On why I would be a great superhero, or a really bad one, depending on your perspective.

I've been watching Smallville a lot lately. It's one of those shows that I always wanted to get into, and thought I would probably like, but never got around to. So now, I'm playing catch-up with the DVDs. I like the show a lot, but all the back and forth, will they/won't they between Clark and Lana gets a little maddening. It got me thinking about what I would do if I had super powers.

First off, I'd tell everyone. Well, not everyone, but several people. The whole idea of a secret identity keeping your family safe is kind of bullshit if you think about it. As long as you keep your inner circle small, you'll be alright. Just don't get caught by strangers doing super shit. But if there was a girl I really liked, I'd probably tell her the first time it became a problem. "Oh yeah, I know it was weird when I inexplicably ran out on our date the other night, but the reason is that I'm actually an alien and I have super powers as a result of your planet having a yellow sun and my home planet having a red one, and some people needed some super help. You understand right?" Or, "Oh yeah, I know I was a total dick to you the other day, but what had happened was that I'm actually an alien from another planet and as a result of the radiation from your yellow sun on my cells for all these years, different colored pieces of my home world, called 'Kryptonite,' affect me differently, and someone slipped me some of the 'red' and I just lost my shit." And maybe at some point, you could do the reasonable thing and say, "Hey friends of mine, who I've saved on countless occasions and all owe me a life debt or two, could you all please make a point to find and destroy as much Kryptonite as you can, as there seems to be a disproportionately large amount of it lying around? Thanks, it seriously harshes my mellow."

Here in the real world, to really be a good guy, you'd have to be willing to get your hands dirty. How easy would it be for Superman to fix a lot of the worlds big problems? First, I'd make a bunch of big, brightly colored, hand lettered signs that all said something along the lines of "Be nice or Superman will mess your shit up!!! :-)" and place them all around. And then I would proceed to kill all terrorists and warlords. Totalitarian? Kind of. Fascist? Maybe a little. Everyone thanking me later? You bet your sweet ass. The question you have to ask yourself is this: "Is it really noble of Batman to spare the Joker's life, knowing full well that the prison won't hold him forever, and it's only a matter of time before countless innocents will pay the price for Bats' nobility?" The answer is "no." The truly moral thing to do is to kill the Joker at the first opportunity.

One of the reasons I've wanted to get into Smallville is that one of my favorite heroes is now on the show.

Green Arrow is a badass, but when you think about it, only in a comic book could someone get away with being Green Arrow. Now, if some kid in New York got bit by a radioactive spider, developed spider powers, and started using those powers to fight crime, then we'd all think "Ok that person is crazy, albeit good intentioned." Because dressing up as a spider and swinging around on webs and beating up baddies with your bare hands is quirky and endearing.

Green Arrow's M.O. is to shoot people with a bow and arrow. Usually not even "trick" arrows. Just regular ol', "assault with a deadly weapon," arrows. Now, Batman may break several of the bones in your body and hospitalize you indefinitely, but he won't stab you! He won't shoot you in the arm! He won't run you through with anything!

...Green Arrow will, though. I don't know, just seems....well, it seems like Assault With A Deadly Weapon.

Looking forward to seeing him in Smallville, but I'm only on season 3. I can't see him and Clark getting along, somehow.

The Life I Love

Today is the day!

If you didn't know, my wife is an amazing wedding photographer, and she and her partner are launching their website/business today. I'm so fucking proud of her. She is so talented and works so hard and deserves huge success, which I'm sure she is destined for.

Click on the banner and go hire her for all of your photography needs.


Leah's sister, Elana, and her boyfriend, Ian, have been visiting this week from London and we've been having a great time. We went to the hockey game on Tuesday, barbecued on Wednesday, ate at Trudy's downtown and went bowling/karaoke-ing on Thursday, went down to the South Congress bridge and saw the bats, ate at the Green Mesquite, and saw Red(2.5 out of 5 stars) at the Alamo Drafthouse on Friday, took Harper to a lame ass fall festival, and then hung out at the Quiet Company/Bob Schneider Halloween show at Antone's on Saturday (which was awesome and we were all zombies), and went trick or treating with the Davis family and then ate wings and watched The Walking Dead on Sunday. It was a great time and we're sad to see them go today.


