October 2003 – Page 2

Go cubs

I was somewhat surprised to see the cubs make it this far, and I’m very pleased. I used to pay attention to such things, and the Cubs were my favorite team. I’d put a picture up of me wearing my cubs hat (1990-1995), or even cubs starter jacket, but I don’t have any on hand. Plus, I had these really weird side burns.

Remember the Simpson’s episode where Mr. Burns tells Don Mattingly to cut his sideburns? It was a lot like that.

I’d really like to see the Cubs and Red Sox play. The Yankees are evil, and I don’t trust these “new” teams. Besides, who could complain about going back and forth between Wrigley and Fenway? Sweet.

Bette Garlow

My sister received a call two weeks ago from a family friend. It was the ex-husband who was trying to reach my parents. His former wife was having problems with her chemotherapy, and was getting very sick quickly. She’d had, and known about her melanoma for several years, but had made amazing strides to accomplish something with her time. She’d finished law school after the divorce, raised two children, and has been very active in domestic violence law since.

My parents met her while volunteering at a women’s shelter. They’ve both been active in forwarding domestic violence awareness, and have had a wonderful friendship during that time. Its sad to hear of her death, but warming to know someone who has made the most of her turn, and shed some light into the lives of so many.

A few updates

Michelle got a job with a local firm today. She’ll be clerking for the small general/civil firm part time, and maybe even move up once she’s graduated. Its a nice start, because anymore you’ve got to know someone to get somewhere.

I got a new hat. Yup, first new hat in 6 years. Old Red will still be making appearances, but I’ll most likely be sporting a grey cap from now on.

No taxation…

Last night I was listening to Fresh Air on the drive home and heard one of the most grotesquely tailored propaganda flings by American’s for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist. He avoided using the word Estate, and simply referred to the “Death” tax over and over. Then he likened the estate tax to the holocaust, including the government “removing the gold from your teeth” when you die. The host, Teri Gross, confronted him on the comparison, but Mr. Norquist stood by his example, then continued by likening the tax to apartheid. When the government selects a small group of people (say, multi-millionaires) to target for something like an estate tax, you’re basically committing ethnocide….

I had to laugh, but then I got scared because this guy has been very important in formulating many of the country’s economic policies. Sure, I make absurd references like this when I drink too much, but they’re always meant to be inflammatory and, well, absurd. This guy is serious about these comparisons. He manages to balance out the Nazi references with some communist references when he likens the estate tax to the ideologies and practices of East Germany in the 1950s. At least we’re getting a full spectrum of bullshit.

If you’d like to taste for yourself, Listen here.

Bindweed v. Knotweed

We inherited a number of noxious weeds with our rental house. Bindweed has been my main foe so far, but now I’ve moved on to Japanese Knot-weed, also known as Mexican Bamboo, Fleece-flower, and others. The recommended method for dealing with the pest is to cut all growth to the ground for several years and wait for the rhizomes to die. Digging it up will almost certainly spit the roots, which will start a new colony.

In an interesting twist, it appears that the knot-weed and bindweed are now competing. They both share fence space, and are becoming intertwined. Both are noxious and kill off all other plants competing for the same resources, so how will it end?

I could try and play the sides against each other like the US did with Iran and Iraq. If history is any lesson, it won’t work, and the havoc, death, poverty, and corruption that resulted won’t make much for a yard. I am afraid that using a glyphosate spray may be the only way to stop these bastards. They had free reign previously, and now we’re dealing with the consequences.