A Chicken Is Not Pillage

So Much To Do ...

Closing month.  I have a bit of time to comment, but not much to post.  Sorry.

Mansfield Metcalf Dinner Part 1

Let's call this part The Beginnining.

The journey with my beloved to the event in Butte (by way of Dillon) got off to very sour note.  On Saturday morning, the Bozeman Comical ran a lead story that was little else but a Republican hit piece.  It described in garish fantasy how the visit from the Democratic Presidential candidates was ... get this ... bad for state Democrat and a *good thing* for Republicans.  The central theme was that Montana Democrats are afraid to identify as such, and that secretly we all want to be and vote Republican.  Oh, and obviously McCain will win Montana in November.  It was truly a biased op-ed masquerading as journalism (a claim born out when we got to read the fuller version of the AP story in the Montana Standard later in the day.  I tend to view such journamalism with rather derisive humor (especially when they identified Matt Singer as just a "liberal blogger" instead of the CEO of Forward Montana.)  My beloved took it rather more ... harshly.  I guess I should remind her more often that the introductory rate we got for our subscription gains the Comical no profit.  The passing of dinosaurs is her favorite theme, and our local fishwrap is just one instance of the extinct  misunderstanding their own obsolete nature.

So, we booked off to Dillon to pick up the rest of the crew and head to Butte.  We go to Butte.  Driving driving ... (this is the part of the story where there should be a montage to indicate the exciting passage of time.)   And we get in line to get in.  Folks, I am not lying when I say that that line was approaching  a quarter mile long, if not well more than that.  And it was cold.  As amusing as it would be, I won't wax descriptive of the wait to enter, mostly because it wasn't that amusing.  What I will happily say is this:  there were one helluva lot of strong determined people who wanted to enter that event, and nothing was gonna stop   them.  For an hour and a half, we all froze together, joked together, distrusted and trusted each other.  But very damn few, if any, called it quits and left.  There were several people I knew who walked past to get in for floor seating, including Monica Lindeen and Matt.  And dude, would please get a better jacket?  The retro look is cool and all, but you're somebody now, and you ought to dress the part ...  The high point was when the Obama cavalcade drove by.  Cops, SUVs and a bus.  Most of the crowd thought that a way cool thing.  I loved it because when the bus went by it was a way warm thing.  Yeah I was excited too, but still.  It was warm for a second and certain human things come first

On the way through the door, I got to do something I've been waiting to do for just shy of three years.  John Parker, who is running for Attorney General of Montana, was passing out stickers right at the entrance.  And I got to shake his hand.  Ya' see, three years ago John Parker had had enough of Roger Koopman's crap, and let him know it.  I've wanted to shake his hand and thank him ever since, and now I have.

Let's call this part of the narrative The Eventening.

Of course I got pulled for the raised-arm-scary-dude security check.  My belt buckle set off the alarm.  I told security that it would, but still, I got the wand.  If I get cancer in my balls, I'm suing somebody; that's for certain.  We all, upon re-meeting, fled up into the stands to find good seats.   Let me just say that the Butte Civic center stadium seating  *sucks rocks*.  It is cramped.  There are no walkways.  The seat-backs add to the aforementioned problems.  It is a poor venue.  But, and that's a huge bootay but, the people were mostly great.  We helped each other get situated, we made room.  There were a few folks who got pissy about pass-through, or stepping on seats, but most  of the people there were common in cause, and very polite.  While I was trying to arrange dinner boxes for our group, I ran into a co-worker (very excited to be there, and probably very cold from the wait) as well as my state representative, Franke Wilmer, looking beautiful and charming as always.

Okay, let's us be honest here.  We all felt somewhat out of place, out of time.   This was a huge huge event.  There was not one person there, great or small including myself, who didn't feel the gravity of what Montana was experiencing.  Our next President was in the house, and was going to speak.  We all felt that awkwardness, that discomfort at socially accepted norms not known, and that simple confidence.  This night was making history.

Throughout the night, I saw many people I knew (most within the 'protected zone').  Some people I've worked with.  Some I have politicked with, and some I still do.  Some I blog with.  I do remain saddened that more social groupings - meetups - get togethers could not have been arranged.  But I was rather heartened by the idea that we were mostly there for common cause.  Let me be honest in pointing out at this point that 10 dollars a seat should not have separated the groupings.   No, I'm not saying that we should have had their food or their legroom.  But we should have not been divided into the center of importance and the masses above.  In that venue, it felt rather artificial and unnecessary.  Throughout the night, I felt that mildly unfair juxtaposition rather acutely, considering the nature and character of the speakers we listened to.