I've never celebrated Halloween. I wasn't allowed to when I was a kid, for religious reasons, and then when I was old enough to do whatever I wanted, I just didn't give a shit anymore. Most people are shocked when I tell them that this weekend was the first time I've ever dressed up for the holiday; I still don't think it's that big of a deal. That being said, I did have a great time being a zombie at the show on Saturday. I do feel like I'll care more about it the more Harper enjoys it. I'm definitely looking forward to many years of trick or treating with her. She was a shark this year...


...But she has the makings of a Jedi.


I caught the end of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive on Comedy Central. I'm sure I'll watch the rest of it eventually but I just wanted to comment on Jon's closing statements. They made me feel hopeful for humanity in America. Also adding to my hope was the fact that Glenn Beck's rally had 80,000 attendees to Jon Stewart's 280,000. Eat it, pig face.

Patriotism is something I've never excelled at. School spirit is the same thing. I just can't get all riled up with support for a team that has been assigned to me based solely on where I just happened to live. However, I find myself supporting the Texas Stars, which is the minor league hockey team in Cedar Park. I've been to 2 games so far this season and am planning on being at their game against Toronto this Saturday. Maybe the difference is that I chose to live here. I wasn't born here, I didn't move here with my parents, nor was I displaced here by some natural disaster. More importantly, I love it here. I love the people, I love the place, I love the community. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (in Texas).

Jesus made me do it!

The National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional as it represents a governmental endorsement of religion. Past that, it's also something that Yeshua found distasteful. Personally, I've always hated public prayer. Hated it when I was a Christian, probably more than I do now, because of this verse:

"And whenever you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they will be seen by people. I tell you with certainty, they have their full reward! But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees from the hidden place will reward you." Matthew 6:5-6

So a judge, who actually read the constitution, decided that the National Day Of Prayer was unconstitutional, and now all of Texas' political leaders' panties are in a twist. "They can't take prayer away from us!!!BLAHBLAHBLAH!!!" I wonder if it will ever dawn on them that no one is trying to take anything away from them, but it's just not the government's place to endorse it. I also wonder if it will ever dawn on them that two hands engaged in labor are more useful that a million clasped in prayer. But whatever, pray your little heart out, Rick Perry. Whatever gets those votes, which is what this is all about anyway. If you ask any of them if they think there's any advantage in praying in public vs. privately, I'm sure they would all say that they believe god hears their private prayers just as well. So why do they insist on being "hypocrites?" Yeshua's words, not mine...well, both of ours I guess.

I'm not terribly concerned either way, just seems like a waste for our political leaders to be spending their time and energy on something like this, instead of the thousands of people unemployed, or underemployed, or starving, or uninsured, etc. in our country/state/county/city/neighborhood.

I was thinking about blogging about how much I hate the concept of tipping today, but maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I'm so full of RAGE!!!

Also, the final Quiet Company mini-doc is up at Quiet Company Music Dot Com.

It's already Friday.

I generally don't think that I am a person with a lot of pet peeves, but today, I discovered one capable of bringing about an immediate and fiery response. While in a political discussion (which I generally try to avoid, being the only Socialist in the office), one of my coworkers said "Ah, you're never going to change."

Seems simple enough, right? He said this because I made a statement about how I would never vote Republican (again). I've had a two friends say this about me before as well, and it always gets under my skin. While I would normally think that maybe this is a good indication to look at one's self and wonder if, perhaps, they're right about you, I'm just calling bullshit.

First off, what they really mean is "You should agree with me, and I'm unable to convince you to." Your inability to make a concrete case for your position actually says nothing about my inability to change mine. I think it's an even more ridiculous thing to say about me when I think about how much changing I've done over the years and how many people I know that I've never known to change their position on anything.
2000- I was a fundamentalist Christian. I thought it was wrong to intermarry races. I thought homosexuality was a choice and a sin. I thought George W. Bush would be a great president. I thought evolution was a lie. I was convinced that Michael Jackson was a pedophile. Militantly pro-life.
2003- I became a liberal Christian. Realized how ridiculous racism is. Began to understand homosexuality. Thought George Bush mishandled war. Realized there is probably no scientific conspiracy regarding origins of life. Remained convinced of Michael Jackson's guilt. Still pro-life, but not militant.
2009- Realized I could not find a good reason to consider myself Christian at all. Joined Socialist Party. Proponent of equal marriage rights. Evolutionist. Think's Michael Jackson was probably innocent. Not a fan of abortion, but pro-choice.

