The Bosque

Based on its current track, Hurricane Gustav is going to make landfall just south of New Orleans tomorrow morning.

The area seems much better prepared this time, but you can't stop a hurricane...you can only hope that it inflicts minimum damage.

Fate is a cruel bitch sometimes. But New Orleans is a tough city.

If you vote for Obama just because he's black, you're a fucking idiot.

If you vote for McCain because Sarah Palin is a woman, you're a fucking idiot.

If you voted for Hillary just because she's a woman, you're a fucking idiot.

I think Sarah Palin is a great choice for McCain--she's young, she's apparently done a good job in Alaska as governor thus far, she's a staunch conservative and--yes--she's a woman. Of course, she brings the McCain camp some issues: a state ethics investigation that is currently underway, the McCain camp can't really say shit about Obama's lack of experience anymore and Alaska has voted Republican in every presidential election except 1964.

Since the pick was confirmed, there seems to be this thought that women will now vote for McCain in droves because he picked a woman to be his VP...especially since Hillary is not on the Dem's ticket. And I've seen some women even say as much on some internet forums.

Seriously? Are you fucking high? Did you fall and hit your head?

Palin and Hillary don't seem to have a whole lot in common. They have twats and tits and have had kids. And they both like being in politics. But what do they have beyond that?

For you woman that supported Hillary and are thinking about supporting McCain now that Palin is on board, remember Hillary's speech from Tuesday night:

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

If you really think that McCain/Palin is the right path for this country based on their stances, then by all means, vote for them. But please...don't vote with your pussy...or your dick...or your skin tone.

The following story is being reprinted in its entirety due to the short lifespan of stories on newspaper websites.

From today's Post-Dispatch: After more than 35 years, one of St. Louis' oldest street festivals has called it quits. This Labor Day weekend, there will be no amusement rides, beer gardens or Bevo Day revelers in the shadow of the neighborhood's famous windmill.

The event goes the way of Badenfest, Dutchtown Oktoberfest and other sometimes sudsy street parties that sprang up throughout the city in the 1970s. Bevo Day's problem, planners say, was shrinking crowds.

"It seemed like interest in the neighborhood was dwindling," said Jim Sahaida, 60, an activist in the city's Bevo Mill neighborhood, whose center is where Gravois Avenue, Morganford Road and Delor Street converge.

"This isn't the old German area it used to be. We have a lot of immigrants now, and they don't seem to have the same interest in Bevo Day."

When it started in 1972, the festival was intended to do for the old "Scrubby Dutch" German neighborhood what Hill Day had done for St. Louis' Italian enclave. Bevo Day was one of several imitators, as city neighborhoods tried to lure back former residents with parties celebrating each area's history and heritage.

Bevo Day survived, even after Hill Day and other neighborhood festivals flamed out amid reports of alcohol-fueled fights, arrests and injuries. (Hill Day was canceled in 1979, but a toned-down version returned in 2004.)

The theme of the first Bevo Day was "Pride on the South Side," and the festival — which included two oompah bands — had a distinctively Teutonic flavor.

In a 1972 Post-Dispatch account of the first festival, the late Monsignor Bernard Boessen offered an accounting of the food and drink consumed. It included 1,000 pounds of sauerbraten; 2,700 pounds of bratwurst and knockwurst; 1,000 gallons of wine; and 300 half-barrels of beer, said Boessen, who at the time was pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

By 1979, the festival attracted a crowd estimated at 150,000, and some neighborhood residents complained that the party was getting out of hand. In 1983, saboteurs posing as festival organizers canceled orders for food, beer and a scheduled appearance by the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.

In the 1990s, attendance at the fair started a long decline — possibly because of the neighborhood's changing demographics. During this period, many longtime residents of German stock were dying out or moving to the suburbs. Bosnian refugees discovered the neighborhood's inexpensive homes and empty storefronts, and the new immigrants opened groceries and cafes along Gravois. Eventually, they started their own ethnic festival.

"They didn't seem to have the same interest in Bevo Day," said Sahaida, a city worker and longtime Bevo Day volunteer.

