Sunday Tilling (Warning Long-Winded)

Breaking garden ground today and thinking. I love digging, raking, tilling, staking and stringing vegetable plots, flower beds. Something peaceful about getting down and dirty.

We head into mid term elections and the "news" is as awful as ever. Spin, spin, spin. Rake rake rake. Dig dig dig. Good news is Democrats can point to bad news as the messes of the incumbents. If democrats prevail in the coming elections we will hear "cleaning up their mess" and "blame Bushites" as often as we once heard "blame Clinton." All said with a straight face as if democrats didn't pave the BushCo way.

Democrats can yammer how the Republicans treat the constitution like a "goddamn piece of paper." Republicans will issue more and more rhetoric to remind us daddy guvmint knows best and in God they Trust. Bad news is both parties keep voting yea to finance the "mess."

For the "left" – there's the "immigration" situation. Both my daughters-in-law are Mexican nationals. One is active Army reservist, married to #2 son. The other an executive with a large company. I love both young women, and knowing my sons, I couldn't have chosen better life companions myself for them. But, I have to agree with the anti-immigrationists. At the moment the US does not need more hands for anything. Remember the '60s phrase "if you're white all right, if you're brown hang around, if you're Black get back." In many ways for most of Black America that's the way it has worked.

Hispanics, in particular Mexican nationals, should face their own government and demand change. Likely the US would send aid to help out the Spanish white oligarchy in Mexico, DF, but American citizens could refuse if we had any say over anything in our government. I wonder, if Hispanics don't feel their own country worth standing up for – perhaps they fit nicely with the US elite overseers. Maybe expecting immigrants to stand up to their own ruling elite is asking too much as Americans can't seem to do it either. If the fascism becomes too overbearing in America – millions of Hispanics have the option of going home. Most Americans have only America.

For "left" and "right" this week there was the Afghan Christian convert. A man said to have mental problems by family members and I would agree. Returning to Afghan after years away, knowing the climate there, and announcing his new religion the guy was looking for attention or a crusade. Will they or won't they execute; evangelicals love a good persecution to focus the flock on. Perhaps Afghan law will show the man more mercy than Tookie Williams was shown by The California Groper (son of a Nazi) who felt Tookie did not meet the requirements of redemption.

Tony Blair, prissy counterpart of prissy Bush, is making a comeback in the news today. He told Australians to "tough it out" after a poll showed two-thirds want all 460 of their soldiers home by May. Blair says they must "stand by their allies in the war on terror." All 460 soldiers of them. Oh my, what will we do if they pull out.

In the Ukraine the "orange revolution" has turned blue. For all the mass protesting a couple of years ago Ukranians are still stuck with two corrupt guys with surnames beginning with 'Y' and the usual "vich" or "enko" ending. Didn't take the fickle masses long to swing the other way. Likely they too know more about Homer Uri Ysimpsonenkovich than their constitution.

And when not fed the spin of politics there's other news to dig through. I think it tragic irony in the Seattle murders at the Better Off Undead rave party. I wonder if the beating and rape accusations against the preppy Duke lacrosse team will draw much attention. This week, for more bio-fright, are stories of inspect or not inspect for "mad cow" and the usual humans with bird flu getting closer. And the weekly dollar war, trade war, the political left, right, and green war for our hearts and minds.

I noticed Condi's hair this weekend had more body and sway; a new stylist? She almost had the floppy-haired white girl motion when she announced a couple of hours ago the Afghan man's death sentence may be dropped, an assurance to religious freedom via BushCo? Barely gave the "left" time to point at BushCo failure before the "right" saves the man, a success story to show BushCo brand of democracy works? Shouldn't Condi be referred to as Dr. Rice, no one ever referred to Secretary of State Kissinger as Hank. OTOH there are better names to reference war criminals than Condi or Hank.

Count on both parties to bang us regularly over the head with the constitution, although we skipped having a "constitutional crisis" this week. But they will remind us in another week or two that the founding fathers reverently penned the constitution for us, to protect us from tyranny, and the other party has all the tyrants. Some might even think the constitution was written for all mankind, since the US likes to beat other nations over the head with it too. Yessiree, those fathers of the constitution inked mankind's protection from tyranny; composing those reverent words of freedom as they, much like today's ruling class, were humping and grinding their slaves. And give us your poor, your huddled masses … the wretched refuse of your teeming shore … send these, the homeless - we need more cheap labor.

I'm so glad planting and gardening will take up more time. Reading news and views could give a person a bad attitude. Which reminds me, some are yammering about the BushCo "Leave No Child Behind" forcing schools to cut back on other subjects to concentrate on reading and math. What's the problem here. With reading skills a person can teach him/herself anything. With a love of reading the mind expands. Reading doesn't have to cut out history and social studies fool – it can incorporate the subjects. As a home schooler (surprise – not all homeschoolers are cultish white survivalists) reading was the #1 focus. We should all know the 3 R's better : Reading, 'Rithmatic, and Revolution.