The Final Day

"A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation." -Saki

Today is MLK day, but I don't have the day off. I shouldn't complain considering I took a sick day on Friday (a real one). A lot people think today is his birthday, but it is on January 15th, we just celebrate it today. The weekend is over and it wasn't a good one. Other than the whole being at home sick thing, it was just a less than stellar weekend. I was able to wake up in time to get McDonalds breakfast on Saturday, a feat that has been eluding me for what feels like months. That was sadly the highlight.

On Bush's regrets during his term, I think it was put best by :Matthews: Bush is like the cop who shoots an unarmed man and regrets he didn't have a gun

Matthews: I found it interesting that the president, who admitted he was wrong about WMDs as a justification for war, called it a "disappointment." If a police officer in the line of duty in the middle of the night shoots a fellow because he thinks he's got a gun, it turns out he's got a wallet, your reaction if you're a police officer is not that you're disappointed he didn't have a gun, it's shame that even if it was a technical mistake that you've made, that you've killed a guy without reason. Why does the president use the word "disappointment" when he says they didn't have the WMD to justify us going in? I think it's an odd use of the word.

The inauguration of Obama is a day away and that makes today Bush's last full day in office. Oh how long I have waited for this day. Ever since I heard Gore concede in December 2001 while I was in my truck outside of Taco Bell in Ithaca, NY. That was the day I became a Democrat. I thought I was a Republican just a few weeks before that, but the election and how it was handled really changed how I saw everything. It is true I voted for Nader in that election, but at the time it was a misinformed vote against Gore. I watched a lot of coverage of Obama over the weekend including the train stops on the way to DC. Part of me wishes I had made the trip back to DC, but I'm no good in crowds, especially those that may be as big as 2 million. The memory of DC is fading though.

"A Farewell to Republicans"

But one of the most eerily consonant assessments was actually published more than three-quarters of a century ago, by The Nation, in an editorial goodbye to Herbert Hoover and the GOP ascendancy he represented, entitled "A Farewell to Republicans" (republished this week). Here is one very pertinent excerpt:

[W]e are taking leave not merely of a single Administration. For twelve years the Republican Party has been in power. During ten of those years it controlled the executive and legislative branches of the government. When, a few years hence, an attempt is made to minimize the disaster of this last quadrennium, and to point to a preceding eight year period of material development and growth, let it be noted that in a purely material sense the American people are much worse off today than they were twelve years ago. Far more than was gained has been swept away. Savings have been dissipated, lives have been blasted, families disintegrated. Misery and insecurity exist to a degree unprecedented in our national life. And spiritually the American people have been debauched by the materialism which made dollar-chasing the accepted way of life and accumulation of riches the goal of earthly existence.

I have filed my federal income taxes. I paid a lot of them this year and I'm hardly getting anything back. I couldn't even deduct all the interest I paid to student loans, which was a lot. The feeling sucks and it makes me understand why people who think Republican's will lower taxes are easily tricked. What brings me peace is the knowing that we might actually have a functioning government that my taxes will be able to help. Maybe they will go to help build a bridge or fix the roads, maybe even schools. Either way, I have nothing to complain about.

Circuit City is going out of business. I went during my lunch break today to see if I could find any deals. There was nothing I really needed and the deals were not too impressive. I mean 10% off a product that is 20% more expensive than buying on the internet isn't too great of a deal. 8% you lose to taxes off the bat. I really wanted a digital camera, but the one I wanted was sold out. The other I could get online for the same price sans taxes. I'd say I'll miss you CC, but I hardly knew you.

One of the things I did do this weekend was watch the NFC and AFC championships. So Arizona is going to play Pittsburgh in the Superbowl. Doesn't sound too exciting huh? It is the Superbowl, so it doesn't matter who is playing really. They both earned their way there. I think Arizona is going to be the underdog, so I'm going to be cheering for them.

it's so easy