The Bosnian Heritage Festival, which originally was held in the Bevo Mill neighborhood, was moved to Carondelet Park to accommodate massive crowds. Last year, when the Bosnian festival was re-scheduled for Labor Day weekend, Bevo Day planners put their event on a hiatus.

Initially, organizers promised that a bigger and better Bevo Day would return in 2008. That didn't happen and now, the festival will probably be gone for good, said Jennifer Bess, executive director of the nonprofit Bevo Area Community Improvement Corp., which organized the festival.

Bess said the neighborhood improvement group doesn't have enough money to fund a costly event that, for at least the last 10 years, has proved little more than break-even enterprise. In its heyday, she said, the festival would raise as much as $40,000, which the organization spent on a food pantry and other charitable programs in the neighborhood.

"We'd love to continue it," Bess said. "But in this economy, we need to focus on our priority — and that's feeding families in need in our community."

...but still a damn fine one. Senator Obama's speech from earlier tonight at the DNC:

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;

With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.

Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.

To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.

For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

What is that promise?

It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small plans.

Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.

And just as we keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.

For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

And you know what - it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is one of those moments.

I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it. Because I've lived it. I've seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I've seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.

And I've seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they'd pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.

The text of President Clinton's speech at the DNC last night...the bold parts are what I thought were the big points:

I am honored to be here tonight to support Barack Obama. And to warm up the crowd for Joe Biden, though as you'll soon see, he doesn't need any help from me. I love Joe Biden, and America will too.

What a year we Democrats have had. The primary began with an all-star line up and came down to two remarkable Americans locked in a hard fought contest to the very end. The campaign generated so much heat it increased global warming.

In the end, my candidate didn't win. But I'm very proud of the campaign she ran: she never quit on the people she stood up for, on the changes she pushed for, on the future she wants for all our children. And I'm grateful for the chance Chelsea and I had to tell Americans about the person we know and love.

I'm not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of her magnificent address last night. But I'll do my best.

Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama.

That makes two of us.

Actually that makes 18 million of us - because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November.

Here's why.

Our nation is in trouble on two fronts: The American Dream is under siege at home, and America's leadership in the world has been weakened.

Middle class and low-income Americans are hurting, with incomes declining; job losses, poverty and inequality rising; mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing; health care coverage disappearing; and a big spike in the cost of food, utilities, and gasoline.

Our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little cooperation; a perilous dependence on imported oil; a refusal to lead on global warming; a growing indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders; a severely burdened military; a backsliding on global non-proliferation and arms control agreements; and a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe.

Clearly, the job of the next President is to rebuild the American Dream and restore America's standing in the world.

Everything I learned in my eight years as President and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.

He has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful President needs. His policies on the economy, taxes, health care and energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives. He has shown a clear grasp of our foreign policy and national security challenges, and a firm commitment to repair our badly strained military. His family heritage and life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation and to restore our leadership in an ever more interdependent world. The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park.

With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, insight, and good instincts, America will have the national security leadership we need.

Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United States.

He will work for an America with more partners and fewer adversaries. He will rebuild our frayed alliances and revitalize the international institutions which help to share the costs of the world's problems and to leverage our power and influence. He will put us back in the forefront of the world's fight to reduce nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and to stop global warming. He will continue and enhance our nation's global leadership in an area in which I am deeply involved, the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, including a renewal of the battle against HIV/AIDS here at home. He will choose diplomacy first and military force as a last resort. But in a world troubled by terror; by trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by human rights abuses; by other threats to our security, our interests, and our values, when he cannot convert adversaries into partners, he will stand up to them.

Barack Obama also will not allow the world's problems to obscure its opportunities. Everywhere, in rich and poor countries alike, hardworking people need good jobs; secure, affordable healthcare, food, and energy; quality education for their children; and economically beneficial ways to fight global warming. These challenges cry out for American ideas and American innovation. When Barack Obama unleashes them, America will save lives, win new allies, open new markets, and create new jobs for our people.

Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

Look at the example the Republicans have set: American workers have given us consistently rising productivity. They've worked harder and produced more. What did they get in return? Declining wages, less than ¼ as many new jobs as in the previous eight years, smaller health care and pension benefits, rising poverty and the biggest increase in income inequality since the 1920s. American families by the millions are struggling with soaring health care costs and declining coverage. I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn't afford health care and couldn't qualify their kids for Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of? What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented multiple deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on unions and the unlimited favors for the well connected? What about Katrina and cronyism?

America can do better than that. And Barack Obama will.

But first we have to elect him.

The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a Senator, he has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented.

They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22 million new jobs down to 5 million; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8 million Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 and a half million falling into poverty - and millions more losing their health insurance.

Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy. More band-aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence.

They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let's send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm.

My fellow Democrats, sixteen years ago, you gave me the profound honor to lead our party to victory and to lead our nation to a new era of peace and broadly shared prosperity.

Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.

His life is a 21st Century incarnation of the American Dream. His achievements are proof of our continuing progress toward the "more perfect union" of our founders' dreams. The values of freedom and equal opportunity which have given him his historic chance will drive him as president to give all Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, their chance to build a decent life, and to show our humanity, as well as our strength, to the world.

We see that humanity, that strength, and our future in Barack and Michelle Obama and their beautiful children. We see them reinforced by the partnership with Joe Biden, his wife Jill, a dedicated teacher, and their family.

Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Senator Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

I didn't watch quite as much of the convention yesterday as I did Monday, but I saw some pretty good speeches. The best one might have been Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer's come-to-Jesus rally just before Hillary...he got the crowd pretty riled up. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick also gave a fine speech.

I was nervous about Hillary's speech, but in the end, it was...alright. She patted herself on the back for the first part, then tore into McCain and pushed her people to support Obama. This part of the speech--about halfway in--started the tide change:

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

Now I'm curious to see what Bubba has to say tomorrow night...

So I watched a good chunk of the Democratic National Convention last night. The big networks are only giving it an hour each night, though cable is giving it more coverage. MSNBC is pretty much running nothing but coverage and commentary of the Convention this week.

But the best way to watch it is on C-SPAN. You get just the Convention--no commercials, no commentary, no bullshit. I like MSNBC's commentators, but the network is not giving a lot of coverage to the "little" speeches--the ones that pretty much run all evening until the big guns come up. And those speeches can be just as good as the big ones...among the good ones tonight: Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Missouri's own Senator Claire McCaskill.

Of course, all the feel-good schmaltz is going to runneth over for the next few days, but I think the convention got off to a good start. I think Michelle Obama's speech (which is just below this blog entry) hit all the right targets--particularly in kissing Hillary Clinton's ass. Seriously...that was a good touch.

I keep hearing all this talk about how angry Hillary supporters are, to the point that some of them are not going to vote for Obama. My parents happen to be in this camp--though I think the only reason they won't vote for Obama is because he's black.

I don't get it. Look, I like Hillary...really. Would she be a good president? Absolutely! I can honestly say that if she were the nominee, I'd be behind her 100%, in spite of the fact that I'm a big fan of Obama. But a Hillary presidency would be 4-8 more years of bullshit animosity. She's just too damn polarizing to be an effective president. Will that polarity wear off? I don't think so...I can see her being a Ted Kennedy-esque figure long-term, but never president. I think her fans will realize that in time.

And while I am a proud liberal, I don't think that McCain would be a bad president--I actually like the guy and support some of his positions. He wants to be his own man, but he sidled up to Bush a lot in the past 4 years. The GOP has fucked things up pretty nicely since 9/11...it's time to let the Dems fuck things up for a while.

And while I am a proud liberal, I'll be watching the RNC and blogging about it come next week. That should be good TV as well.

Michelle Obama's speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention:

As you might imagine, for Barack, running for President is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother Craig.

I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life.

At six-foot-six, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too…literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me - he was watching over me.

And he's been there for me every step of the way since that clear February day 19 months ago, when - with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change - we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that's brought us to this moment.

But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey.

I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend.

I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.

I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world - they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future - and all our children's future - is my stake in this election.

