Be nice if we could replace the White House Christmas tree with a cross we could burn every year, wouldn't it? See you in re-education camp, comrades!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Just go for it, already!
Let's just go ahead and have the impeachment and get it over with, shall we? The GOP has been waiting for this moment since January of 2009 and it appears they have enough to get it started. Will it go anywhere? Probably not, but it will allow them to stir up the base and some independents through November of 2014. This will let them get that same base motivated to give them control of the Senate and a bigger majority in the House. Good news for those who want to block and/or undo everything accomplished over the past five years. I'm sure if they could figure out a way to resurrect Bin Laden, it would make everything perfect.
Personally, I think they might as well impeach Biden and if they are really clever they can take down Hillary. These Presidential elections never seem to work well for the Republicans, so maybe we should do away with those and allow the new Republican Senate & House choose who gets the Oval Office from now one. Better to use all that campaign money to get anti-union/anti-women/anti-minority politicians elected in all states so we can keep everyone in the proper place. Democracy is such a messy process and doesn't seem to always go the way it should.
Be nice if we could replace the White House Christmas tree with a cross we could burn every year, wouldn't it? See you in re-education camp, comrades!
Be nice if we could replace the White House Christmas tree with a cross we could burn every year, wouldn't it? See you in re-education camp, comrades!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Thoughts on politcal matters.
I don't really have much to say about anything but the occasional feeling of guilt I have about not posting has got to me today.
I wonder if you are like me and are getting tired of politics, especially the Washington variety. I thought, or rather hoped, that the last election would dampen down things and make some folks a bit less strident. I obviously misjudged how much Obama is really hated by the other side and how they really believe that another two years of blocking everything is going to improve their chances in 2014 and further down the line. Last year I was signed up for a number of newsletters and regular e-mail updates for Democratic & progressive causes. I unsubscribed from about half following the November results and am dropping more as I receive them. I know at this point that I am going to be burned out by early next year when Congress gears up for another campaign.
I'm not going to try to predict what the Supreme Court will decide regard DOMA and Prop 8. I think we can guess that both will be a split along obvious lines, with DOMA probably considered unconstitutional. Folks much smarter than I am (pretty much the majority of you reading this) seem to feel that the Court will kick Prop 8 back to the state courts, where it was already decided to be against the state constitution. This won't do anything on the national level but will get Califorinia to where it should be and perhaps nudge a few others to make the right choice. We'll have to wait and see, while hoping for the best.
I wonder if you are like me and are getting tired of politics, especially the Washington variety. I thought, or rather hoped, that the last election would dampen down things and make some folks a bit less strident. I obviously misjudged how much Obama is really hated by the other side and how they really believe that another two years of blocking everything is going to improve their chances in 2014 and further down the line. Last year I was signed up for a number of newsletters and regular e-mail updates for Democratic & progressive causes. I unsubscribed from about half following the November results and am dropping more as I receive them. I know at this point that I am going to be burned out by early next year when Congress gears up for another campaign.
I'm not going to try to predict what the Supreme Court will decide regard DOMA and Prop 8. I think we can guess that both will be a split along obvious lines, with DOMA probably considered unconstitutional. Folks much smarter than I am (pretty much the majority of you reading this) seem to feel that the Court will kick Prop 8 back to the state courts, where it was already decided to be against the state constitution. This won't do anything on the national level but will get Califorinia to where it should be and perhaps nudge a few others to make the right choice. We'll have to wait and see, while hoping for the best.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Hard to imagine.
1969 was certainly an interesting year for me, what with the beginning of my first enlistment and later getting one of those 'Dear John' letters guys in the service always seemed to be receiving. Martha (known to everyone as Mitt) was a wonderful girl and I can understand looking back that we were probably ill-suited. I believe I was told she was married shortly after the break-up, but I never really had a desire to check up on her. Hope all worked out well for her, wherever she may be.
Not really anything to add, but when the wave of nostalgia hit I just wanted to share.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Friday, February 08, 2013
Looking Back
Watching the Weather Channel this morning, with their coverage of "Winter Storm Nemo" not only reminded me of one of the reasons we don't regret our move out to SoCal, but also of being a kid.
