Quick Hit – EDITED –

I’m STILL thinking about the recent rise in domestic terrorist actions.  These things, in particular, made me think that maybe Improbable Joe is on to something…

First, there’s this article by Joseph A. Palermo about the spin job that extreme-right talking heads are trying to put on the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in DC.

Yesterday afternoon Glenn Beck and two of his guests argued that Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party were “leftwing”; that “political correctness” led the committed white supremacist, James Von Brunn, to shoot a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC; and that ultimately President Barack Obama is the one responsible for the violence because his “bailouts” and “Socialistic” policies are engendering widespread anger. Beck denounced those who claim he is “churning the pot” because, he says, “the pot is already boiling.”

This piece from Here and Now (go here and look up June 12th – the story titled Hate Crimes in America; I can’t do a direct link to the story) was on the radio this afternoon:

We speak to hate crime expert Mark Potok of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center about this week’s shooting at the US Holocaust Museum and the murder of abortion provider, Dr George Tiller.  He says hate crimes are on the rise — as the nation’s demographics change and the economy worsens.

I’m also interested in this piece by Ed over at Gin and Tacos where he postulates that some in the right-wing camp are baking slowly away from the nutjobs they have been stirring up.

I have to hand it to Smith, who apparently has a conscience, for his restraint. He does everything except stare into the camera and scream “What the fuck is wrong with you people?” Unfortunately for Shep, it’s going to be hard to develop his line of argument without addressing the key role played by his employer and colleagues in stoking exactly the kind of paranoid, apocalyptic attitude which so horrifies him.

Finally, I came across this audio clip of Wiley Drake (who, it seems, is a Baptist minister with some sway) on Fox News Radio claiming that Dr. Tiller had it coming.  His prayers were answered, he said, in Tiller’s murder and, what’s more, he’s actively praying for President Obama’s death.

These people scare the shit out of me.

Edited to include; this helps…

Not-So-Little Things

I’m starting to develop a mild undercurrent of panic.

I am Mom’s primary caretaker.  That is, I think, as it should be; it’s something I’m very good at, Mom is comfortable with me, and I’ve had the time to give.

That last bit, though, is going to change soon.  The girls are finished with school on the 24th (I KNOW!  They’re kind of lamenting all those snow days now, boy!).  Once they’re out of school, though, my free days evaporate.  I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to work around that.

I suspect, though, that the Universe will unfold exactly as it should.  Take today for example: I’ve committed to being with Mom literally all day; Bill left for work at 9 (well, he left to run errands and have lunch for his birthday with a friend – his work day starts at 12:30) and won’t be back until after 9.  Mom’s sister Samantha (remember her?) is coming tonight around 7 and staying through tomorrow (when I won’t be able to care for Mom for reasons I can’t discuss just now; I’ll tell you about it tomorrow) and I’ve promised to stay and help her get on track.  Mr. Chili has promised to chaperone Punkin’ Pie’s band trip to an amusement park.  They’re leaving at about 2:00 and not coming back until well after 9:00 tonight.

That leaves Beanie by herself for the whole of the afternoon and evening, and that’s entirely out of the question.

In steps the parents of Beanie’s best girlfriend (who, coincidentally, is also called “Beanie.”  It’s actually less confusing than it is convenient; I yell “Beanie” and they both come running!).  I called May, Beanie’s mom, and asked if she’d be willing to keep MY Beanie for the afternoon.  She leaped on the request; not only would she meet my Bean off the bus and keep her all afternoon, she’d keep her overnight, too.  “Don’t worry about a THING,” she told me, “We’re happy to have her.”

It’s not a huge thing that May’s doing.  I would absolutely take her Beanie if the situation were reversed, and I wouldn’t think it an imposition at all; in fact, it’s actually easier to have girlfriends over for the girls; they entertain each other and, often, I forget there’s more than just my girls in the house.

It’s a huge thing for ME, though, to know that my daughter is well cared-for while I’m committed somewhere else. When I told my Bean this morning that she was going to her girlfriend’s for tonight, her response was “YAY!”

The hardest part of all of this, really, is that I feel I’ve been less present as a parent.  I haven’t quite gotten to “guilt” yet – I suspect that things will work out in such a way that I don’t – but I’m really feeling my absence in their lives lately.  Knowing that there are people out there who offer glad willingness to take care of my children while I can’t is making this whole experience that much easier.