And I come here as a daughter - raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters.

My Dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing - even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my Mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier, and worked a little harder.

He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child can receive: never doubting for a single minute that you're loved, and cherished, and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and hard work, we both were able to go on to college. So I know firsthand from their lives - and mine - that the American Dream endures.

And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children - and all children in this nation - to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down, and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.

The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work - they wanted to contribute. They believed - like you and I believe - that America should be a place where you can make it if you try.

Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is - even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves - to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?

It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms - people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had - refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals.

It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.

I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history - knowing that my piece of the American Dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country:

People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift - without disappointment, without regret - that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.

The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it.

The young people across America serving our communities - teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day.

People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters - and sons - can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.

People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from, and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.

All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do - that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

That is why I love this country.

And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us - no matter what our age or background or walk of life - each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.

It's a belief Barack shares - a belief at the heart of his life's work.

It's what he did all those years ago, on the streets of Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and afterschool programs to keep kids safe - working block by block to help people lift up their families.

It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.

It's what he's done in the United States Senate, fighting to ensure the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home not just with medals and parades, but with good jobs and benefits and health care - including mental health care.

That's why he's running - to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as President of the United States of America.

He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has - by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party - if any - you belong to. That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us - our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future - is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.

It was strong enough to bring hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago.

It was strong enough to bring hope to the mother he met worried about her child in Iraq; hope to the man who's unemployed, but can't afford gas to find a job; hope to the student working nights to pay for her sister's health care, sleeping just a few hours a day.

And it was strong enough to bring hope to people who came out on a cold Iowa night and became the first voices in this chorus for change that's been echoed by millions of Americans from every corner of this nation.

Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.

And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.

And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they - and your sons and daughters - will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country - where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House - we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.

So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future - out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment - let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama President of the United States of America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

In just 5 minutes this morning, my world got thrown for a bit of a loop.

My wallet, cell phone, iPod, $60 and my mom's payroll check were taken from my car. Apparently, I didn't lock my car when I went into this one building for a delivery this morning. And all the items were conveniently located in a lock box that I (used to) keep my stuff in--and I left the key in the lock box. And I left the lock box in the front seat.

Obviously, there are a lot of shoulda woulda couldas here. Bottom line, some stupid fucks ripped my shit off and I made it easier for them to do so.

The $60...eh, not a big loss. The drivers license...had a new one within 3 hours. The payroll check...already canceled and a new one issued. (That'll teach my mom to trust me with picking it up next time. Or maybe she'll finally enter 2008 and get direct deposit.) Credit and debit cards...I had them canceled within 2 hours. They tried to use my debit card twice, but the charges will be reversed.

The cell phone and iPod...well, I'm eligible for an upgrade. I'll probably go ahead and get an iPhone...kill two birds with one stone.

Lessee...the last time I had to go through this shit was when I got pick-pocketed in Chicago 5 years ago. Hopefully, I won't have to go through this shit again at all. Obviously, I need to be more careful with my shit. But I can't help but feel sad and angry that some people are just fucking idiots.

Several people I have met since moving back to St. Louis 3 years ago have complimented me on how laid back I am.

*pause*

Okay...stop laughing, fuckers.

If you've known me for a long time, you know that my personality has changed considerably since I was diagnosed with my heart condition in early '05. I'm still a goofy bastard, but way more laid back than I used to be.

Recently, I was looking at the alumni directory that was put together for our 10-year high school reunion in 2004. And I looked at my entry...and wow. I clearly remember writing that out in the summer of '04...and what a pompous shithead I was!



I fucking hated high school. I got along with most folks, but was generally disgusted with the whole experience. In hindsight, I was a relatively typical teenager who happened to be gifted, but decided to rail against the system in many cases and keep an ax ready to grind at my side at all times. I was pretty much a dork and took quite a bit of shit for being such a dork--some of it well-earned. Most of my issues were actually not with people in my class--they were with faculty and a few upperclassmen that I let torment the shit out of me. This one guy in particular fucked with me for 3 years.

