I guess I am saying 'a pox on both their houses'

I know, I've been fairly silent on blogging on issues for a while. It's been difficult to try and balance all the necessary things that life seems to require, and find time to do things that I like, but aren't 'necessary'. That said, quite a bit has happened in the world since I last posted. Health care reform passed (whether we wanted it or not), the world continues to prove it's not a safe place, and those who are supposed to be doing 'the people's work' aren't. Yeah, I guess at this point I throw up my hands, say nasty words at both the major political parties (to include phrases like the title) and say in essence 'I don't trust a single thing you say.'

It's really difficult to try and stay calm and involved in the process, when there's daily evidence that this country has created a professional class of politicians whose sole purpose in life is to work at some level of government (by election or political appointment). It's rather irritating when those who are supposed to ensure the best interests of the country are served have absolutely no clue of the effects of their votes/decisions. Then they act surprised when something bad happens (and most sane people saw it coming well before the vote was taken).

And looking at political parties, all their interested in is their own well being or maintaining/gaining power. Not what will help the nation/state/city, or the people living there. And as far as rhetoric goes, it's devolved to the point of schoolyard fights/name calling, and that passes for intelligent discourse these days. Those who are running the parties seem to think it's better to teach everyone to hate/distrust those who don't believe in the same things they do, instead of how to articulate your perspective in hopes of persuading others to agree/join the cause.

At this point, my perspective on the future is rather grim. We seem to be at the point of splitting the country apart, but over what? It's not as if there's truly one defining issue that's polarizing people, just differences of opinion. So if both sides start truly fighting each other, do we have any idea as to what the result will be if either side wins? In the past, when there were issues to be discussed, people more or less understood what would happen if the other side won. Now? Doesn't matter who wins, we're going down the same road.

I guess the reason I chose the title is: from this point on, I am not going to believe what either political party says, and take care of myself. I would rather both political parties 'implode' and people start doing things on the basis of what's best rather than what will bring the most power to themselves. I know, this kind of sounds like a 'goodbye cruel world' type of post. But really, when you look around and see what's happening, the best thing may be to tell the professional politicians off and look to yourself and your family to take care of what needs to be taken care of.

Well, now I get to be really irritated

There are multiple reasons I guess to be irritated. Could be because of the highly visible breakdown of the political process to the point where it doesn't matter what the topic is, the bottom line is it isn't going to help the rest of us. But I guess I'm a selfish individual since what I'm really irritated about is because some knucklehead decided my van was something that he wanted to break into and steal. Fortunately the person didn't succeed, but he damaged the passenger door and the ignition to the point that repairs are necessary. I'd like to whack the person who did this upside the head just to let them know how much I don't appreciate my property being violated. But in the end vehicles, property, and everything else are just temporary things on this earth that will disappear sooner or later. Just one more thing I didn't need to happen. Can I just curl up in a ball now?

Something for Facebook

If anyone follows me on Facebook, you notice that my profile picture is from a long time ago. It also is from a time that was very difficult to get through. This week is recognized as CHD (congenital heart defect) awareness week. Please read through the notice that is there if you are not aware of the effects of CHD not just on the children born with them, but also the families involved.

A new year

Well, not only have we moved into a new year, but apparently a new decade as well. Looking back at the past decade, there have been a lot of changes for me and my family.

Where and who I worked for changed a number of times. My standing on a number of issues (to include some in religion) has changed, most dramatically in this past year. Friends have come and gone, some have gone either by moving or choosing not to be friends anymore, and at least one is gone from this world. Those who have come in have been welcome additions to this journey of life we're on.

Looking back like this can sometimes be depressing, it always puts me in a somber mood. But truly it is a beneficial exercise. If we do not look back at where we've been, then we're not really going to know or understand where we are going. It's best not to go in circles, and the only time we're not moving (either forward or backward) is when we're dead.

Take a look back at the last decade and look at where you've come from. It really doesn't matter whether you've gone a long way or not.

It's a roundabout way to say, 'happy new year and hope you have a joyous and prosperous 2010!'

Why the sudden burst of blogging?

As I mention in one of my posts above (below?), I was ill over the past couple of days and with the time spent resting, it allowed me to sit and ponder some things to put on this blog. I know Samantha's blog needs work (more updates!), and we will hopefully get more on this done soon.

Just an observation

This is just one of those things that I've noticed for a while, but really haven't taken the time to sit down and write it out. I don't know if this is going to make sense, but I'll give it a try anyway.

With our modern society, and all the different things that have come with it, such as the internet, there have been many things opened up to us. We are able to communicate with many different people, it is far easier for us to communicate our thoughts, opinions, and feelings than it has ever been before. Information is right at our fingertips, so anything we want to know about or learn is easily accessible.

However, with all this information, opinion, and ease of access comes some issues, and I really wonder if we see all the unintended consequences. With everyone able to give their opinion, one has to be able to discern between what is good and important information and what is truly 'off the wall' opinion that we need to set aside. Of course, how we determine this is subject to some debate. If you can confirm something through multiple groups and those groups are from many different viewpoints, you can generally rely on it, but you still have to be careful. If multiple groups with the same viewpoint are saying it, then you really have to be careful.

But the one thing that has made me pause is how our modern information has allowed the growth, I would almost call it rampant, of what I could best call 'infidelity'. Some recent emails in my 'spam' really brought this to my attention with ads asking if I want to find someone willing to have an affair. I know that the internet has brought out 'adult entertainment' to the point where you really have to be careful of what you type in search engines. I guess it just surprises me that it's gotten to the point that they can come out so brazenly and ask married people to cheat on their spouses. I use the word spouse because I came across a study recently stating 40% of married people (both husbands and wives) cheat. With the recent revelations about Tiger Woods and his infidelity, I'm sure there are some people who wonder if marriage is worth it in today's society. That, and these spam messages, make me wonder more about how far our society has fallen.

Is this the ultimate of vanity?

I guess I titled this post this way because, when it happened, it really seemed to be skewed priorities. I was recently starting to be ill, and as I was sitting and praying that I would not suffer too much (I did but that was more because of my own stupidity) I looked down and said 'oh, no. I've got a gray hair on my stomach'.

Again, really screwed up priorities.