• Tolerance

    I’m not talking about something us heathen Yankee folk try to force on the decent, God fearing victims of the war of Northern aggression. No sir, I’m talking about a physiological phenomenon, the kind most people learn about in college – well, everyone that pledges a fraternity anyway. Yes, that kind of tolerance. I’m talking about the kind of tolerance that makes one cup of coffee no more stimulating than the used grounds; the kind of tolerance that makes a 32oz cup of coffee at the 7-eleven seem small. Now you’re getting the picture.

    Now if I can just find something socially acceptable that will put me to sleep at night. I wonder how I would tolerate that Behavioral Psychology textbook? I just knew I shouldn’t have sold that back!

  • Giving thanks, two days later

    Today was our Thanksgiving dinner. We spent the nationally recognized holiday walking around a central Florida theme park. In case you were wondering, theme park BBQ ribs are not a good substitute for a classically prepared turkey. After one bite caught me a bit off guard, I looked around the table to see if anyone else would be keeping me company in the ER later that night. (Luckily, the taste of that one bite was not a harbinger of things to come – no ER visits were forthcoming.)

    We drove to Tampa this afternoon to join Christy’s in-laws for a Thanksgiving feast of good food and good company. Once again I’m going to permit myself to dive headlong into the realm of the obvious by saying that Thanksgiving is best spent with folks you like to spend time with. If that means driving to Tampa (the U.S.’s 15th most dangerous city to live in, according to FBI statistics on violent crime) and celebrating the holiday two days late, then count your blessings and do it two days late. If this means agreeing to a game of touch football, then order up some over the counter analgesics, tie your shoes and loosen up baby!

    Now the question lingering in my mind is: what am I going to do tomorrow? Just thinking about sitting up to get out of bed is making my muscles ache. Maybe I should print up a blown up picture of my favorite Starbucks offering and hang it above my pillow. Maybe that will give me some incentive to get up. Not only does it taste good, but it promises the gift instant energy; energy that comes in a cold, refreshing, creamy, and positively yummy mix of coffee and artificial flavors.

  • Forty-four years, and counting

    There’s a fantasy, a dream really, where economic sanctions finally work, the dictator buckles under popular pressure, and the people cast off the shackles of tyranny to find prosperity and freedom. Unfortunately, it is just a dream. Yes, boys and girls, I have some bad news, economic sanctions apparently have not worked in Cuba. Since taking power in 1959, Castro has now outlived Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Reagan; five U.S. presidents that have held our highest political office during his reign. In some circles that would be considered a sign of failure, but not in the legislative branch of the U.S. government! Hell, we’ve waited more than forty years now. Yes sir, we’re just getting started! The old man can’t have more than ten years in the tank left, can he? Lifting sanctions now would mean abandoning forty years of self righteous posturing. If there’s one thing the handbook on American politics absolutely forbids, it’s admitting you were wrong.

    Then again, if the argument against war is diplomacy, and the big gun in the diplomacy bag is sanctions, what’s a well meaning, conscientious citizen of the world supposed to do? I’m not suggesting we go to war with Cuba. Heck, at this point Quebec poses a greater risk to homeland security. However, when you can’t bring yourself to support a dictator like Castro, there is a certain moral obligation to do something, isn’t there? Question: does the moral obligation to do something about the dictator trump the moral obligation to act in the short term as well as long term best interests of the people who must live with their dictator?

    What’s that? You say that sanctions sometimes do work? True enough, we never did find “WMDs” in Iraq. But lets compare Cuba with China, two remaining communist countries in our sphere of influence. Whip out your mental checklist and check off all the similarities between two. Human rights violations? Red commie bastards? Same number of syllables and both start with the letter “C?” Vital trading partner and important cog in the U.S. economy? Broad spectrum economic sanctions? That’s right kids; they don’t have the last two in common.

    Then again, let’s revisit the issue of security. Maybe Cuba isn’t a security threat today because of those sanctions. I once heard that Cuba is closer than China, and that one time they tried to get nuclear weapons. Sure, China supposedly has them, but they’ve got to do more than build a raft to get here.

    Damn, this thinking thing is tough. Just forget I brought the whole thing up.