I smell a rat!

Does anyone else think this sounds suspicious? The Bush administration gets it's largest funding for war approved within the last 2 weeks. This unfathomable amount is $165 billion. Then Attorney General Michael Mukasey demands that Congress issue a new declaration of war. This would make the entire globe -- including the United States itself -- a “battlefield”.

This is when my opinions about impeachment cannot be contained any longer. I usually refrain from politics here, but Ill be reasonable in my examination of things and, as always, no problem if you disgree, at least we've considered the scenario. I think the Bush administration has been a very convenient smoke and mirrors gimmick for big money to mow away at our world. Most of my liberal friends say it's just too late for impeachment. "It wouldn't even be worth the effort, at this stage". I think it is worth it to remove power from the lads before November. My arguments for this are

!) These guys have been secretive and manipulative all along, they are up to stirring up trouble, whether to declare war on Iran or allow some security weakness to flare up a terrorism incident, and fan flames of fear and thus, manipulate the election.
(If you think Im paranoid, I would say, better safe than sorry, when the outcome could be as serious as setting parts of the earth afire. Parts where people that have nothing to do with scheme at all happen to live with their children and elderly.

2) What are we showing to future presidents? How will impeachment help to restore our legislative powers and provide checks and balances for our country's leadership in the future.

Lets look at the big picture. I'M for impeachment , you bet I am. Best money we could spend, and it wont take 165 billion either!

Gratitude

I made a long list of things Im grateful for in my big drawing book. I think Ill post it in several places in my home... Or at least reread and add to it routinely. It is easy to see where we don't think life is measuring up. There are models everywhere showing us how we should be and how our lives should be arranged. Often those models have an agenda, though. What about we set our own agenda?

I'm grateful for a few things this morning...

1. The Banana nutmeg and vanilla smoothie I had for breakfast.
2. My Mom is coming soon for a visit.
3. My body is sore from swimming
4. I got some personal emails today (Thanks, Friends)
5. Today I get 5 hours to study without anyone else around.
6. Vail is a wonderful Realtor and Person
7. Tom and Auralee renting our house
8. Your'e reading this blog

What can you appreciate now? send it to me in a comment.

Tomorrow is Lillian's birthday. She's going to be four. She has spent more time in New Zealand in her little life than anywhere else. Lillian is a sweet yet strong little soul. She shows her internal workings on her face, particularly her eyebrows. Lillian gestures musically when you smile at her. While Desmond is a whiz at numbers, already getting into multiplication, Lil has a verbal advantage. The things that come out of her mouth often have us in hysterics. She has several dolls which she devotes herself to, many of them are named Cynthia. Her favorate bear is a crusty old care bear that someone gave her at a garage sale. Sometimes I think Ill compensate it and give her a newer, more pristine or perhaps a classic bear. I just haven't found the heart, though. I suppose if we were going to get typhoid or smallpox or bugs from the thing we'd have gotten them already.
Lillian has her second festering spider bite. She climbs trees. She was born during the year of the monkey in the Chinese horoscope. Lil often disappears up. Recently when we were scouting about on a trip, looking for nice place to spend a few days with future visiting family we lost Lillian to a sculpted hedge bush. I left the chat we were having with the host of the B&B to find Lil. The place was a garden, so I rounded paths and looked into neighboring pastures, populated with cows and pigs (are they nice?) My voice had taken on the higher pitched "Im not finding you" tone. Finally when I went back to Jordan, still engrossed in conversation, I saw an uncharacteristic wiggle in a spherical bush just 10 yards away. "Ah hah!" There she was, taking things in, in the privacy of her own little chamber of a tree. Out in front of our new house we have 4 big evergreen hedgey type trees that someone planted for privacy. They are a little ragged on the top and remind me of owls sitting together. Lillian has been known to climb up 20 or so feet in them. She has a favorite perch at the daycare in a small orange tree. She is, thankfully, celebrated there for the tree climbing conversationalist that she is and not confined to the doll house or the 'educational' toys.

Winter Bluez

I'm not going to sugar coat it. I'm not going to look on the sunny side. I'm blue. It's the dead of winter and I live in a little box in the poor and disparate/ desperate neighborhoods of Auckland. What should I do? Should I wrap it up? Should I go home? Where is home, anyway? Why is Jordan so damn chipper? I'm changing his classical station to something darker and more contemporary. Being an artist or a writer or an immigrant just seems too hard.

Ive decided to try something. I know that swimming and reading and writing make me a happier person so Im turning myself into a robot for mental health. When I get internal resistance about doing something "healthy" or "good for me" Im going to turn the switch to auto pilot or to override resistance. Im going to fill a whole day up with "Good Things" even if it doesn't feel authentic. If I cant find the laptop chord, I wont be stalled out, Ill lift my 2000 pound body and find it. Ill swim, later, even if I don't make it to the morning squads, Ill build the trellising for the peas and the cage to keep the birds out of the berries. Ill do this all the while, ignoring the sad little complainer trying to eek up and out from under my overbearing and automatic productivity. Ill try it for a couple of days, at least before I decide which is best. ill call it the preparation for my attitude transplant, pre- ethereal surgery. Dont digest anything fatalistic for two days, your system must be empty of sludgy gloom for the high priestess to do her work. Ill let you know how my robotic optimism approach works.