I can vividly remember days when the street in front of our house (on Bolduc Lane, in Taftville, CT) would be unplowed for a couple of days at a time. My friends and I could make snowmen, forts and have great snowball fights out there, without fear of a city or private plow wrecking everything. The priority was the highway near us, which before the Connecticut Turnpike was opened, was one of the major routes to Rhode Island. This was especially true for larger trucks, so it was pretty well maintained.
Across the highway and up the hill was a large, sandbank, sometimes used by the city for the roads, which was a great place for sledding. It was also the perfect place during the rest of the year to play cowboys & indians or 'war' with one side up top and the other trying to get up with out being 'shot'. I'm sure that is now all so non-politically correct and offensive, but it certainly never seemed that way to us. Small towns like Taftville, were pretty white and generally made up of families that had been there for generations.
Anyway, while I certainly don't miss the days of having to shovel the sidewalk in front of Donna's mom house or digging out our cars in Brooklyn & West Haven, it does still make me nostalgic.
If you are out there in what the Weather Channel is calling "Nemo", stay warm, and be careful if you have to drive on the roads. I'd like to see you all back safe & sound for next time.
I can vividly remember days when the street in front of our house (on Bolduc Lane, in Taftville, CT) would be unplowed for a couple of days at a time. My friends and I could make snowmen, forts and have great snowball fights out there, without fear of a city or private plow wrecking everything. The priority was the highway near us, which before the Connecticut Turnpike was opened, was one of the major routes to Rhode Island. This was especially true for larger trucks, so it was pretty well maintained.
Across the highway and up the hill was a large, sandbank, sometimes used by the city for the roads, which was a great place for sledding. It was also the perfect place during the rest of the year to play cowboys & indians or 'war' with one side up top and the other trying to get up with out being 'shot'. I'm sure that is now all so non-politically correct and offensive, but it certainly never seemed that way to us. Small towns like Taftville, were pretty white and generally made up of families that had been there for generations.
Anyway, while I certainly don't miss the days of having to shovel the sidewalk in front of Donna's mom house or digging out our cars in Brooklyn & West Haven, it does still make me nostalgic.
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Is it really a New Year already?
Man, are they starting to cut weeks out of the year or is time just rushing by too fast for me? I'm pretty sure it's the fact that I'm getting older and know that I only have a limited amount of time left. Not to get all depressing, but let's face facts. Sixty-two is not really middle-age, is it?
**************************
Does this still sound like me?
A brief introduction is probably in order, for those of you who don't feel obligated to visit here simply because you know me.
My name is Steve Chaput and I'm a librarian at a University in New England. For close to fifteen years, prior to coming back to my home state, I had been a public librarian in Brooklyn, NY. Having been born and spent most of my life in New England I just felt it was time to move back, if only to escape the hassle and rudeness which seems to be growing in The City. I'm also a Navy veteran, having joined the service back in 1969, when the U.S. was still deeply mired in Vietnam. If you want to peg me politically, you can think of me as somewhere to the left of almost any politician who still calls himself 'Liberal'.
If I'm doing this Blog thing correctly I would assume to eventually make an A** of myself. Feel free to drop me an e-mail and let me know if I'm living up to that. :-)
The above was the opening of my very, first blog entry written on 1/29/03. At the end of this month I will have been writing this blog for ten years. You can see by the index that I was very active for several years, but have cut back to only a few posts a year recently. As I've said before, just about everything I have to say on any given topic I cover on Facebook & Twitter, plus the occasional videos I put up on YouTube. I don't plan on completely dropping either blog, since you never know when the other 'social networks' will start charging or do something that even I can't put up with. It's nice to know that I will have these as fall backs in that case.
***************************
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, with time for family & friends. Mine was pretty laid back, since Donna had to work, so we didn't go anywhere worth mentioning. I expect that may change since we would like to travel back east for a family event in the Spring, plus we have a discount certificate for another Carnival cruise that we need to use before 11/2013.
