Month: February 2011

Feast of the presentation

~ susie ~ 6 Comments


Today is a holy day in the Roman Catholic church, and if I recall correctly, a day off from school!

And tomorrow is the feast of St. Blaise, a minor saint. On this day, we had to go to church to get our throats blessed. (No, really. I wonder if they still do that?) The priest had this contraption made out of candles that looked like half of a small steering wheel and he’d aim it at your throat. Once in place, he’d pronounce the blessing.

The whole thing made me tense and always struck me as vaguely threatening. I never trusted authority figures, and I haven’t changed much.

Sensitive

~ susie ~ 4 Comments

I live in an industrial area, and someone must be illegally releasing fumes. No other explanation for waking up with swollen, weepy eyes. I mean, I should be able to crack a window during a friggin’ ice storm – I know it’s not pollen at this time of year!

Facebook

~ susie

This is pretty creepy. That’s one of the problems with companies like Facebook — you can never talk to a human.

Here’s a hint: If you can’t reach someone to help you with a problem, call their corporate communications office and tell them you’re writing a story about what happened. They’re usually a lot more cooperative.

Claire McCaskill

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

Of all the blue dogs in Congress, she really annoys the hell out of me, and often doesn’t even know what she’s talking about — probably because of her eagerness to swallow wingnut talking points whole:

Senate Republicans sponsoring a bill that would make dramatic cuts in spending – including caps on Social Security – were joined Tuesday by an atypical ally: a Democrat.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.,introduced the bill along with chief co-sponsor Bob Corker and other Senate Republicans.

“I will try to be as obnoxious as possible trying to get more Democrats to join this cause,” McCaskill said. “It’s a little lonely right now, but I’m convinced there’s merit in this proposal that is reasonable.”

McCaskill is up for re-election in 2012 in what’s expected to be a close race.

The bill would put caps on all spending, including mandatory spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare, gradually reducing it from the current percentage of the gross domestic product from the current 24.7 to the 40-year historical level of 20.6 percent.

If Congress fails to meet those caps, the bill would authorize the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to make cuts throughout the budget to reach the prescribed levels. The cuts could only be skirted by a two-thirds vote on both the House and Senate.

“If we don’t [make the required spending cuts] OMB does the job for us, which I think will be very, very painful,” said Corker.

McCaskill predicted on Tuesday that she may catch flak for backing the Republican bill.

“I know this is going to be controversial,” she said. “And I know there’s a real political risk here because I guarantee you in Missiouri–in the not too distant future–there’ll be a 30 second commercial saying I’m trying to take Social Security away from seniors. Just the opposite. I’m trying to make sure Social Security remains.”

I’ll support any real Democrat with a pulse who runs against her.