Those all seem like pretty big changes to me. So when I say I'm never voting Republican again, it's because I have before. If I don't switch to your side, it doesn't mean I'm stubborn, it just means I don't agree with you. I'm very capable of change and before you accuse me of being hard headed, perhaps you should wonder if your case is as solid as you think it is.

Anyway, that's annoying.

Side note: I think it's weird that more Christians aren't Socialists.

One surefire way to lose a little faith in humanity is to read or watch or smell Ann Coulter.

This image is in honor of my friends, Bleach, getting back together.

So health care reform has been passed. No matter how you feel about it, let's all hope for the best, shall we? My favorite thing about it, so far, is when Joe Biden leans over and says to the president "This is a big fucking deal." This is the kind of thing that makes me really like Joe Biden. I supported him in the primaries, and its partly because he's the kind of guy who says "This is a big fucking deal" when the thing in question is, obviously, a big fucking deal.

My least favorite thing about health care reform passing, so far, is that Rush Limbaugh promised that, if it passed, he would move to Costa Rica, and now it's passed and his fat ass hasn't gone anywhere. Oh well, I'm sure that if there is a hell, then there's probably a special realm of it reserved for the kind of hypocritical, right wing, assholes who have the gall to mock Michael J. Fox. He gave us Back To The Future and Teen Wolf. What has Rush done to make the world a better place? I assure you, he hasn't done anything even as good as Family Ties.

I'm peeing like CRAZY!

So the Texas Board of Education is revising (conservatizing) the standards for curriculum for History classes. They've decided to eliminate Thomas Jefferson. I'm sure he'll be mentioned, but it looks like it will be in passing. Go figure.

They also voted to exclude "examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others," from the standards. I think it's important to note that there are 5 Democrats and 10 Republicans on the board and everything conservative was passed with voting being straight down party lines.

Damn you, Board of Education, now I actually have to teach my daughter things at home.

Don't worry though, they're making a conscious effort to beef up the emphasis on the Right to Bare Arms. Because it's really...awesome...?

I'm drinking a ton of water this week in an attempt to be ultra hydrated in the hope that that will help my voice survive 1 practice, 4 shows, and a few hours of promoting and talking to people on the streets this week. The immediate result is that I'm peeing like crazy.

Whenever the old man at work creeps up behind me and starts talking, I die a little bit inside. I start wishing the phone to ring so I can get out of the conversation. He's not an asshole, he's just annoying. I wish he was an asshole so I could justifiably tell him to leave me the hell alone. Sometimes, I really hate being nice to people. Is there a nice way to say "I hate it when you talk to me?"

So it goes.

Pandora doesn't go as easily back into the box.

As promised, here is a picture of Darcy, our newest family member.

Harper was really apprehensive about Darcy at first, but as you can see, she's all about her now.


So yesterday in Texas, we had the primary elections for governor. I didn't care about it so I didn't bother to vote. What I didn't realize is that there were 4 or 5 propositions on the ballot, as well. One in particular caught my eye as the results came across a ticker on my TV last night. The result was not surprising at all (95% For / 5% Against), but the fact that such a proposition existed was. Here it is:

Ballot Proposition #4: Public Acknowledgement of God-The use of the word “God”, prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property. YES OR NO

What the constitution says is that governement can "make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

I suppose someone could argue that the constitution refers to the Federal government, whereas this proposition pertains to state government. Maybe there's a difference. Anyway, it's just a non binding proposition, but I think our founding fathers were wise enough to know that government should stay neutral if it knows what's good for it. So what god should we honor in our public educational institutions? Where do we draw the line? With our Islamic population growing the way it is, it's not unrealistic to think that at some point in the not-too-distant future, they could have the majority and demand that Allah be represented in our schools and on our government buildings. Likewise, I doubt that Baptist parents would care much for their children's public school honoring every Catholic superstition. No, this is a door that our founding fathers knew ought to stay shut. They were kind of brilliant that way.

How do people who are bankrupt own planes?

I'm sure most people know by now, but a fella named Joe Stack flew a plane into a building a couple hundred yards from my office this morning. And if that's not crazy enough, my office almost moved directly next door to that building just a couple of months ago. Really glad we didn't.

Don't worry, he's not a Muslim so it's not terrorism, according to the mayor.