Dennis McDonald is alright by far.  I've never had the opportunity to meet the guy, but I do look forward to the day.  He appears humble, hard-working, humorous and jovial.  He introduced Barack Obama ... and the crowd went wild.    There were many more Hillary signs at the event, but there was no denying the thunder of Obama's support.  I think Obama supporters outnumbered Clinton's by a factor of 3 to 2.  This guy is popular in Montana, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  Obama was very gracious to Montana and his hosts.  I was actually impressed that he admits that he doesn't know what many of us take for granted, fishing.  His praise for our state officials appeared genuine.  This Chicago boy actually seems to like Montana, and his visit here.  I hope that he will fulfill his promise to return, and learn to fish ... though I can think of many who could probably teach him better than our Governor.  I will write more on the substance of the speech later.  And just for the record, though I had planned to do so, I was not the guy who yelled "Freebird!"  during his speech.

When Barack left the stage, a form of chaos ensued.  Word to the wise:  never act with kids or animals, and never follow Obama with a speech of your own.  Jon Tester took the stage, and after an impassioned plea of behalf of Jim Hunt, he introduced Max Baucus.  Max, the video is lame.  Just sayen' ...  Max is not a good mass public speaker.  I've known that for  very long time.  His speech here was ... very lame.  It's possible (probable) that I have a biased attitude but I was not impressed.  He kept saying "I will do thing X.  ARE YOU WITH ME?"  And I kept saying, yeah, but are you with us? 
It's at this point that I have to make enemies by writing the truth.  Good God in heaven; what a rude bunch the people on the floor were.  Most of us unwashed masses in the stadium seating were too confined to noisily talk and socialize while the other speakers were speaking, but not so with the floor.  It was damned hard to hear Max (partly his own fault) and it was hard to hear anyone after him until Hillary.  I guess I'm old school, but I was taught that if you have someone speaking, you damn well better listen.  (I've been struggling with this because I didn't want to offend, but ... the folks in the Forward Montana crowd were as bad as any.  V, you looked sharp.  But the eyes in the sky of the unwashed masses see all, and the party rude was ... well ... rude.)

When the chatter below really got offensive was when Stephanie Herseth Sandlin  spoke.  First, I paid attention because she's hot.  No, really, she's hot.  (Yeah, I know I'm a pig).    Second, I really wanted to hear what she had to say.  She's bright, and there's no doubt about that.  Third, I only heard about 2/3 of her speech because of the noise.  I was not amused.  What I did hear, I can't say I was impressed with.  I enjoyed the western anecdotes.  But, mostly I was left with the impression that she talked much and said little.  I find that sad because I really think she had much to say.  She was to be the keynote speaker, but there's nothing like getting up-staged by Presidential candidates.  I hope to hear more from her in the future.  She's obviously bright, and very committed.  And she's hot ... did I mention that?

The nicest thing about listening to Jon Tester and the Governor Brian Schweitzer is that they didn't need attention or the microphone.  Those guys ... project.  They are Montana, through and through.  It's impossible to be a Democrat in Montana and not adore these guys.  Many would have us believe that it's because they are 'characters'.  Nope.  They're just good people doing a good job, good and loudly.  It's hard to fault that.  And Jag is just too damned cool.

Which brings us to the final act, Hillary Clinton.  She looked good, when she finally took the stage.  The other speakers compressed time, and we found ourselves with dead air at 25 to 9.  Still no Hillary.  At 9, still no Hillary.  Dennis McDonald made the introduction at 5 after.  I was looking at my niece and telling her that one thing that will not thrill Montanans is to keep 'em waiting (with her agreement.)  Still, when Ms. Clinton took the stage there was much energy, and a rather sudden quiet.  Her speech was almost a direct mirror of Obama's, with more Chimpy McWorthless hate, and less standing applause.  She said many good things, but most of us were too tired (or in the case of the floor folk, too drunk) to receive the message quite as enthusiastically.  Still, she is a helluva speaker, and she energized the crowd ... somewhat too often to go home.

I just want to say to all of you folks leaving in the middle of Hillary's speech in order to beat the traffic:  You suck!  How rude can you be?  The speech was not bad, and was actually something you might have wanted to hear.  You folks suck!

I will save my after-thoughts (The Endenning) for later.

Battle Circle

Your choice, cupcake.

That Had To Hurt, And It Did

I managed to chop a goodly portion of flesh off the tip of my ring finger.  Though I tend to think of myself as a two-finger typist, it turns out I do use more, but not now.  So, if typos get bad, or posting goes light, I hope that you'll understand.

Why I Think The 'Neighborhood Zone' Idea Is Full Of Crap

I like Jeff Krause, the once and future mayor of Bozeman.  I really do.  He has a really good fantastical idea of how things 'ought' to work in the town.  Okay, not so much town anymore, but city.  Ya' see, Jeff's idea is neighborhood communities, groupings of business and residence such that people can co-exist with pride in neighborhood, and lack of strife.  What a load of crap.

