After a day and a half of really bad back pain, caused from taking down the porch garland and lights, plus cleaning out the backyard shed so I could put all the winter stuff away, I was sitting on the couch relaxing. I had put 2 gel fuel cans in the fireplace, lit them and was watching TV when thehusband walked in and asked if I had seen the news. He said they talked about the jobs lost that were never coming back and the 55 and over workers will have the hardest time finding new work. I said Hmmmmm, they said the same thing when Bush was president, and so I continued watching HGTV.
As I watched a woman named Sarah turn a 60's style home into a gorgeous makeover suitable for Martha Stewart, I started to think, what would my life be like if I didn't watch politics, blog about politics, worry about things like Healthcare reform and Senate races. What if those things were not a part of who I am. I liked watching this HGTV show as Sarah transformed a livingroom with a budget of $12,000, and ended up spending $16,000. I like to think there are people in this country who have jobs and money to do that kind of decorating. I wish I could do that kind of decorating!
Am I just bored talking about the same old stories? Healthcare, Senators who don't give a shit about us, jobs, NO jobs, Hate groups, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Barack Obama, earthquakes, global warming. It's all so depressing. Thehusband bought me a dictionary a few weeks ago, I was even thinking about getting a new computer. But I'm not so sure.
I haven't really watched American Idol this season. I was addicted to that show, last year anyway. I think I want to start watching it again. I think I want to decorate my house for Spring. I want to put up a white picket fence so Amelia can safely play in the yard this summer without me having to chase her round and round the house. I'm too friggin old for that! .....Spring is right around the corner and that means fleamarkets will be opening. I love fleamarketing and antiquing. My house needs a paintjob but if thats impossible then at least my porchfloor and front steps can get a coat or two of new paint, right?
Anyway......
Do you think all this blogging about bad stuff, all the TV watching about fighting between the left and right wingers, is all to get us depressed? Maybe things can be like that HGTV show. Maybe it's not 24/7 bad news about presidents and wars, earthquakes and mudslides. I think those who don't watch news, don't follow politics, don't even know what a rethug is, I think they are the happy ones, don't you??
I guess, well maybe I'll be back tomorrow after the Sunday morning talk shows. Lizard will most likely be on Fox, how can I NOT talk about her? ;-)
Have a good night...
8 minutes ago
23 comments:
Unplug from TV. Start reading newspaper articles.
In summary, you need more newspaper articles and more cowbell.
Sue: Yeah, your life would probably be simpler if you painted, watched HGTV and American Idol and lived within your little neighborhood not knowing what was happening outside--in the big bad world. But unlike those "people" you, me, and many others, aren't cut out for that type of life. We need to be involved because we CARE and it makes us feel good to be doing something, even if it's blogging.
It's stressful sometimes, to be sure. But personally, I'd much rather be informed than one of those “people” who walks around with my head in the clouds not knowing the difference between an electorate and an election.
Glad you got some "cleaning" done, sorry about the back pain!
Sorry to hear about your back. Take care of that.
"I think those who don't watch news, don't follow politics, don't even know what a rethug is, I think they are the happy ones, don't you??"
No I don't.
They're just comfortable with their provincialism, and find other things in which to find their quotient of human conflict.
Ignorance is not bliss, it's just a waiting room with nothing to read.
Sometimes I find myself thinking... More than half of what I read about on political blogs, and some of what I debate with Right wing nuts, has no bearing on my life whatsoever. Doesn't affect my social services, freedoms, personal security, employment, lifestyle... anything. I'm in another country with its own politics, and far away. Why do I spend so much time on all this?
Because I'm not a provincialist. It's not enough for me to live in my own back yard and not know what's on the other side of the fence.
You have the curiousity and "the will to know". It's a gift and you can revel in it.
Nothing's worse than dying bored.
I don't think we can afford not to pay attention. I wish more people would pay attention. I wish less people were confused (duped) by false facts. One of the reasons we need to stay vigilant.
I usually blog while I'm watching Antique Roadshow, or whatever.
Burnout from all this political stuff is inevitable. No matter how objectively important something is, if you concentrate on it all the time you will eventually get bored with it.
(Pain strongly affects one's mood, too. Any feelings of frustration or impatience you have will be amplified by it, and it's wise to avoid making decisions while under its influence.)
Try blogging about other things, or blogging less and doing other stuff more. When you come back to the net, everyone will still be here watching out for you, trust me:-)
On my own blog I've made a determined effort, not to eliminate politics as a topic, but to broaden the focus so that politics is just one topic among several.
Staying informed about politics and trying to make a difference are important. They just aren't the only things that are important.
mornin' guys. My back feels better, I'm watching the healthcare talk on C-Span and its been informative. Ron Pollack from Families USA says a family who pays 13,000 a year for insurance could be dropped to 2,000 with the subsidies after this bill is signed. That is huge. He is saying things that I have not heard from Obama or any one else for that matter. Great information, I can't wait for this bill because the people will be pleased and dems will be rewarded. If you missed this C-Span show maybe you can catch it later today.
