Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Please Let the Door Hit You in the Ass!

I know, I know, I generally try to keep this a g-rated blog and my political rants are relatively infrequent, but sometimes I just can't resist a good swift kick in the (choose your body part) for certain people who poison the world around us. This. Worst. President. Ever. Has been a terrifying thorn in our nation's heart for eight long, dark years now and it's finally time to shovel the ample execrement he has made of our Constitution out the door of the White House and turn a new, more hopeful --though risky-- page in our history. I say risky, not because I fear Obama (quite the contrary, I was an avid supporter after he beat out John Edwards in the caucuses a year ago), it's because of all of the messes this Shrub, this Constitution shredding, spoiled rich kid leaves behind for others to clean up.

Way back in the 90's, the prescient (now, alas departed) Molly Ivins tried to warn the nation about SHRUB as he prepared to run for the presidency. She correctly predicted, that if given the chance to "govern" (using that term very loosely), he would leave the country in smoldering ruins, just like every business he had attempted to run up to that point in his life ... a failed oil company, a failed baseball team, you name it, he managed to muck up everything he attempted with his reverse Midas touch. Now we've seen the results of the vaunted "CEO Presidency" and the Nation has finally woken up to the disaster the Supreme Court wrought with its meddling in the Florida recount in 2000. When you appoint idiots to run the country, nothing good can come from it! And now, our long national nightmare is over... though when Gerald Ford uttered those words in 1974, I doubt he realized what an understatement it was, given what followed from Nixon's famous "Southern Strategy" that laid the groundwork for the coup of 2000. Having lived through the Nixon years from ages 10-16 and having thoroughly loathed him as evil, in retrospect, Nixon was a veritable bleeding heart liberal! Back in those days, I would have never believed that one day I would look back at Nixon somewhat positively, but that's one of those ironies that history sometimes cruelly makes us realize as we experience more of the world as we get older....

In any case, it will all be over in a matter of hours, and President Obama will assume the burden of power and enter the White House, thus ending what has to be the darkest political period of my adult life. Obama won't be perfect. He'll make mistakes, to be sure. But at his core, Barack Obama has a kind heart and a conscience, something the SHRUB never figured out in all the years of his pampered nepotistic existence. Let's all give Obama the chance he deserves to try to get things back on track! After all, look at the latitude that other one had for eight disastrous years and where that got us....

We'll be celebrating the Inauguration after work today with a few toasts and blessings for Barack and catch up with what we missed during the day (yeah, there's that thing called work), along with our new little bouncing bundle of joy who's going to get lots of treats so she can celebrate the new era with us!

So on to the fun stuff, and enough political rants. I feel better now that the calendar (which seemed so fat and interminable a year ago) only has one more page to tear off....

Here's a fun shot of Hanna I took tonight as Fernymoss had her pose for a treat ... she's quite good at sitting on her hind legs (as well as walking around that way), and doesn't the camera just love her?

I took this second shot last night as I was making dinner (French potage and fresh baguettes) and she was asking permission to enter the kitchen. I can already see that Hanna, just like Rolly and Pepa is going to be haunting the kitchen when I cook, and after all, what doggie can resist the room of good smells? Not to mention, it's where they eat their food and get their water, so it's a natural. In fact, I'd be wondering what was wrong with Hanna if she hadn't so quickly figured that one out!
Hanna's settling in remarkably well so far and when I took her out first thing this morning (it was about 12F) she headed straight for the back door, waited for me to put the leash on and then charged outside and got right down to her business. Once done (oh, maybe in a couple of minutes) she headed right back to the door and inside, where it was warm and cozy, to eat her breakfast. She spent some more quality time with Fernymoss before he went to work, then joined me in my office for the rest of the day as I worked, spending much of the time curled up by my feet under the desk. I think she's already liking it here at Casa IVG and is getting good coaching from Pepa and Rolly on the fine arts of being a good dog. Yeah, there are those little "manners" things we have to teach her, but so far she's so way ahead of most dogs her age. But then, I'm not exactly an objective observer, but what new parent is? So cut me some slack, at least for a little while, as we all enter the post-SHRUB era as a newly reconstituted family!

22 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...

When Clinton left office we had a balanced budget and the economy was strong. It's taken 8-years to get to this all time low. I hope people won't expect Obama to turn it around quickly.

Hanna is settling in wonderfully. You're doing a great job with her.
Marnie

Anonymous said...

My country was taken hostage by the Bush Regime.

My son asked me yesterday, "tomorrow will everything go back to normal?" I said it wouldn't and that it would take years and years to clean up after Bush. He thought and thought and then asked, "will the killings stop?"

...

I fear that no administration could every clean up the mess that Bush, Rice, Cheney et al have made. I get so angry thinking about it. Even more so when I think of all the "good americans" who just stayed asleep and only worried about their tv shows. A great country would have ran these scumbags out. I tried. I still will. I believe that one day me and my children will see this Regime tried and convicted of their war crimes and crimes against humanity and nature.
Every week, I will be letting our President and other congresscritters know that in order to look forward we must demand justice.

But today is about hope and about taking that thorn out of our heart. Today is about healing. Today is not just our day but the worlds.

Hannah will have that "grateful" doggy attitude due to her being rescued. I think all rescue animals have it. Which can outbeat any manners any day :)

olivia said...

Hope for better beginnings. For all of us.

boran2 said...

Mr. 22% is out and President Obama has begun a new era. Let the celebration begin!