So why did he do it? Because the American Dream is bullshit, essentially. Shit, Joe, you could've just moved. He had been financially ruined a few times and didn't feel represented by his government (this is where I say "I told you so.") Oh yeah, and also, he's batshit crazy.

It's hard to be proud of Texas sometimes...

The dog discussion goes on. I remain on the fence. Leah has convinced me that we can afford it and that our schedules are probably about as conducive to dog ownership as they are ever likely to get. So now the question is "do I really want to deal with it at this juncture in my life?" I don't know. A large part of me also feels like I don't want anything to divert my attention away from Harper when I'm home.

On the other hand, everyone's telling us how great it is to have a dog that Harper could grow up with, we have a great neighborhood with two parks and a few trails and a fenced in back yard, and if it's admirable to try and become the kind of adults we always wanted to be when we were children, then dog ownership is paramount. Also, I can see having a dog as a source of physical activity and exercise and that might just make exercise less excruciating.

I'll keep thinking.

Rehearsal last night was good, though I don't care for starting that late, and these new songs require more from my voice than our previous material. When you're on tour, your voice gets used to it, but when you're not, it just hurts after 2 hours of pushing it.

I took a half day today for a doctor's appointment and so that I could get a few things done that I've been unable to find time to do. Alas, I was thwarted yet again, by the ridiculously slow and often understaffed Jiffy Lube. I've never had a "Ten Minute Oil Change" take ten minutes, but I've rarely had it take an hour. Well, at least my driver's license is current and valid. My old one still has the address of my first apartment in Austin from 7 years and who knows how many addresses ago. Now, I'm a permanent resident, even the state of TX thinks so.

Speaking of TX, has anyone else read about how our genius lawmakers are filing suit against the EPA to fight regulation of green house gasses? "NO, YOU CAN'T MAKE US WORK TOWARDS A CLEANER, HEALTHIER WORLD! WE DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF 97% OF ALL CLIMATE SCIENTISTS SEE A CORRELATION BETWEEN THOSE GASSES AND CLIMATE CHANGE, WE'RE SIDING WITH THE 2-3% WHO WON'T MAKE US CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT OUR LIVES! PLUS IT SNOWED HERE SO OBVIOUSLY, AL GORE'S FULL OF SHIT!"

I've said before, and it's obvious here, people don't care what the truth is, they just don't want to have to change. "Whatever don't make me change sounds the truthiest to me! Guffaw! Guffaw!"

Also, I think Lent started or ended or something. I wonder if, for Lent, anyone gave up the idea that, if there is a god, he's so cosmically bored that he really needs to see if you can go 40 days without chocolate or Coca Cola?

I WANT RIBS!!!

So the Democrats lost the race in Massachusetts and that will probably be what kills the health care reform bill. I am a little disappointed because the last I heard (which was several months ago) things were going OK in Mass. It's probably naive to suggest that this doesn't send some kind of message about what a lot of Americans think about the health care reform bill.

Health care reform was one of the big issues that influenced my vote for president. I don't think anyone is saying that we don't need health care reform in this country, but I think this bill became pretty different from the kind of thing we wanted, pretty quickly. So I'm not terribly fussed about it. This felt rushed and like we were putting the cart before the horse too often. Plus, if there's not a public option, what's the point anyway? Also, if it's not single payer, what's the point anyway? They tried to make everyone happy, so of course, as a result, no one is happy.

I still think we need socialized health care like every other industrialized country in the world has. I realize that their systems are not perfect and that in some ways we'd be trading our current problems for theirs, but if your waiting around for anything in life to be perfect to function, you should probably kill yourself.

I digress.

I don't know how anyone stays in politics. Just being aware of politics makes me lose hope. I wish I could just not vote anymore but I believe that if you don't vote, you can't complain, and I love complaining.

"A speckled bird, humbly inspired, ran across the road when it could've flown and it made me smile."

Sarah Palin has signed on with Fox "news" as a contributor. Earlier today my co-worker filled an apple juice bottle with piss and I put a sticky note on it that says "FREE JUICE!! NOT PEE!!!" and we put it in the refrigerator. I'm sure there's a profound analogy to be made between the two, I'm just not sure what it is yet.

We're finishing up mixing on "Songs For Staying In" this week or next and we've set a date for mastering (Feb 3rd). So this hurdle is almost jumped and we're going to start learning new songs now. My goals for 2010 include the Quiet Company musical and the 3rd record. They both need to be started and at least one of them needs to be finished by the end of the year. I don't care which one.

