So Long, 2004

It's New Year's Eve and I'm ready to head out to a party, but not before I post one last time this year. Not that I can't tomorrow, but there's so much arbitrary importance about Saturday, right?

2004 was a great year; great concerts, great vacations, I survived my first year at my new high school, I celebrated seven years of marriage, and of course, my son was born. On the national level, 2004 was a disaster. Good riddance to the 2004 on a national level, au revoir to the year on a personal one.

Last rants of the year: House Republicans now want to change the rules for the ethics panel to launch investigations into Congress members' egregious affairs and are also considering sacking the chairman of the committee who oversaw the latest round of investigations of illegal activities by one particular member. All of this is being done to protect the ASS of one Tom DeLay, the GOP House Majority Leader, who has been the target of at least three investigations, each of them finding that he's at least linked to, if not a key player in, several goings-on that are either unethical, unconstitutional, or illegal. So here's how I see it: members of the opposite party are fair game for name-calling, libel, slander, or any other bullshit "offense" but your own turf is off-limits. So, fabricated claims of Congress members' war records and impeachment efforts for blow-jobs are in; using the Constitution to protect itself and purging those who use their positions in government illegally is out. Reason 450,698,608,608,356,093,804,368,309,683,406,346,346,09 and 4 why the Republican Party deserves to rot in Hell and why I will NEVER consider anything it does as helpful to the nation. Tom DeLay, go to Hell, the GOP, go to Hell, and may you never return. I wish I could exclaim "good riddance" to you, but most Americans, in their fashionable ignorance, have been lied to convincingly enough to keep you around just a little longer.

Give, give, give all you can to the relief efforts in south Asia. They are people like you and me, except that they're not Republican, Christian, or white, and while that may matter for many Americans, it should not. Our basic human kindness and generosity needs to kick in to help by all means possible. Please do your part; I'm doing mine.

Let us all pray for a peaceful, acrimony-free (yeah, right), harmonious New Year.