Aren't you tired of this?

   So I'm looking at some of my friends' updates on Facebook, and inevitably there's some about how Obama's old best friend from third grade think's he's a crappy president because he wasn't good at kickball and he still isn't. Then there's someone linking to an article about how Romney likes cheeseburgers, and how that makes him the best candidate for president since George Washington, because 'ol George loved a good burger. Then you read the comments of either article, and someone in there calls the author of the article a sexist, neoclassic cubist moron, or a red-winged blackbird thermo-nucleotidist weakling, because they don't understand anything at all, and they're only out for the good of the League of Democratic Nucleotide Hamsters, so their agenda can't be trusted. Even people who would normally be nice (or at least civil) to each other, seem to get into arguments about important issues like whether Obama dyes his hair, or whether Mitt's name was changed after he accepted an advertising payoff from Wilson sporting goods.

  Inevitably, my musings, moved by these important discussions of meaningful issues, turn to one simple thought. What is WRONG with all these people?! Are they nuts?! Do these hate-spouting, mud-slinging, verbally obfuscating discussions have ANYTHING at all to do with making actual improvements in our society? And for those who believe they do, come over here and take this frying pan, and hit yourself on the head with it repeatedly. I promise, it's for the good of the country. It will create jobs, cause babies to wave tiny American flags, and make people stop cutting you off on the freeway. I promise! What do you mean, it won't work? Of course it will! I promised you, didn't I? That's really all you need to hear, right?

   What would happen if the rank & file citizens of our country stood up and said--"Hey you, politicians! I'm tired of paying you a six-figure income while myself and 1/3 of everyone I know have been out of work for over a year! I don't CARE about the time when you were eight years old and thought girls were icky! I don't want to watch you argue with each other on TV and pretend like I understand all the fancy, meaningless vocabulary, or that I believe all the made-up garbage you're promising to do once you get into office! I'm done!"

What if nobody showed up at the polls? What if Americans were so disgusted with all the lying, cheating, payoffs, and such that they said "To heck with you!" What if everyone in the country decided they would only pay taxes on MERIT? You don't do the job (in other words, you don't accomplish anything truly meaningful in office), you DON'T GET PAID. Honestly, why are we spending OUR money to support knuckle-headed morons who can't seem to accomplish anything but spending billions and securing a wealthy pension?

I'm not talking about a boycott, or a rally, or anything like that. Let's just stop paying them, go on about our business, and let them argue themselves to death up on that silly hill. Heck, some of them may even decide to change their ways and become productive members of society--if they can find a job, of course. And maybe some people who actually want to do the job (rather than just being in it for the power, money, or fame) will eventually show up to claim these vacant positions.

Now let me be clear--I'm not a tea-party-er, or a left-wing, right-wing, up-wing, down-wing or swept wing person. I'm conservative in my views, but I don't side with any political party. I have one overriding view about politics. They SUCK. Politicians are a pack of liars and thieves, more interesting in defaming each other and getting money than they ever will be in making real changes to benefit our society. Until we have people in government who can't vote for raises for themselves, or accept payoffs from big corporations, or do whatever they want once in office with no way for the people to stop them, we will never have a government worth supporting.

I'm so very tired of hearing why this politician or that politician should be in office or shouldn't. Over and over again, politicians of our day and age have shown one common ability--the ability to accomplish nothing of value while spending horrendous amounts of money. Or in other words, the ability to get a job and not do it, be paid way more than they could possibly deserve, and get an overlarge pension paid to them for the rest of their lives for the work they didn't do.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." So why do we keep thinking voting for a different idiot to sit on the throne is somehow going to make all the idiocy stop?

What happened to 2011? Oh well...

So my new stepson started his own blog--which got me thinking about this one, and made me feel like I ought to post something. So here I am. What's up with me?

TV: Very much enjoying two new shows created by people involved in LOST.

Once Upon A Time seems a little girly at first, but it's actually pretty good. Every fairy tale character you've ever heard of--who coincidentally all lived in the same magical kingdom--got cursed. So what's the curse? They have to go live in our world (yeah that is pretty stinky, isn't it?), they can't remember who they are, and oh yeah--they can never leave this tiny little town in Maine where they live (somehow they never notice that part). The only people in town who know the truth are the evil queen (now the obsessively power-hungry mayor), her adopted son (who nobody believes because he's a kid), and the local pawn-shop owner (random, I know--but his character is pretty cool). The protagonist is a blond P.I. who chases bail-jumpers and just happens to be the mayor's son's biological mom. Got that? Pretty cool show--some good twists.

Alcatraz is a show created by J.J. Abrams, who created LOST. The premise is that when Alcatraz State Penitentiary shut down in 1963, all the prisoners weren't transferred, they vanished into thin air. Naturally the government covered it up (I mean, really--when do they NOT cover up anything even remotely out of the ordinary? At least according to TV) until some of the prisoners start randomly showing up--still the same age they were when they disappeared--on the streets of San Francisco. A plucky young female cop gets pulled into the fray by the sorta-creepy black-suited government guy who seems to know more than he's telling, and they drag in an author who's an expert on Alcatraz history (Yay Hurley!....I mean Hugo....I mean Jorge Garcia) as comedy relief, and the (weekly) chase is on! (Thankfully the prisoners are thoughtful enough to only show up one per week--keeps the episodes even). The scenes go back and forth between the 1960s in Alcatraz and present day, which is fun for the history buff in me. And there are plenty of mysteries (ala LOST) to keep you intrigued. Good times.

Life:

I've been married (and no one is more surprised by that than me) almost a year now to a wonderful lady who loves me and plays video games with me, watches Star Trek and Boy Meets World with me, heck she even finds it attractive when I do something smart/geeky! I keep asking her if she's pretending to like this stuff to be nice, and she insists that she isn't. I finally have some good luck in love--and it's great. I'm really happy. I also get a son out of the deal--who likes me, likes video games, and wants to spend time with his parents. For once in my life, I feel like a pretty lucky guy.

Video Games:

Terraria is the game that keeps on giving! Myself, my wife and son all played it to death together about six months ago, and had a lot of fun. Got tired of it when there was nothing new left to do though, so we gave it up. Now low and behold, it's back with a bunch of new (free!) content and we're at it again! Very fun, simple to learn, but challenging and always giving you new stuff to do/try/fight/etc. Great game.

Skyrim is awesome in it's own right--complex, beautiful graphics, good storyline and voice acting, 101 quests to do without even advancing the storyline one iota. Only downside--1 player only. Too bad. Now if I could just get my son to stop telling me about parts before I get to them... Violence level can be a little high. Not a game for little kids, but lots of fun.

Both games are more than worth the price tag, especially Terraria. Awesome bang for your buck.

Job front:

Finally decided to jump in and become a substitute teacher. Even got hired on by my son's school district! Well, almost--they haven't finalized it yet, but I'm supposed to hear from them soon. Then I might finally get into a job I actually LIKE!

Church:

I'm co-teaching Sunbeams (3-4 year olds) with my sweet wife. It's cool, just trying to get used to working with that age group. They're cute kids. Also am a home teacher, trying to keep up with that.

Still spending a fair amount of time with genealogy, which has become a passion. I love doing detective work and finding a new family (or even a new individual) to add to my tree. So addictive! Maybe someday I could become a professional genealogist as a side job :)

Think that's enough of a novel for now. Life is good. Hope everyone out there is enjoying theirs too. Keep smiling.