Ubu: September 1989-March 5, 2010

My wife had her cat put to sleep Thursday. The creature was peeing everywhere. We had it holed up in a small room in the basement with food, water and the litter box (it wasn't dorm room small, so she didn't shit where she ate.) After six months of watching her limp from arthritic hips, a month of solitary confinement and a week of anti-biotics for a let's-see-if-it's-a urinary tract infection, my wife decided it was time.

I was ready to get rid of Ubu about 10 years ago when I first met her. She didn't cover her poop and she tipped over glasses, especially full wine glasses. She constantly picked fights with my cat. She constantly tried to sleep on my infant daughter's chest. She was a total pain in the ass. About one month ago she ran away and I hoped she met a quick food-chain death at the hands of a neighborhood fox. I looked in a few shelters for my wife's sake, and was surprised by my happy reaction when I saw a cat that at first glance looked like Ubu. I got a call after four days from a neighbor who found her cold and hungry. I was bummed when I walked down the street to retrieve her.

Just as I was stunned by my joy at thinking I found her in a shelter, I was stunned by how sad I was when I cleaned out her litter box and mopped up the hairball stains on Friday. I'm still sad. And I think I'll be sad for a while. I say this because I still miss my cat, Tosh. I put her down January 5, 2008. The fifth of the month must be a good day for a cat to die in my household.

I'm reminded of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" where Pirsig explores the change in life's pattern after the death of his son. I assume it will take some time to get used to this new pattern.

Good bye, Ubu. My daughter and wife really loved you. And I miss you.

Ubu

Tomorrow might be the last day for my wife's cat, Ubu. She's 20 and has had a bad case of arthritis for about nine months and has been peeing on something about once a week for about the same time. I never cared for the cat much, but my wife and daughter do, so I'll miss her because of them. I'll know tomorrow if my wife goes through with it.

Stewart on O'Reilly

I was only able to watch a little of Bill O'Reilly's interview, if it can be called that, of Jon Stewart. I question the term "interview" as appropriate because O'Reilly is not a journalist. He's an opinionist. He's the guy who wants to be heard over having a conversation. O'Reilly isn't looking for answers or understanding, he wants ratings. And I can dig that. But O'Reilly should just say it. He called out Glenn Beck as a non-journalist, why does he think he's a notch above Beck? Oh, I know. Because Beck is younger and crazier and just as Dr. Laura said Stewart distanced himself from President Obama, O'Reilly distanced himself from Beck and the money-making fear machine that he is.

I'd love to see the president do a back and forth with the Republicans every month. Throw in the Democrats, too. Now that the country has a president who knows what his role is - as described by the Constitution - it's becoming painfully obvious that most of them don't know it's Congress's jobs to write the law. That's why those mofos are running around like the Keystone Cops. Actually, it's just the Dems running around. The Republicans and that asshole Lieberman just shout "No!" So while the Fox heads- and even CNN's - talk about Mr. Obama's tone or his tie, Stewart, unfortunately, will be probably be the one actually discussing whether his comments were accurate. I think it's unfortunate because Stewart is on COMEDY Central and O'Reilly, Beck, Hannity or on Fox NEWS.

Health Care Is Not A Right

And neither is clean water, or clean air, or free education or paved roads. Health care is not a right. It's a responsibility.

A majority of 41

WTF? If Congress can't pass healthcare, actually, if Reid and Pelosi can't pass health care with solid majorities in both chambers then I'm switching to Independent. I'm shocked that the liberals in Massachusetts are so lazy to not go out and vote in throngs, but their torpidity notwithstanding, the Dems in both chambers should be more motivated than ever to do what needs to be done. Were there 59 Republicans when we invaded Iraq? Did we have 59 Republicans when the Patriot Act passed? Were there 59 Republicans when all those tax breaks for the wealthy were dished out like government cheese?

Why the hell are Dems scrambling when they have 19 more...oh, Lieberman and the asshole from Nebraska. That's right.

Dog Pile

Here in Colorado, Governor Ritter said that he won't seek a second term. I could smell the yag from every hardcore Republican in the state. They put all their eggs in one basket, even forcing out that young whippersnapper from the Western Slope, to have McGinnis beat up on Ritter. Too bad, suckas! Ritter's raising a long middle finger and saying "I got nothin' to lose, bitches!" And all the state leggies that are term limited are saying "We got nothin' to lose, bitches!" Just like the line in that new Mel Gibson movie. Hopefully they'll find some moxy and actually pass some legislation that will do long term good. Maybe rolling back tax breaks and toughening up that environmental legislation so the Western Slope...hey, wait a minute...anyway, so the Western Slope doesn't turn into a toxic wasteland like northern New Jersey. I've smelled the air over there. Natural gas is (fairly) clean to burn (with a furnace) but it makes one hell of a mess to pull out of the ground. I've seen cleaner extraction processes on Bang Bros.

Now the field is so wide open the hardcores have no idea what to do. McGinnis looked good against a governor who got swept up with the rest of the country into an economic nightmare, but some of these potential candidates are sweeeeeeeet! Hick has a goofy-clean reputation; Romanoff has a great smile and people loved him, loved him, loved him in the state house of reps, Carroll is young and has so much energy he makes Ritter seem asleep; and Salazar is homey because he wears a cowboy hat. His family's been around for 400 years. That's lineage. Dems have more choices as I have unfinished house projects. It'll be interesting to see how long they go at it and how quickly McGinnis is forgotten and starts doing crazy shit to get noticed. Just like McCain had....wait a minute. McGinnis, McCain? I'm sensing a pattern.

Forgot to Mention

The last babyboomer is now 45 years old.