Run Amok
08/06/13 06:35
There are just too many scandals to keep track of when it comes to the Obama administration. First we learn that the IRS is targeting conservative groups to prevent them from raising money to fund republican candidates in the last election. Oh, it was just a couple of rogue analysts in the Cincinnati office. Bullshit. Is that why Lois Lerner took the fifth when she was called before Congress to testify? The White House knew and you know it and I know it. It is the Chicago way. That is how the Obama administration is running our government. And now we learn that they are exploiting loopholes in the Patriot Act to spy on millions of americans. Oh, we don't actually listen in to phone conversations. Bullshit. And how about the Benghazi incident where four americans lost their lives and then the Obama administration tried to blame it on a anti-Muslim video gone viral. Bullshit. Any and all troops on standby that could have helped were ordered to stand down. That order came from the White House. God forbid the american people hear that terrorism is alive and well after Obama and his Chicago thugs took credit for the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
And then, if you can believe this, the vice president stood at a podium in some speech and revealed the names of the Seal team that was involved in the slaying of Osama Bin Laden. It wasn't long after that that many members of the Seal team were brought down while taking off in a helicopter by a Jihadist firing a shoulder fired missile. When will this government be held responsible for their actions? I think Rush was right when he said that "we are in the midst of a coup." And to think that they are contemplating the use of drones to surveil Americans. God help us!
Nancy has so much on her plate. And now her mom wants to get together with her to discuss matters. It's that discussion that most parents have with their child or children when the right time comes. They are old but not so old that they can't carry on day to day but old enough to know that it is now or never for conversations about what will happen when they are gone. It has more to do with finances than anything else although there is an air of finality in and around the conversation to come that is probably hard to ignore. It is the veritable 800 pound gorilla in the room. Nancy is not entirely sure that she is the right person to have this conversation but she is the eldest and that responsibility typically falls to the eldest. The mother will become the child and the child will become the parent. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then certainly the next day and on and on.
Roles will be reversed and responsibilities will change hands for better or worse. Were it not for the many fires that Nancy is trying to put out already she might well feel up to the task. There is her work; her day to day here at home; her struggles with our son and all that entails; and a household that looks to her for direction and upkeep. It is a full plate anyway you slice it. But her mother is adamant and as adamant as I have ever seen her in asking Nancy to come over for that talk. So they will do that today come hell or high water. The likelihood of high water is very good since there is a storm blowing up the East coast. I will mind matters here at home and try to help Nancy put a little distance between those things calling out to her so she is not otherwise distracted from the things in life that really matter. I do what I can.
If Evan doesn't graduate, Nancy wants to leave town for the night when graduation comes. She can't bear to be around. That, my friends, is a sad state of affairs. If he does somehow manage to graduate then it will be such a sense of relief. I'm not even sure why we think in our wildest dreams that sending him off to college is going to make things any different. I have every expectation that he will not survive his first quarter. How is that for low expectations? Not that he doesn't have the wherewithal to do the work because he does. If he gave it half a chance and put in the work he could do it. I'm just not sure he cares enough to make that happen. It's hard to know what he cares about these days. I'm reminded from time to time that Evan was the kind of kid who never showed any kind of natural curiosity about anything growing up. He never showed any enthusiasm for anything. He participated because he had to but that was about it.
As a child, he never asked why the sky was blue; why the earth was round; why water freezes in the winter; and on and on. I think you need a little bit of natural curiosity here and there as you progress through the grades just to keep things interesting. One would think. When you decide to use your head for something besides a hat rack, as my father used to say, you might be surprised to find that life will be that much more interesting. As a practical matter, I worry less about his curiosity deficits than I do his ability going forward to support himself and perhaps even a family someday. He needs to improve his prospects if he is going to have half a chance. We're pulling for him but he needs to pull for himself. I hope it isn't too late.
And then, if you can believe this, the vice president stood at a podium in some speech and revealed the names of the Seal team that was involved in the slaying of Osama Bin Laden. It wasn't long after that that many members of the Seal team were brought down while taking off in a helicopter by a Jihadist firing a shoulder fired missile. When will this government be held responsible for their actions? I think Rush was right when he said that "we are in the midst of a coup." And to think that they are contemplating the use of drones to surveil Americans. God help us!
Nancy has so much on her plate. And now her mom wants to get together with her to discuss matters. It's that discussion that most parents have with their child or children when the right time comes. They are old but not so old that they can't carry on day to day but old enough to know that it is now or never for conversations about what will happen when they are gone. It has more to do with finances than anything else although there is an air of finality in and around the conversation to come that is probably hard to ignore. It is the veritable 800 pound gorilla in the room. Nancy is not entirely sure that she is the right person to have this conversation but she is the eldest and that responsibility typically falls to the eldest. The mother will become the child and the child will become the parent. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then certainly the next day and on and on.
Roles will be reversed and responsibilities will change hands for better or worse. Were it not for the many fires that Nancy is trying to put out already she might well feel up to the task. There is her work; her day to day here at home; her struggles with our son and all that entails; and a household that looks to her for direction and upkeep. It is a full plate anyway you slice it. But her mother is adamant and as adamant as I have ever seen her in asking Nancy to come over for that talk. So they will do that today come hell or high water. The likelihood of high water is very good since there is a storm blowing up the East coast. I will mind matters here at home and try to help Nancy put a little distance between those things calling out to her so she is not otherwise distracted from the things in life that really matter. I do what I can.
If Evan doesn't graduate, Nancy wants to leave town for the night when graduation comes. She can't bear to be around. That, my friends, is a sad state of affairs. If he does somehow manage to graduate then it will be such a sense of relief. I'm not even sure why we think in our wildest dreams that sending him off to college is going to make things any different. I have every expectation that he will not survive his first quarter. How is that for low expectations? Not that he doesn't have the wherewithal to do the work because he does. If he gave it half a chance and put in the work he could do it. I'm just not sure he cares enough to make that happen. It's hard to know what he cares about these days. I'm reminded from time to time that Evan was the kind of kid who never showed any kind of natural curiosity about anything growing up. He never showed any enthusiasm for anything. He participated because he had to but that was about it.
As a child, he never asked why the sky was blue; why the earth was round; why water freezes in the winter; and on and on. I think you need a little bit of natural curiosity here and there as you progress through the grades just to keep things interesting. One would think. When you decide to use your head for something besides a hat rack, as my father used to say, you might be surprised to find that life will be that much more interesting. As a practical matter, I worry less about his curiosity deficits than I do his ability going forward to support himself and perhaps even a family someday. He needs to improve his prospects if he is going to have half a chance. We're pulling for him but he needs to pull for himself. I hope it isn't too late.