Heritage not hate....

By now, most of the people who care know how hardly any of our founding fathers were evangelical Christians. Some were Deists, some where probably Atheists, most were skeptics at least. So I don't know how we got from that point to this point where non religious people can't get elected to any public office without at least paying some form of lip service to one denomination or another.

Well, color me impressed, Asheville, NC. They've elected an openly Atheist man, Cecil Bothwell to the city council. Its only the city council but its a start. Now, I don't know if this is a good choice or bad choice, since I know nothing about his politics, I just think its impressive that he was able to get elected at all.

Apparently, there are some crazies trying to bar him from service because the NC state constitution states that no one can hold public office if they "deny the being of almighty God." Obviously, their constitution is unconstitutional, but you can't explain that to crazy Confederate flag loving, former NAACP president H.K. Edgerton. So it goes.

I recently received an email from girl I knew in high school and also went to church with. She had purchased Everyone You Love Will Be Happy Soon, off of itunes and wanted to tell me how much she liked it. However she was curious what the terms "Deist" and "Humanist" meant, as she had seen them on my Facebook. I explained the terms and, through a few email exchanges, told her a little about my deconversion from Christianity. Being devoutly Christian herself, I suppose she found this somewhat disturbing and wrote me yesterday to explain that now she can't listen to some of the songs on the record because they show a disregard for the things she believes. She specifically referred to the song "How to Fake Like You're Nice & Caring." I've heard other people talk about how that is the most anti-Christian song on the record and it just goes to show that what you mean for a song to say and what it actually ends up saying to people can be two totally different things.

First off, the record is full of mixed philosophies mainly because there was a lot of time between the first and second record. So some songs have been around for a really long time by the time they get recorded. That's why in "Congratulations, April and Lucas" I'm sure that there "must be a god" but by the time I wrote "Congrats Seth & Kara" I thought that Old Testament Joshua was "an asshole" and by the time I wrote "My new Years Resolution..." I was sure that nobody knows anything about death and the afterlife.

"How to fake" was written out of frustration with our culture's politics and right wing political theatre but I used a lot of religious imagery so I'm sure its misleading to some people. To me, its one of the more, if not christian then certainly, moralist songs on the record.

All these mixed philosophies won't be problem on the third record though. I'm really happy with the way the writing is going. There will be parts that are so epic and anthemic that they'll seem like a Humanist praise and worship record (if that wasn't an oxymoron, that is), but I think it will also be the most personal thing I've ever written.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about losing fans, though. I know that either by circumstance or coincidence, we've aquired a lot of Christian fans over the years and I hope they remain fans. I hope they can continue to listen to Quiet Company and just accept that everyone's journey is different and that they don't have to agree with me to empathize with me. I made mewithoutYou my #1 record of the year and I certainly disagree with the philosophy of that band. But when I listen to them, I'm not sitting here going "Oh, I disagree with that and that and that." Instead, I'm sitting here going "Man, he's a great f**king lyricist!"

But who knows. That's me, I could be wrong.

A little something for the letterhead of the New Tribal Democracy

"You see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its office-holders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease, and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags — that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it. I was from Connecticut, whose Constitution declares 'that all political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their benefit; and that they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such a manner as they may think expedient.'

Under that gospel, the citizen who thinks he sees that the commonwealth's political clothes are worn out, and yet holds his peace and does not agitate for a new suit, is disloyal; he is a traitor. That he may be the only one who thinks he sees this decay, does not excuse him; it is his duty to agitate anyway, and it is the duty of the others to vote him down if they do not see the matter as he does."
- Mark Twain

The New Tribal Democracy

Recently it struck me that it is impossible for a national government to accurately represent and meet the needs of its people, simply because there are too many people, too many lifestyles, too many opinions.

I'm in the process of cultivating an idea; A new way to think about government. Right now, I'm calling it the "New Tribal Democracy," and the general idea is that the Federal government retains control of the military, environmental policy, and prints our money, while the rest of the power goes to the counties, or as we'll refer to them from now on, "Tribes." (Because a county is a place to live and a tribe is something you are a part of.)

All decisions in the tribes will be decided democratically by every member of the tribe. You must contribute to the tribe to be considered a member and to benefit from it, either financially or by way of community service. Our culture now revolves around an exchange of product, but the tribal culture will revolve around an exchange of energy.