If you have seen the review on YouTube or Facebook you already know that I went to see THE HOBBIT last week and totally loved it. I should probably post it over on Shot's Shack later for folks who don't travel to the other sites.
Finally, and another reason that my blog posting probably won't increase anytime soon is that Donna & Kristina joined forces to buy me an iPad for Christmas. As if I was already addicted to my iPhone, having this larger toy is even more dangerous. Btw, if you have either of the same devices, check out The Simpson's Tapped Out and friend me.
That does it once again for me so I'll be on my way. Peace out!
**************************
Does this still sound like me?
A brief introduction is probably in order, for those of you who don't feel obligated to visit here simply because you know me.
My name is Steve Chaput and I'm a librarian at a University in New England. For close to fifteen years, prior to coming back to my home state, I had been a public librarian in Brooklyn, NY. Having been born and spent most of my life in New England I just felt it was time to move back, if only to escape the hassle and rudeness which seems to be growing in The City. I'm also a Navy veteran, having joined the service back in 1969, when the U.S. was still deeply mired in Vietnam. If you want to peg me politically, you can think of me as somewhere to the left of almost any politician who still calls himself 'Liberal'.
If I'm doing this Blog thing correctly I would assume to eventually make an A** of myself. Feel free to drop me an e-mail and let me know if I'm living up to that. :-)
The above was the opening of my very, first blog entry written on 1/29/03. At the end of this month I will have been writing this blog for ten years. You can see by the index that I was very active for several years, but have cut back to only a few posts a year recently. As I've said before, just about everything I have to say on any given topic I cover on Facebook & Twitter, plus the occasional videos I put up on YouTube. I don't plan on completely dropping either blog, since you never know when the other 'social networks' will start charging or do something that even I can't put up with. It's nice to know that I will have these as fall backs in that case.
***************************
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, with time for family & friends. Mine was pretty laid back, since Donna had to work, so we didn't go anywhere worth mentioning. I expect that may change since we would like to travel back east for a family event in the Spring, plus we have a discount certificate for another Carnival cruise that we need to use before 11/2013.
If you have seen the review on YouTube or Facebook you already know that I went to see THE HOBBIT last week and totally loved it. I should probably post it over on Shot's Shack later for folks who don't travel to the other sites.
Finally, and another reason that my blog posting probably won't increase anytime soon is that Donna & Kristina joined forces to buy me an iPad for Christmas. As if I was already addicted to my iPhone, having this larger toy is even more dangerous. Btw, if you have either of the same devices, check out The Simpson's Tapped Out and friend me.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Does it matter at this point?
I think that I should either give this blog up completely, or just post the same thing over every few months. Basically, everything of note has already been tweeted or posted on Facebook, so there's not a whole heck of a lot to add to that. Still it is nice to be able to do something over a 140 characters in length, or to just ramble on a few topics all in one place.
Donna and I had a very nice dinner with Kristina & Sarah on Saturday at a nice restaurant. This was an early birthday celebration for Kristina, so we were able to give her the present I had bought back in San Diego. Some nice Star Wars figures with a limited-edition Jar Jar Binks figure included as a SDCC exclusive. Maybe in a few years she can give Jordan Hembrough, from TOY HUNTER a call and he'll make an offer. (As an aside: if you aren't watching that particular show on the Travel Channel you might want to check it out. Jordan travels around the country, American Pickers-style, hunting down rare games, action figures and collectibles. While I don't collect much myself I really enjoy the nostalgia I get when he unearths some cool item. The show will also run clips from classic toy commercials featuring the particular item being featured.)
We have done some shifting and rearranging in the new & improved Chateau Chaput. Gearing up for visitors from New York later this year. The Stoffo ladies and Dan S. will be gracing us for Thanksgiving week, plus the older stuff we had in the place really needed some upgrading. Heck we even swapped out a couple of the Thomas Kinkades and added some more photos to the wall. Donna finally talked me into mounting my Navy plaques in the computer/office/comics room. With the new ceiling tiles we installed a couple months ago that room is finally beginning to look a bit better.