No, I'm not going to quit blogging about politics, it does consume me but thats just who I am. C, I like TV, I would be lost without it, and I do read the papers every morning too.
Pam you say we need to be informed, I agree. I'm gonna strive for some balance in my life though. BTW, congrats on your new adventure with RN!
Magpie, what do people in Australia think about us and our inability to get things done in Congress? I hope we don't look like a bunch of morons, but I'm afraid you are going to say yes we do! I think your peek at us through blogging must keep you highly amused, LOLOL!
Tom it's true we need to sift through the rhetoric and get to the facts. Sometimes it feels like a fulltime job, but we do need to stay on top of things and get the truth out. Just like this C-Span show, the 2 different views on what this reform will do for Americans is amazing. I wish both sides could come together and get something done.
Infidel you are so right, I do tend to go overboard and let myself be all consumed by politics. Thats why I need to take a break and watch American Idol, LOL! It can't be all politics all the time.
I think what I need is time management. I do spend way to much time on the computer, it is addicting. So, while I'm not giving up blogging, and never giving up my love of politics, I want to do other things. I feel like I stopped living and doing things I love away from the computer. Make sense??
Hello Sue - I have to agree with you about blogging about politics. I have been in the sphere for a year and at first it was just a bit of fun and mostly what I posted was garbage (some people think it still is), but last summer, started doing more political stuff, inspired by the blogs I visited and a week long visit to Washington D.C. I got a sniff of the power there and the hotel we stayed in was full of lobbyists. 8 months and a couple of hundred posts later, I am 15 lbs heavier and a lot angrier. Politics can do more to a person than gnaw at your soul. Spring seems to be here in south Georgia at last, so the weight gain and the attitude will have to change.
I try and post about different things, but it keeps pulling me back in, mainly because the blogs I read are so interesting and informative and being a social beast I join in. Writing about politics is hard, something happens or a politician says something stupid and we say to each other "did you hear this?" and usually the answer is "yes, we heard."
But, it is hard to be oblivious about what's going on in the country, and if I stop blogging or at least stop blogging about politics, it would be difficult to not watch news or read about the happenings in politics. Like you I suppose it's who I am.
Blogging can be addictive, and until very recently, I was on the computer 24/7 - but I've really always been a computer nut due to my innate desire to do research.
But sometimes I ask myself why? You spend a lot of time looking for something that interests you, more time researching it - I'm not blessed with the knowledge to just roll things off the top of my head - and then more time writing (I'm slow). All for four or five comments. Ironically, the posts I think are most interesting and that take the most time, attract the fewest readers!
Like Sue, I'm tired of writing about the same ole, same ole - except for Palin. It's always fun to pick on the town idiot.
But I've been trying to adopt Infidel's approach and broaden my focus while still including politics. And whereas I used to post two or three times a day, I'm going with one or two every few days. Of course there are exceptions.
I've just gone through a real dry spell, and as Infidel says, it's best to find something else. Since I don't watch TV that leaves house cleaning. Barfy!
Anyway, Sue - my blogging sister - while I totally understand your momentary lapse in blogging excitement, you need us as much as we need you.
To answer your question:
You put 12 men on the moon .... so you can't all be morons.
There is deep admiration and affection for America.
The common view is that your politics are more inclined to incendiary rhetoric, and that special interests are unduly powerful. There's also a sense of extremity... the ideological distance between our two main political groups is not as great as between the Democrats and the Republicans.
You're who you are, and we're a little bit different, is all it comes down to.
Holt, my chance finally to welcome you! Thanks for adding to my followers and I promise as soon as I get done cleaning the bathroom I will be by to see you at your blog! See, folks, I start to clean the bathroom and the computer calls me back! LOL. I tell myself I'll just sit here for a minute and it turns into an hour.
Leslie I have been neglecting my housewife duties and in ALL the rooms if you get my drift!
Magpie that is comforting to know the world doesn't think we are morons, at least not ALL of us! Some here would say the right and left are one in the same, but yes the ideological distance can be described as wide as the Grand Canyon! I'm honored to have you here Magpie, and of course all my USA blogging family too!
Now can I finish cleaning the bathroom?
Sue, one thing I'm forcing myself to do is to turn the damn thing off (total withdrawal) or run the defragmenter or my virus scans. That way it's out of my hands and I'm doing something that needs to be done.
Sue- first I'll say "whatever floats your boat"....if politics are your passion, then by all means blog away.