But upon further reflection, high school wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Oh sure, getting picked on was no fun and some of my teachers were total fucking tools. But all in all, I give the experience a C+. I had a lot of good times and met a lot of cool people. I'm still friends with or have renewed friendships with quite a few of those folks.

I wrote that retarded profile with a high school mentality. I don't think I quite grew out of that mentality until I got sick. I wrote that profile to purposely stand out and make people scratch their heads. None of the information was false, mind you. But I certainly could have done it differently.

Having said that, I had a great time at the reunion. It was good to catch up with people, particularly Monken, who I lost touch with 2 years after we left high school. And while I'm sure some people just wanted to make small talk, many seemed genuinely interested in talking to me. And I was genuinely interested in talking to people. And it was good to know that I was in a good place relative to my fellow alumni.

I'm quite looking forward to next year's 15. People were starting to have kids or had just started litters when the 10-year rolled around. At the rate things are going, I will be the last sexy unencumbered single...oh, wait...

(I love you, April! :))

I spent a delightful 3 hours at the ER earlier today, thanks to my lack of attention.

I was taking a delivery into a high-rise that we frequent. It's about a 30-40 feet walk from the parking area to the building...I've done it plenty of times.

Today though, I wasn't quite paying attention to my surroundings. As I walked towards the entrance at a fairly quick pace, my left shin ran smack into a concrete planter and I took a bit of a flight.

But I did not fall...the pizza stayed safe. Whoohoo?

I was in a shitload of pain, but I could walk with minimal problems. But after I left the building, I noticed a huge knot where I smacked the planter and my lower leg started going numb. Though I could walk and wiggle my toes, I was concerned that I broke one of my leg bones.

I called April and told her to meet me at work right away. I got back to work, explained the situation to my boss and he had no problem with me taking off to go to the ER.

Now, April and I work two blocks from a hospital--a big fucking hospital/med school complex. April works for one of the hospitals in the complex. Yet we went to one of the hospital group's locations in the western suburbs. Why? Well, better to drive out to West County and hang out in the small hospital for a few hours as opposed to sitting in the Level One Trauma Center in the heart of the City for 6-8 hours.

So, we hung out at the ER for about 3 hours...no broken bones, just a deep contusion. The lump may calcify and take years to completely disappear. No work tomorrow, but I can go back Wednesday. I'll live.

But wow...that hurt like a motherfucker. Though not so much right now...10 mg of Percocet administered at the ER...wheeeeeeeee! Seriously, though...I am so glad that I did nothing seriously bad. My legs are the best working parts of my body--they've always been strong and I take pride in keeping them healthy. When I broke my ankle in late 2006, I was miserable.

But hopefully, this is as bad as it will be. And the world will continue to spin on its axis properly.

By the way, did I mention that when I took that spill, I was actually at the wrong building? I was supposed to go to a building across the street. But that's a story for another day.

...but sometimes, it's best kept on a lower profile. From WDTN-TV, Dayton, OH: It's the bath video that's making a splash on the web and around the world. The video shows an employee of the Burger King in Xenia taking a soapy bath in the restaurant's utility sink.

The nearly four-minute video, which was posted Thursday on MySpace.com, shows him taking the bath to celebrate his birthday. The employee, Timothy Tackett, refers to himself only as "Mr. Unstable" in the video and appears to be naked. Tackett told 2News he was wearing a Speedo.

This sounds like some shit that my brother would do.

Every CD I'm going to sell is now on this list...342 total:

Full sale list

Full-length titles: $3
2 CD sets: $4
EPs: $2
Singles: $1

Contact me if you are interested in any.

R&B legend Isaac Hayes died this afternoon in Memphis...he was 65.

Most people my age know him best as the voice of Chef from South Park. But if you're older and know better, you know that he put out some of the finest R&B cuts you'll ever hear. He did the theme to "Shaft"...do I really need to say any more than that?

We dug it, Isaac...rest in peace...

So...who else sat through 4 1/2 hours of Olympicky goodness last night?

*crickets* Looks like it's just April and I here!