Because the governments will be so small and localized, the elected leaders will be held more easily accountable and the people will feel more involved, not to mention better represented. Its a far more rewarding way to govern ourselves.

If the majority of the people in a tribe want universal health care and same sex marriage, then they have the power to make it happen in their tribe but the burden is on them to figure out how to make it work. If the majority of a tribe wants as little government involvement in their life as possible, then they are completely within their rights to make it so.

This would almost completely do away with state government (we'd still need highways, and the DMV) and 24/hr News networks but I don't think we'll miss them.

Its not perfect, but it allows people to be responsible for themselves, and I think that people would find that far more satisfying than the broken system that's in place now.

Any questions?

In the hopes that I will have a decent memory before I join the Choir Invisible.

This weekend was both great and horrible. Really, the only horrible thing was that Leah had 3 weddings to shoot so Harper and I barely saw her. That's a pretty horrible thing though. I prefer my weekends to be heavy on the Leah.

It was great because I have the most amazing daughter in the world and I got to spend almost all my time with her. On top of that, Quiet Company had a show on Saturday with What Made Milwaukee Famous and it was fantastic. We had a really good show even though I slipped on my chords and almost face planted on the stage. Even cooler still is that a couple of the guys from Nada Surf came out to see us and they were very complimentary. They came with our producer who is also their producer/keyboardist, so it wasn't totally random.

I'm sure that Leah is completely worn out, so tonight I plan on mowing the yard and then letting her relax as much as possible. I'm trying to be a better husband by learning to discipline myself and be more reliable. I've started taking vitamins that are supposed to help with memory and I'm on day 4 of cutting out all snacking. So, you know...baby steps. She deserves to have a husband that she can count on to remember the simplest things and hopefully, sometime before we die, I'll be that guy.

PZ Myers posted this purity pledge for the TEA bag party, and I don't know where he got it from but I thought it warranted reposting. There is no pure governmental or economic system in the world, I don't think. America is certainly a melting pot in that regard, so its always shocking when you talk to people who clearly don't realize or are happy to ignore the humongous influence that Socialism has had here. Now, I realize that not all of the programs listed in this pledge are completely Socialistic but they all at least share that influence. They certainly weren't influenced by Capitalism, least ways. I thought it was funny.

The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge

I, ________________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will fore swear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

Social Security

Medicare/Medicaid

State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)

Police, Fire, and Emergency Services

US Postal Service

Roads and Highways

Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)

The US Railway System

Public Subways and Metro Systems

Public Bus and Light rail Systems

Rest Areas on Highways

Sidewalks

All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009federal senate appropriations--http://grassley.senate.gov/issues/upload/Master-Approps-73109.pdf)

Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)

Public and State Universities and Colleges

Public Primary and Secondary Schools

Sesame Street

Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children

Public Museums

Libraries

Public Parks and Beaches

State and National Parks

Public Zoos

Unemployment Insurance

Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services

Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)

Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)

Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)

Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking

Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies

Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies

If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will fore go my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist

locations, including but not limited to:

Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History

The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments

The government-operated Statue of Liberty

The Grand Canyon

The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials

The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery

All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided health care.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF ____________ IN THE YEAR ______________.

___________________________ ___________________________

Signed Printed Name/Town and State

Listen: I have come unstuck in time

Harper Lennon is 4 months old now. What can I say? I'm proud.

Last night, Leah and I watched Crash, which I think is one of the better dramas ever made, and the Obama speech to the schools. The speech was exactly what I thought it would be, a lot of encouragement and challenge with no political agenda. I'm beginning to see that a lot of Republicans actually believe that Democrats don't want what's best for America. It may be that they actually think that the Dems do know what's best but have actively chosen an opposite route to spite the Republicans. You may say that that's ridiculous and I would agree, but I work with a lot of Republicans and in their eyes I don't think its possible for Obama to do anything right. Which is fine, really (albeit unrealistic). They're good people, but at the end of the day, I guess we've just got very different ideas about what America needs/wants/is. And who knows, they could be right and I could be wrong. So it goes.

Tonight Leah is taking engagement photos for some friends of ours, named Kaci and Roy. Kaci and Roy are part of the local improv group Parallelogramophonograph. I think I spelled that correctly. If you live in the Austin area, you really should catch a show of theirs. They're very good and have gotten more than a handful of belly laughs out of me. Also I think its amazing that when they get married, instead of her taking his last name, they're coming up with a totally new last name for both of them.

