New Years Revolution! Resolution... or something

Life...its bigger. Bigger than you and you are not me. Which is a break for you. So I never blog anymore. I am too busy. FEEL SAD FOR ME! My life is too full with work and family and work and friends and work and church and work and traveling and work and reading and work and work. But it is a good time to have work. A good time to have a vocation. Occasionally I post in my Facebook Status Update my favorite work song ever...EVER which is by the great Tom Waits. I am sure I have posted it before in this space:

“You gotta get behind the mule,
In the morning and plow”

It just has some classic lines that just resonate...every time:

“Well the rampaging sons of the widow James
Jack the cutter and the pock marked kid
Had to stand naked at the bottom
Of the cross
And tell the good lord what they did
Tell the good lord what they did.”

Because sooner or later, since we self identify as the most Christian nation on earth, most of us should anticipate having to do just that. What am I going to say? I scrambled for a buck? I... provided for my family? I educated my kids? I drove an excellent car? I lived in a bitching house? I really don’t believe judgment day will be like that. I really don’t believe that I will be judged because that is not what I have been taught. I have been taught that I need to believe, and try and live my life like I believe. Right now in 2012 that means living my life in some kind of grateful way for the fact that someone died for my sins. But living your life like that, might not look any different to anyone watching. Weird.

So what does it feel like to go to work every day. Are you filled with purpose? I know I am more like Tom Waits:

“I'm diggin all the way to China
With a silver spoon
While the hangman fumbles with the noose, boys
The hangman fumbles with the noose.”

Well that might be a little dark. It seems pretty clear to me that what I am expected to do to make a living really stopped working for me a few years ago. So I keep trying to change it. And I keep failing but life has gotten a little more interesting. If your lucky (and even though I bitch like there is no tomorrow I am the luckiest guy in the world) and you keep your eyes open there are some chances that are laid out there (I like to think that God lays em out) to do a couple of good things. Of course I am still a lawyer. I am paid to be a prick but even with that....Waits leaves us with a little hope at the end.

“Pin your ear to the wisdom post
Pin your eye to the line
Never let the weeds get higher
Than the garden
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind.”

I think Jesus said something like that. I don’t think Paul did. He could be kind of a judgy guy. Hold it... I take it back. Paul did have a sapphire and diamond in your mind type line. A little thing we call Phillippians 4-8: 8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Seems like good advice and hard to remember when you are yelling at someone on the phone are arguing at court. A greater sense of gratefulness for 2012. I know I will not do it all the time but lets make it a goal for me for 2012.

The Erata Election

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS:

Sooo... the year and new Years resolutions.... not good. Under the new modified Becker Redemption Scoring System (BRSS) I scored 16/25 possible points the first week. that seemed pretty weak. 64%... you know... thats a D... at best. I felt pretty bad about it until week two when I scored.... an 11. That is an F in any school. it is a problematic system. Doing 5 prescribed good things (virtues) every day and avoiding 5 bad ones (vices). It was interesting because Tiemann (a good German Lutheran) and I got into a “discussion” because he has co-opted the system and stretched it out to EVERY good thing he does allows the possibility of doing another bad thing.

We are both rigorous rules people. We do not like to follow them but we desperately like to know what the rules are so we can measure our own failures by them. We would like to think that we are setting up the rules so that we can encourage ourselves to do better, something to measure successes by... but...we really need to know what the rules are so we know we can... fail.
That might be hard on Tim. But it isn’t on me. But still... I like having rules... because... well I like having rules because... because I am a mess. It is like Old Testament stuff and I WANT to live under the law. Very stupid. But... I guess I will keep thrashing around with it. I would like to get back up to a D again this week. That would be sweet but it is Monday night and I am.... not optimistic.

*****

PUSH POLLING:
The Republican party seems to be a lot cause. I was raised a Republican and stayed a Republican well into being an adult and a father but somewhere in the middle of Clinton’s first terms with the Newt Gingrich “Contract with America” they started to lose me. Platitudes of a divisive nature beginning to cobble out the 51% majority that shifts and swerves so long as to keep the right people in power and in the process terrorizing all of us. We cannot be victims to that stupidity again. This party sends out polls to my wife that read as follows:

HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES:
1. Should Republicans do everything they can to prevent Liberal Democrats from repealing the USA Patriot Act and other important laws that help our intelligence agencies protect Americans? Yes, No, or Undecided.
(followed by 3 more in similar vein) 
ECONOMIC ISSUES:
1. Should we make our fight against the Democrat's massive tax hikes a central part of the 2008 campaign? YEs, No, or Undecided.
ok...I said only one, but this one is too much to leave out:
1. Should Republicans renew the fight for a Balanced Budget Amendment?  Yes, No, or Undecided.
DOMESTIC ISSUES:
1. Should Republicans oppose Senator Clinton's one size fits all, government-run healthcare plan? Yes, No, or Undecided.
SOCIAL ISSUES:
1. Do you think Congress should pass the Federal Marriage Amendment, protecting marriage as a union between one man and one woman? Yes, No, or Undecided.
DEFENSE ISSUES: 
2)Should Republicans fight Democrat efforts to impose Clinton-era cuts in the Pentagon's budget? 
REPUBLICAN PARTY:
1. Do you support the election of Republican candidates across the country and the rebuilding of our majorities over the next 10 years? Yes, No, or Undecided.

Seriously, can you believe this shit? What kind of people are they trying to appeal to. Even conservative people like my wife get offended. I know that this type of divisive rhetoric worked in the Bush administration but we have to be something better now. there is too much on the line. But we will see. Thinking about this years election I am reminded of the new movie title... “There Will Be Blood.”

*****

South Carolina. Well it was kind of interesting. I thought the Democratic Primary was on the same day as the Republican. I was wrong... again. The Republicans went and it went to form. Mc cain, Huckabee... and whoever else.... Romney was out in Nevada and he ran and won unopposed. I was disappointed that Hillary beat Obama out there although he won the delegates. It is looking more and more like everything will come down to Super Tuesday. Who would have ever thunk we could have the possibility of a meaningful convention where they actually fight about stuff and maybe even compromise about stuff. Who knows... could be fun. The Democrats his South carolina this Saturday and we will see if Obama can carry the black vote solidly and get the votes he was getting in Iowa and New Hampshire. If he does the race is over but if Hillary keeps getting all the old people... everything gets shady from there on.

*****

South Carolina REDUX: It is Saturday morning and I am... a little scared. I really think Hillary might come out on top and I view that as an absolute disaster/abomination for the Democratic Party and the hope that we can win the White House cleanly. Leave it to the Democrats to have two minorities duke it out with each other, polarize both sides, divide the party and go down in flames.... but they could do it. If Obama actually loses South Carolina I would advise him to think about taking a high road and biding his time and withdraw from this race, accept a cabinet position of some sort and start agitating for change in that administration. In four years whomever is saddles with this Bushy/war economy is going to stand a good chance of being a doomed one termer anyway. I am just filled with dread that South Carolina is going to turn this dream election into a nightmare.

And Romney... if he wins in Florida becomes a prohibitive front runner. And he might with Guliani fading and their economy in a shambles over the housing nightmare. A Romney/Clinto election is a low road election with two powerful machines gearing up to swift boat each other to hell and back again for that sacred 1% margin it takes to win leaving the rest of feeling sick, disrespected, margianalized and well.... used. That could make a very ugly and unhappy four years. More then ever we need someone to unite us with a passion for what it means to be an American and Obama is still the only one I can see inspiring a lot of us to be better then what we are. The others pander to the special interests of their “core” but people in the middle need a President too. It should be out turn.