Even Hanna agrees!

Larry Kollar said...

I wish I was the originator of this quote: And as for me, I feel like a semitruck loaded with pecan pie, porno and whiskey has just jackknifed in front of my house and I'm running around like Templeton the Rat at the county fair in "Charlotte's Web" just soaking it all in.

Gail said...

Dar IVG,

Love the title! Mollie was incredible and she knew Shrub better then anyone...having watched him for years. I miss her wisdom and perceptive look at politicians.

Hannah is perfect...

Gail

Shady Gardener said...

I cannot believe how quickly Hannah has fit into her new home and how wonderful it must feel to have her there! Again, congratulations!! :-)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
Ah, those were the good old days, eh? I was no huge fan of Clinton (I'm a Gore guy), but he at least did a semi progressive competent job at turning things around from the last time the Shrubs were in power.

Have to say the Inauguration was inspiring and such a relief after these ... well, I'll stop there! :-)

Hanna definitely is staking out her spots in the house ... yesterday she discovered the warm, sunny spot at the top of the stairs (there's a southern window across) and has taken to lounging there, just like Pepa and Rolly used to do... one of those dog magnet spots in the house. :-)

As for doing a good job? She makes it so easy! She already tells us when she needs to go out and gets right down to business, she's happy being wherever we are ... she's a great fit (so far!)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey Janet,
It was a great day, and the cautioned relief I thought would never come ... the Shrub has left the building and city. Still seems weird (and wonderful) to say President Obama ... now we just have to keep his feet to the fire. So far, today, I'm pretty pleased so far ... no more Guantánamo, and he also put the kibosh ("until re-evaluated") on Shrub's last minute regulatory changes.

Baby steps do work up to a run, but that can take time. Especially when you're left with a minefield of filthy diapers you have to navigate and eliminate!

Hanna's got a greatful and joyous attitude that's already lifting us back up. And that face....

She was real curious as she watched us taking all the ornaments and stuff off the tree (hey, it's been crazy busy round here!) ... seeing that curiosity is great ... ah youth!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Olivia,
Amen to that, eh? I feel allowed to feel hopeful again, despite it all, and let's hope that carries us through for a while!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey B2,
It was a great day, wasn't it? Even with Chief Freakin' Justice Roberts mucking up the oath ... I watched live online and couldn't believe Obama would have screwed that (of all things!) up.

I can't read Hanna's mind, but I bet she's glad she got to start the Obama era with us here ... She sure has made this period of drastic change much better for us so far.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey FAR,
Now, I have to admit I've never heard that one, I think I've seen variants, but they always seem to involve whiskey and porn. Wonder why that is? I'm sure the pecan pie is the Georiana variant, lol.

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Gail!
Glad you didn't mind the title, lol. Wasn't Molly a gem? I was so sad when she lost her fight with cancer. (I have a couple of tributes here if you just search Molly Ivins)

I need to get more of her books, since I can't read her weekly column anymore. :-( She was a rare wit and superb intelligence who could make you laugh while reporting the grimmest political stuff you could imagine! What a great talent lost to us.

Hanna is continuing to show us her repertoire of cuteness, practically hourly. It's really quite downstairs right now, so I suspect she and Fernymoss are snoozing on the couch after their long walk tonight. :-)

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Shady,
It's remarkable how quickly she's adapted and it has barely been 4 days! And yes, the house feels more complete again and so much less empty.

The Jedi Doggie Magic has returned....

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Molly Ivans was the only columnist I could read without gagging. I really miss her wonderful insights. I wish I had seen that calender when it came out, my husband would have loved it. We're just so pleased to have that petty tyrant & his greedy friends out of office.
I'm glad Hanna is settling in so well already. Good dog!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi MMD,
I'm so glad to see you and others complimenting our late, dear Molly Ivins. I always looked forward every week to her column ... did you ever see the posthumous one that was published about why she wouldn't support Hillary Clinton? She wrote it months before she died, but with the stipulation it wouldn't be published until after her death. She certainly didn't mince her words there any more than she ever did elsewhere!

That calendar was a Christmas gift last year, and we never thought we'd get to the end in one piece, but we made it!

Anonymous said...

(((Molly Ivins)))) we continue to bang our pots. ;)

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

So glad to see Hanna is fitting in and doing well! And I hope Bush has a black and blue butt from the door hitting him on the way out, he is not smart enough to get out of the way of the door, the door is smarter than him. I hope he lives long enough to see how history will judge him for the failure he is, a failure at every thing he has undertaken, and now we are all paying the price for his last failure.

Annie in Austin said...

Did anyone hear A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday? One sketch featured former President Bush escaping Dallas and the task of setting up a Presidential library. As Captain Bush he headed for Duluth, Minnesota instead, getting involved with Guy Noir and the recount of Al Franken's ballots. Very silly but rather funny.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi IGW,
You just made me laugh out loud with your comment ... thanks! Yeah, he sure had problems with doors, eh? I saw on Countdown (or Rachel Maddow, I forget) the other night where they had a montage of his dumb moments, and the one that always made me laugh was him trying to get out that locked door in China and looking all bewildered ... classic! Now I can have a good laugh at that one since he's finally out of town for good!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Annie,
I haven't listened to PHC for years, but it sounds good that Garrison still isn't letting him off the hook. As for the Franken recount, I'll simply say what all the Rethugs told us Gore supporters back in 2000: your guy lost, so get over it! Backatcha, you slimeballs!

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