I've also got to swing by the library and recheck my books. I don't think I've ever finished a book without needing to recheck it at least once. Turns out, I'm a slow reader and I always thought I was fast. So it goes.

Also this Sunday we're shooting the video for "On Modern Men" at the Georgetown square and we need as many extras as we can get.
Click the poster for details.

Anyone can play guitar.

Can someone please tell me one productive thing the Republican Party has done this year?

I'm not being a smart ass, that's a legitimate question. Where is their heath care reform plan? Where is their education reform plan? Out of all the things they've done to try and stop the President from accomplishing anything, have they once submitted an alternative? Is this all they have to contribute now...the backwoods hillbillies trying to shout down senators at town hall meetings, using words they don't understand to try and slander the President, and over-reacting like children who just want to take their ball and go home when the President wants to encourage and inform the kids about what's going on with their education in the next four years. I thought I'd seen the extent of their inanity with all that "birther" tripe, but all these hissy fits about the President talking to their kids... its just the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. At the beginning of the year, I would've never played the race card but now after seeing how Republicans are willing to behave and talk when the President has barely even done anything, I'm starting to question how different the health care discussion would be if our President was just another cracker from Tennessee.

I understand that if you didn't vote for him, you're probably not going to like the things he does, but its time to face reality. He won the election. I mean, he REALLY won the election. Besides, we all had to suffer through 8 years of your boy embodying everything we didn't want for America so I feel like I can speak from experience when I tell you, (as Jon Stewart so elegantly put it) "Its supposed to taste like a shit sandwich."

That's all I'll say about it. Grow up, Republicans. And do us all a favor, open a book and learn what the hell "socialism" means.

Quiet Company had two shows last week. College Station was cool but I think our Dallas show was one of our worst shows of all time. I know I totally phoned in my performance, and I kind of felt bad about it, but I just really didn't want to be there. That's rare, but it does happen.

Harper and I have been spending a lot of quality time together since Leah had two weddings this weekend. It would, of course, be better if Leah were here, but me and the bug have been having some good times. I call Harper "bug" in case you were wondering. I don't know why I started doing it but I like it, so I'm not going to stop.

Leah and I watched the documentary "Hell House" which, if you don't already know, is a documentary about a church that puts on a "Hell House" which is like a Christian haunted house where the goal is, admittedly, to scare people into a faith decision by enacting scenes of life gone wrong. Leah has actually been to a Hell House in Tyler and as it is bound to do, it scarred her opinions of Christianity. Its really sad because I found myself really liking a lot of the people from the church and thinking how they seemed really smart aside from the horrible ideas they had about bullying people into faith. Anyway, its shooting fish in a barrel to pick apart the theology behind a Hell House but the movie reminded me of one of the funnier things about church or rather, prayer.

Let me give you an example. Imagine if I were to have a conversation with my brother Seth the same way people talk to god. It would probably go like this:
Hey Seth, its really good to see you, Seth. And Seth, I'm so glad we're brothers, Seth, because some people don't have siblings at all, Seth. Seth, you're my bro, and we'll be bro's forever, Seth.

See what I mean? I wonder if god ever stops listening halfway through a prayer out of sheer annoyance.

Next Tuesday, President Obama plans to coerce your children into a windowless van with promises of candy and feel-good drink.

President Obama is giving an address next Tuesday which will be addressing students K-12. I'm sure it will feature themes like staying in school, taking responsibility for your education, and how educating our young people is key to America's future. You know, the same kind of thing that any American politician for any party would say about education.

So obviously, this is the worst thing that could happen to children.

Parents are really pissed that he wants to talk to their children. If you're one of those parents let me help you understand why you feel this way. Its probably because(A)you're a ridiculous person, (B)you might not be very smart, or (C)because you have a huge boner for Glenn Beck and will do anything to please him.

What do these parents think school is for? I've always been under the impression that school was supposed to be preparing young minds for life in the real world. You know, the world where Barack Obama is their President. Maybe they just see it as a daycare for their kids to hang out at while they're at work and they don't want their kids to fall under that vile, nasty, Democratic party peer pressure that's so prevalent in public schools now.

Its just so silly.

My favorite line from that article is "I perceive this as a socialist type of move," said Tammy Canatella, whose daughter is a freshman at Consolidated High School. "This should not be a forum to promote himself or his cabinet."

