemporary landscape of the political-economic culture I've known. Leaves me feeling a bit like Joe Btfsplk.

Thinking of Rush

'Nuff said.


With great appreciation to Berkley Breathed.

Department of Homeland Insecurity, Viginia Division

Democracy is apparently a dangerous idea in my native state these days. Supporters of privacy and reproductive rights protested at the capitol in Richmond on Saturday.



And for this the state called out the SWAT team.



Fucking way over the top.



I wonder what Mr. Jefferson would say?

Family Values

From Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta,

We are all really good at pretending we are a normal family, and somehow us pretending all at once is a big part of what makes us feel like a family. It is like a willed self-delusion. Or maybe you can lie to yourself, that's a self-delusion, but if you have a delusion about several people, if you all share in this delusion, that isn't a self-delusion, is it? That is a family.