The opening ceremony was...interesting. Some of the stuff was amazing--Li Ning "running" through the air to light the cauldron? How fucking awesome was that?! And the Fou dancers with the LED lights counting down to the start of the ceremony...very cool.

But some of it was just...weird to me. Maybe because I'm not overly familiar with Eastern culture, or because I'm biased towards Western culture. In some situations, I felt like I should have been doing drugs or drinking more. Like the globe...and the movable type. As a whole though, the ceremony was pretty cool.

Damn...there's been like 3 murders here in South City this week, including one just up the street from the pizza shop where Tim and I used to work. That area is okay, but not exactly the greatest anymore. The other two were in shadier areas. Still though, whenever serious crime happens down in our neck of the woods, it hurts.

John Edwards is a fucking turd...and yes, so were Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson when they committed adultery, too.

Adultery/cheating is one of those offenses that is just straight up wrong to me. If you don't feel like you can be faithful to someone, then you need to get the fuck out of the relationship. If April ever cheated on me, I don't know if I could ever forgive her, because that's just a severe violation of trust. The one time I thought I might have been cheated on (by another girlfriend), it made me sick to my stomach.

And then, there was the surprise death of Bernie Mac from complications from pneumonia. Bernie was just fucking funny--doing stand up, on his TV show and on film. This quote from an MSNBC article really struck a chord with me:

"I came from a place where there wasn’t a lot of joy," Mac told the AP in 2001. "I decided to try to make other people laugh when there wasn’t a lot of things to laugh about."

And so he did. Rest in peace...

Hi everybody.

To the 3 or 5 of you that read this blog, you know that I've been off the radar the past couple of weeks. I've been working a lot, plus I just haven't felt like posting...I've been in a bit of a funk. But I think I'm past it now, and ready to post to my heart's content again.

Well, lessee, what's been going on? The new delivery gig is going well...I love the area where I work, the people I work with and the general atmosphere. It's been two months now...still no complaints.

April is trying to hang on at her job until she finds a new job. Two weeks ago, her boss made an inappropriate racial comment about her. When his boss found out about it, the situation got kicked up to Human Resources. The boss resigned earlier this week, just before the results of the investigation were to be released. Unfortunately, April is feeling like a target right now--she is one of the few whites in her department, and some of the blacks are shunning her...her former boss is black. Even though she didn't report the incident to HR.

After two weeks of gain and hitting another weight high--398.2--I came down almost 3 pounds this week. I think I might have control of my eating now, and I have a membership at the Y again. I've actually been feeling better too, which I think is due to a combination of fiber intake and just better eating in general. Still, I think I'm going to talk to my doctor about my options. I'm not saying that I want gastric bypass or Lap Band...I just want to know if what I'm doing is the best thing, or if there is something better out there.

Let's face facts: I've gained double my weight in 14 years, including 75 pounds since moving back to St. Louis. Shit, in the past year alone, I think I'm up 40. "Normal" for me is about 160 pounds. I will probably never ever get to a weight like that, but if I could get down to 200-240, that would be fantastic.

When I hit 300, I'm getting my first tattoo. I think I'm going to by myself a new mouser cap this weekend as an encouragement to do better. I'll have to think of little things to get myself if I can hit other targets.

Right now, I'm savoring a St. Peter's Cream Stout. We have this new liquor place in town called Friar Tuck. It's a drinking person's toy store--so many delicious items. Stuff that is generally hard-to-find or impossible to get here was right in front of me. No Yuengling, though...yet.

Normally at this time, I'm at work, waiting for the orders to start rolling in for the night. But not tonight. No...I'm at home, waiting for the Mrs. to get here. At 6:30, we'll turn the TV on to NBC, where it will stay for the better part of the next 2 weeks. I love the Olympics! I've always tried to watch a lot of the events, but have been religious about the games since Salt Lake. Ask April about Turin in 2006...I barely left the house during those two weeks.

I'd love to go to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games. Vancouver is a great city, and the atmosphere is going to be mad cool. And we're talking about going to London for the 2012 Summer Games...May has friends over there.

So anyhoo...there you have it and there you are. I'm back, bitches!