Oh, Tammy! You don't like Socialism? You don't want any Socialism in that publicly funded high school you send your daughter to? Do you even know what Socialism means or is it just the buzz word that Fox "News" tells you to repeat over and over in hopes of destroying that secretly Muslim usurper's regime?

If George W. Bush had wanted to address my children in school I cannot imagine ever threatening to take my kids out of class because of it. But then, maybe my arguments aren't so shaky that I would feel the need to shelter my children from anyone else's prespective. Maybe I just accept that children will eventually make up their own minds about this horse shit. I believe it was Malcolm Forbes who said "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open mind."

Glenn Beck is a damn genius!!!

Really makes your heart swell with American pride. I've been laughing about this for a while today. Perhaps I've been wrong about socialism, since our public schools have let these people down so badly. Part of me thinks there is a small chance that the mullet guy is being ironic but...that might be optimistic to the point of foolishness.

Kurt Vonnegut and George W. Bush: Two people directly responsible for my Socialism

With all the talk on health care reform, I feel like Socialism is being used with a harshly negative connotation, to try and conjure images of Stalin and the like. You could fill volumes with what a typical American doesn't understand about Socialism. Hell, you could fill volumes with what I don't know about Socialism, and the reason is this: There are a ton of different kinds of Socialism. And just like Capitalism, its been used for good and evil.

So I wanted to talk a little bit about why I consider myself a Socialist. First off, I don't think that any reasonable person would consider themselves 100% affiliated with any political party. I would hope that Democrats and Republicans can find, at least, some merit in the other side. Second off, I should mention that I have a job that provides a health insurance benefit for my family, so we're very lucky. I say that so you know that I don't necessarily have a vested interest in a social health care program.

But what I don't understand is why people are so scared of Socialism. We already have several social programs that are huge parts of our culture that I doubt anyone wants to move into the private sector. The next time you need a cop, would you rather have to look through the phone book to hire the most affordable one? No, of course not. Everyone needs police, so everyone should own the police. The same is said for firemen, public schools, public libraries, etc. Hopefully, you'll never need a cop or a fireman, but I bet you're willing to pay taxes to make sure they're there if you ever do need them. I don't see a difference with health care. I may never need a doctor, but I'd be willing to pay taxes to make sure that they're there if I do need them. Every time I see a Socialist program in America, it seems to be improving life, not hindering it. They create jobs and they provide services, ideally, that don't discriminate against any human beings. Personally, that's the kind of America that I want to live in.

I don't vote Socialist Party though, or at least, I never have. Partly because a socialist candidate has no chance of even getting on the ballot in Texas, and partly because voting third party (especially in Texas) is effectively throwing your vote away. What I do do is vote for the candidate that seems most likely to share the principles of Socialism.

Its not about government controlling your life, its about putting power into the hands of the people and having a government that provides for, represents, and is accountable to its people...all of its people. Its about class free democracy and workers having control of their lives and doing away with wage-slavery. Its about equality. "From every man according to his ability, to every man according to his need." Or in other words, "we're all in this together, let's act like it." Doesn't anything Socialist just make you sick?!?

Is it perfect? Hell, no. But people aren't perfect, so how can anything we make be? But at the core of it are principles that I value, so I consider myself a Socialist. After all, "as long as there is a lower class, I am in it." And, after all, somebody has to help the meek inherit the earth. I'll part with a story from the "Socialism in America" Wikipedia about good ol' Eugene Debs.

In June 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Espionage Act, which included a clause providing prison sentences for up to twenty years for “Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty… or willfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment of service of the United States”. The Socialists, with their talk of draft dodging and war-opposition, found themselves the target of persecution. Scores were convicted of treason and jailed.

After visiting three Socialists imprisoned in Canton, Ohio, Eugene V. Debs crossed the street and made a two-hour speech to a crowd in which he condemned the war. "Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder… The master class has always declared the war and the subject class has always fought the battles," Debs told the crowd.

He was immediately arrested and soon convicted under the Espionage Act. During his trial, he did not take the stand, nor call a witness in his defense. However, before the trial began, and after his sentencing, he made speeches to the jury: "I have been accused of obstructing the war. I admit it. Gentlemen, I abhor war… I have sympathy with the suffering, struggling people everywhere…" He also uttered what would become his most famous words: "While there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." Debs was sentenced to ten years in prison, stripped of his citizenship, and disenfranchised for life.