Since you're a frequent visitor to my blog, and must have noted in its description, I'll talk about politics (about 70% of the time) but I'll go into other things like film and TV reviews, books, history, personal stuff, comedy, and general information. I'm not wired to write about politics everyday- for one, its been so mean spirited and depressing for the past 20 years or so that I have to get away from it before I start looking for sharp objects, ropes, or gas ovens.
And the other reason for my "branching out" is that about 70% of my readership is for the 30% of my writing that ISN'T about politics. The two most read and searched subjects I've ever written were about the final episode of MONK, and a profile of Stephanie Courtney, aka "Flo, The Progressive Insurance Lady".
BTW....I can feel for you with the bad back. Yesterday I finally took care of the two trees that the blizzard took out last month, dispatching them with my trusty chainsaw...and every muscle in my aging body is killing me this AM!
Leslie I never knew what defrag ment til CDM taught me! My computer was giving me fits, shutting down, so C said I needed to clean my hard drive(?) and defrag. Now it's time to do it again.
Hugh hope your back feels better, mine is a little bit but now I cleaned the bathroom and the pain is coming back! Oh well, what can ya do....
Sue: I defrag and check for viruses (AVG and SmartScan - free versions) at least once, and sometimes twice, a week. At least with the defrag, this keeps it from taking so long.
Oh hell Sue. There isn't a week goes by when we don't wonder what we're going to blog about next. Come May I'll slow down a lot simply because golf, fishing and tennis if my knee doesn't kill me will take up my daylight hours.
Of course you could go for a bikeride and blog about that and get 7,000 followers like the nice lady from Seaatle.
Or keep doing what you're doing. Sure we only get 70 to 130 people that actually read our stuff but hell. Among those is a doazen or so righties that get pissed off by it. And that is always a good thing. You're doing God's work and helping America Sue.
Truth could you share with us this blogger from Seattle, I'd like to add my name to her followers! :-)
Sue, do what I did: take a break. It helped me immensely. Taking time off will help you focus on what really matters to you. At least it did for me, and now I'm back with a vengeance. Sure, I'll have ups and downs along the way, but taking time off allowed me to prioritize and discover for myself that politics matters, and fighting for what's right matters even more, and often those two things are intertwined. If there's anything I can do to help let me know and I'll do what I can; you do good work here and I'd hate to see you stop.
Makes perfect sense.
It's Spring! Go out and enjoy it!
Zirgar you're a sweetie. I'm not going anywhere but I sure appreciate the friendship!
Tom it is Spring, gonna be in the high 50's this week. I'll be out at the fleamarket on Tuesday!
Thanks guys, xo
Let me tell you about people who don't follow politics. Yesterday while out to lunch with 2 girlfriends one of them commented about the how can Peter King who is on the Homeland Security committee call a flight attendant a bitch for asking him to shut his cell phone. He should know the rules.
So I replied That wasn't Peter King the republican that was Chuck Schumer the democrat.
And the other friend at another time said I don't care about health care because I have my medical from my job. Being she's not Union I told her that her benefits would be taxed alot under the plan.
Now she's paying more attention.
Occasionally, Frodo goes incommunicado. He does so when he realizes that he is working on the wrong percentages. For it is that, for whatever reason, he was constructed with two ears and but one mouth. When finding himself talking and not listening, he decides to sit on a porch somewhere, drink an ROC Coca-Cola and eat a Moon Pie (in truth, he also used to smoke a Kool). Most of the sojourners never recognize him as the Hobbit.
Frodo invites y'all to sit a spell.
You mean you're just puttin' your Christmas decorations away? If that's the speed at which you work, be advised that Frodo's birthday is in October (shopping days limited).
Sometimes you have to take a breather from blogging sis and just eat a Snickers bar and say "Fuck it!"
I took my break and now I'm having fun writing about anything I damn well please. Life doesn't have to be full speed politics all the time sis.
And stop watching all that damn redecorating crap. That stuff will turn your brains to mush. Turn the idiot box to NASCAR, put your feet up and have a few beers. Wait, here comes the good part... their taking a left turn!!!!!!! I love that part!
Last thing... DO NOT FORGET TO LAUGH or I will come over there and hit you upside the head with my Martha Stewart custom decorated, drape matching, fly swatting, head whacking stick.
hugs and love,
Mat
Frodo I do take breaks and sit a spell, I have no choice in the matter. :-)
My parents smoked Kools when I was a kid...
My Christmas decorations were down, it was my WINTER decorations I was taking down. Up here in the North country we have snow on the ground til March, so stays the snowmen! lol
Mat, the problem was I wasn't watching enough of the decorating shows I love. It was all politics all the time! I needed some change so I had it, for just a few nights. Now its back to politics. Give me 2 more years and Amelia will be in school and I'll be glued to the computer chair! Just think Obama will still be president! lol
Thanks Mat and Frodo, my 2 favorite visitors!
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