This idea would be sterling in Philly, or Denver, or Pheonix.  Not so much in Bozeman.  Montana is mobile and, gas prices not withstanding, it will remain so.  People will drive a block to go to the store.  I'm not making this up, and I can't fall in line with the fantasy that does make this up.  That would be Jeff's fantasy ... and it doesn't apply to the real world.

It should be obvious that the only reason I care about this is because I have a fricking BAR across the street.  Jeff rightly portrays it as a 'neighborhood pub', though technically it is a 'tasting room'.  Bullshit.  It is a bar, complete with priviledged regular customers and a negative impact on the area.  Honestly, I try as hard as I can to ignore the negative impact, but there really is no ignoring it.  There is no parking, there is noise, there is outside drunkenness and there is confrontation.  There are those who damage property in adjacent areas, and freely allow their dogs to do the same.  (Do you really need the pictures of the drunk assholes who throw rocks at my tree, or my house, or the dogshit that actually litters the sidewalk in front of my residence?  If you'd like, I can post the pictures of the toddlers who are left playing on the walkway in front while their parents are in getting sauced.  Family-friendly pub, indeed.)  I am not out of line in saying that this 'happy neighborhood pub' will negatively impact the resale value of my house.  And it certainly negatively impacts the quality of my life in this neighborhood.

Just 30 minutes ago:

Me, opens front door and speaks to the guy who just parked his motorcycle half in front of the driveway:  "Excuse me.  Could you please move your bike out from in front of the driveway.  Please."

Dipspork:  "Yeah.  But there's a curb here."  (Points to the rear tire against the slope of the curb leading into the driveway.)

Me:  "Yeah, but your front tire is parked in front of the driveway.  Couldn't you just move the bike?"

DS:  "What?  Who's comin' in here?"

Me:  "My wife will be coming home soon.  Could you please just move your bike?"

DS:  "Man, I can park here.  I'll just be here for a while.  You can still pull in."

Me:  " Fine.  You can argue with me, or I'll call the cops and you can fucking argue with them."

DS:  "Fine!  Call the cops."

He pulled the bike back, which would have been completely acceptable.  But apparently, he didn't really trust that I wouldn't call the cops  (I did and will continue to, and one does wonder what he had to hide ...).  He left not one minute later.  And that's the point.  These asses know that they are doing the wrong thing, but they won't care unless there are legal consequences.  Neighborhood zones?  They only work when it's neighbors who are affected.  In Bozeman?  Assholes rule.

I'm sorry, Jeff.  The neighborhood zone idea is a really good fantasy.  But in Montana, especially as regards alcohol provision, it's a load of crap.  I fully expect my tires to be slashed tonight.  It won't be the first time, but hey ... it's all about the neighborhood pub, right?

I Am An E-Mail Neo-Luddite

Craig asked the question, but the answer needs to be sent to more than just him.  No, I do not fail to answer emails because of some fear of exposure.   I learned a considerably long time ago that anything put in email is the 'intellectual property' of the the person you send that email to, as well as your own.  If they wish to expose what you write, whether it is a moral or ethical thing for them to do, they will simply do it and there is not one thing you can do to stop them.  So I think, long and hard, before I ever hit 'send'.

No, the reason I suck at replying to email is that I simply suck at this form of communication.  Replying to email requires a level of organization that I rarely feel I possess.  Without belaboring the point, the last half year has been crushingly busy for me.  Combine that with the fact that I really don't like email as a form of communication, and you have a guy who just lets email replies slide, until the sender thinks I just don't care.  It isn't that I don't care.  I'm just really really bad at it.  And to those who deserve better than that from me, I am truly sorry.

Who'd A Thunk It?

I may have a new favorite song. 

I've never listened to the Dixie Chicks.  That whole 'country-rock' thing sets my teeth on edge; modern country music mostly gives me a headache.  But I do like the Cowboy Junkies, and I have always held a real joy given from listening to female vocalists.  Along comes Atrios, in a post reminding the dimly forgetful that there were those of us who were against the Iraqi boondoggle from before it ever started.  He finishes his point with this video.

Fog In Bozeman

It happens so rarely, I felt I should immortalize it here.  This was yesterday morning at about 6:00 am.  By 8:00, it had all burned off.

That little white spot is the moon.  It was barely visible, but the fog was laying very low.