Do we even have to get into the up-coming election? I finally decided to vote for Obama again, not that I'm 100% satisfied with his performance, but the idea of the Anti-Christ and the boy zealot sitting in the White House is just too creepy a thought. Rather another four years of Barry and Laughin' Joe, than letting the Limbaugh led Army of Occupation get their hands on things.
The number of local and state propositions on the ballot this year is ridiculous, even though a few might actually do something meaningful. I thought trying to keep Prop. 30 & 32 straight was difficult, but with 37, 38 and a few others to sift though it just makes things harder. I'm pretty sure I saw an ad for a Prop. 39 the other day, but I'm giving up. About all you do is read the small print at the end telling you what corporations, 'tax groups', or unions are funding each one in making a choice. 30 & 38 are battling each other over education funding, while Prop 32 (funded by the Koch Bros. & Karl Rove's PAC) claims to be about campaign finance reform. To say it's a joke is an insult to the term. 37 & 39 deal with food labeling and corporate taxes respectively. I almost forgot #17, which deals with auto insurance. I really believe in the idea behind the propositions giving voters some say on issues, but the things have become so confusing (trying to remember to Vote Yes or Vote No) and the sheer number each election cycle makes it impossible for the average voter to keep track. Hope I haven't confused all of you as much as we're confused out here.
I think that will do it for me for this go around. The next update will probably be over on Shot's Shack some time next week. I'll be attending the 1st San Diego Comic Fest this weekend and hope to have some cool things to talk about.
Donna and I had a very nice dinner with Kristina & Sarah on Saturday at a nice restaurant. This was an early birthday celebration for Kristina, so we were able to give her the present I had bought back in San Diego. Some nice Star Wars figures with a limited-edition Jar Jar Binks figure included as a SDCC exclusive. Maybe in a few years she can give Jordan Hembrough, from TOY HUNTER a call and he'll make an offer. (As an aside: if you aren't watching that particular show on the Travel Channel you might want to check it out. Jordan travels around the country, American Pickers-style, hunting down rare games, action figures and collectibles. While I don't collect much myself I really enjoy the nostalgia I get when he unearths some cool item. The show will also run clips from classic toy commercials featuring the particular item being featured.)
We have done some shifting and rearranging in the new & improved Chateau Chaput. Gearing up for visitors from New York later this year. The Stoffo ladies and Dan S. will be gracing us for Thanksgiving week, plus the older stuff we had in the place really needed some upgrading. Heck we even swapped out a couple of the Thomas Kinkades and added some more photos to the wall. Donna finally talked me into mounting my Navy plaques in the computer/office/comics room. With the new ceiling tiles we installed a couple months ago that room is finally beginning to look a bit better.
Do we even have to get into the up-coming election? I finally decided to vote for Obama again, not that I'm 100% satisfied with his performance, but the idea of the Anti-Christ and the boy zealot sitting in the White House is just too creepy a thought. Rather another four years of Barry and Laughin' Joe, than letting the Limbaugh led Army of Occupation get their hands on things.
The number of local and state propositions on the ballot this year is ridiculous, even though a few might actually do something meaningful. I thought trying to keep Prop. 30 & 32 straight was difficult, but with 37, 38 and a few others to sift though it just makes things harder. I'm pretty sure I saw an ad for a Prop. 39 the other day, but I'm giving up. About all you do is read the small print at the end telling you what corporations, 'tax groups', or unions are funding each one in making a choice. 30 & 38 are battling each other over education funding, while Prop 32 (funded by the Koch Bros. & Karl Rove's PAC) claims to be about campaign finance reform. To say it's a joke is an insult to the term. 37 & 39 deal with food labeling and corporate taxes respectively. I almost forgot #17, which deals with auto insurance. I really believe in the idea behind the propositions giving voters some say on issues, but the things have become so confusing (trying to remember to Vote Yes or Vote No) and the sheer number each election cycle makes it impossible for the average voter to keep track. Hope I haven't confused all of you as much as we're confused out here.
I think that will do it for me for this go around. The next update will probably be over on Shot's Shack some time next week. I'll be attending the 1st San Diego Comic Fest this weekend and hope to have some cool things to talk about.
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