SwampLog 3.0

Gotta Stand For Somethin'

Living in Texas sucks on two occasions for me: between the second week of July through the end of August, and around election time.

I've given the whole "Why I'm Not Voting For Bush" speech more in the last few weeks than I thought would be necessary. People know I'm a screaming liberal, and have not agreed with much this administration has done in the 3.5 years they've had control. My friends are equally divided between Bush detractors and supporters. I've had several doubts about John Kerry's electability, but honestly, I'm not sure if this election is anything more than a referendum on Bush's War On Terror©.

I've admitted quite a bit in the last couple of weeks that ideology is just that -- an 'ology' that puts you on one side of the fence or the other. Politicians are, generally, acting in their won self-interest, or the interests of the people who fund their campaigns. They way you vote helps you to sleep better at night. And if I voted for Bush, knowing what his administration has done to this country in the last three years, I wouldn't be able to sleep.

Jimmy Carter's speech at the Democratic National Convention last night should be a wake-up call to those sitting on the fence. It's a wonderfully eloquent and vibrantly scathing look at why George W. Bush has taken America backwards in the last 33 months, when it had every opportunity to move forward.

I'd be curious to see where voter registration sits today, as opposed to the leadup to the 2000 election. Are young and minority voters feeling less disenfranchised, or more? And how much impact will this have in November?

The Bourne Nausea

I'm guessing that once they cut Matt Damon's paycheck for 'The Bourne Supremacy,' director Paul Greengrass was left without a budget -- because the whole thing is shot without a damned SteadyCam. The fight sequences are unintelligible. The car chases are impenetrable. Greengrass decided to use the whole "wobbly camera" technique that Spielberg used for "Saving Private Ryan" to a whole new level, and it ruins the damned film. If you can get past it -- and it'll be TOUGH -- it's a good flick.

Cayenne Monster, Steak, Queso, Garlic, Jalapenos, Cheese, and Habanero Sauce

I'm being driven to distraction. Or, my distraction gets me driving.

There's a place that opened up in North Texas this year called Freebirds. The chain started in College Station, and now has ten or so locations around Texas. One is south of Fort Worth, about 20 minutes from the Swamp (or 30 minutes away, if Marty's driving).

They sell burritos. Amazingly addictive burritos.

While Chipotle is still good, they don't offer nearly the customization you can get at Freebirds. Different sizes and types of tortillas, fresher ingredients, a wider variety of stuff you can put in the burrito. They don't look at you funny if you don't want rice or beans in your burrito. In the era of the wholly customizable eating experience, Freebirds takes the cake.

It's not everyone's cup of tea. For example, Jamey Newberg says he still likes Chipotle better. Which is fine. It leaves more Cayenne Monsters for me.

In fact, today the craving for Freebirds was so great that I had to pack up the laptop, drive down to the Hulen area, and hole up in a Starbucks until it's time for lunch. I am such a slave to my cravings.

Quite a few of you have decried the lack of blog entries. Understandable. However, I am writing daily over at DBH, doing the Now Batting piece on the site's front page. If you can stomach reading about baseball and all that that implies daily, you should subscribe to the Now Batting newsletter.

Hail To The Thief, Second Verse?

Newsweek published a story on Monday claiming that Bush counter-terrorism experts are trying to put a plan into place that would delay the 2004 presidential election in case of a terrorist attack.

The Homeland Security flacks are confirming the story, and it makes me incredibly crazy. If there were any delay of the November elections, two things would happen:

1) The nation's entire election process would be thrown into chaos, since elections in states are all tied to the same November date. Rescheduling these elections would be a costly, time-consuming endeavor, and screwing his date up would be catastrophic to local and state governments.

2) Bush would steal the election. Again. His team knows that the prospects of re-election dim each time someone else comes out against the Iraqi coup -- former administration officals, 9/11 commission members, armed forces veterans -- and there needs to be an ace in the hole.

Yeah, go ahead. Start calling me an Oliver Stone starter kit. Then look at the chain of events in Bush's presidency, and tell me it's out of the realm of possibility.

Oh, this is nice -- a "close associate" of Osama bin Laden just surrendered in Saudi Arabia. This sets the stage for the "release and catch" of bin Laden I predicted last year. American forces "catch" bin Laden right around the middle of October, and rides the wave of goodwill right into November.

Thirty-Five Years In...

It's pissing people off that I've made it through the last 72 hours with very little trace of a hangover. This is after Friday's debacle, where Marty has said it's the most drunk he's seen me in 15 years. After Saturday, where... well, see for yourself. After Sunday, where a minor league ball club is buying me booze all night.

It's been confirmed, yet again: I have the best friends on the face of the planet.

As an aside: they were celebrating my birthday as far north as Washington State (thanks, Patsyann).