Thoughts On Game

Empathy and Sympathy.  I honestly and for true have  a deep empathy for Patriots fans on this day.  I watched my Broncos suffer the worst defeats in Super Bowl history, at the hands of the Giants, the Redskins (worst defeat ever) and the 49ers.  I understand and feel the shock and disbelief.  It just wasn't supposed to happen that way.  For you folks, it was deeply tragic because the undefeated season was on the line.  'Not much I can say, other than it will fade.  The only sympathy I feel, is for Junior Seau.  I've seen his drive and ambition for what feels like 40 years.  He deserves the brass ring, but not this time.  I feel *no* sympathy for Tom Brady, taking solace in the arms of his latest super-model girlfriend; or Randy Moss, who showed at least enough class to stay on the field for the final 30 seconds; or for Bill Belichick, the guy who simply projects that it was all supposed to be about him.

Who won again?  It has been written and said a thousand times in the last 24 hours that the Patriots 'lost the game'.   Yes, they sure as hell did.  But that's the wrong side of the story, and the weakest of viewpoints.  They lost the game, not because they didn't play the game others carry around in their heads.  They lost the game because they got beat by the better football team on the day.  As my friend Mark said so very well, the Giants brought their A-Game, and they stuffed it right down Brady's throat.  As my friend Julio says so very well, Michigan quarterbacks rattle under pressure, and the Giants brought the smack-down all evening long.  Brady didn't have an 'off-day'.  He had a day of fearing for his life and limb.  Manning didn't rattle and he didn't throw 'hopes and prayers'.  He played like a professional should play, and if Favre or anyone else had played to Eli's level, he would be lauded as "bold", "unshakable", "a leader."  So I don't want to hear about bad coaching, or luck, or officiating (which was actually great for the playoffs) or any other reason why the 'better team' lost.  The better team didn't lose, the Giants beat them.  The Giants won.

Old Guys.  It is sad to think that we have probably seen the last of Junior Seau and Michael Strahan.  Both of those guys can still play like all get-out.

Most Valuable Player.  I've heard it all by now, about how that award belongs to the Giants defense, especially the D line.  Get over it.  First, it ain't MVPees; it's MVP.  Second, the Giants D is what let Randy Moss score with 2 and a half minutes on the clock.  I'm not taking a thing away from them, because they played one helluva game.  But still, it was the New York defense that let Brady take the lead.  Be honest, I'm not the only one who thought the game was over at that point.  But no.  It was Eli Manning who brought the Giants back.  The same Eli Manning who can't play in pressure games.  The same Eli Manning who can't control the pocket and loses composure outside of it.  The same Eli Manning who is slower than Grandma Moses.  The Eli Manning who can't buy a win if the temperature dips below 40 degrees.  I'm certain he's heard it all.  And I'm certain that he lead the *TEAM* down the field and scored when they had to.  There is not one doubt in my mind that  the younger Manning deserves his place alongside his brother.  If God hates us, then those 2 will  die in a fiery wreck while racing their matching Cadillacs.  If God loves us, and I think he does, then we will see Payton versus Eli in the Show ... perhaps not next year, but soon.

The Best.  There is no doubt that the Patriots were the best football team this year.  The pundits keep attempting to make hay with the idea that Super Bowl losers fall and fail the next season.  Na'gonna'hap'n.  The Patriots will be back.

Tears.  The crowd at my Casa mostly wanted to see Brady crying while bemoaning his defeat.  What was truly touching was seeing the ego of Plaxico Burress accept that something greater than himself had occurred, and the tears flowed.  But what affected me most was seeing Archie Manning choke up, while expressing his love, admiration and true pride in his sons.

Unbeatable.  I sincerely hope that ever a football commentator uses that term again, that Alex Karras or other suitably huge and mean individual comes running in to kick them in the nuts.  That word should never have been uttered, much less bandied around as much as it was this year.  Unbeaten is a descriptor.  Unbeatable is an arrogant and silly prediction.

Leavegate.  Really, get over it.  Belichick left the field.  So what?  It wasn't the offense that Moss pulled leaving the field when there was still game to be played.  This is a non-controversy.  That having been said, yes, Belichick is a Douchebag.

Great Game.  Seriously, this is what we watch football for.  For most of my life, I have greeted the post-Super Bowl period with sadness.  For the first time in a very long while, I feel satisfied.   That was a great game; two great teams fought it out for 60 full minutes.  I can ride on that for a while.  I'm sated and yet hungry for more, and that's what the game is all about.  Bring on next season.

Fear My Future!

Even though, as a librul, I hate the military and everything it ever stood for ... EVER ... I can't helped but be impressed by the fact that this morning the U.S. Navy successfully fired a 10 megajoules Rail Gun.  If you don't know what that is, just skip on by, but some of us know that thingy by the name of Gauss Rifle.  They hope to reach power levels of 65 joules soon.

Meanwhile, the EU is planning on rolling out a contained Fusion reactor within 10 tears.

You know what this means, don't you? That's right; 20 years from now, I will have a Warhammer 2C.  It will be mine.  Oh yes, it will be mine.