Collapses: literal and figurative

My apologies for not updating for a week. It’s been a busy one, with getting ready for a cookout with Ken’s family yesterday (more in a moment), as well as just taking time to read and enjoy some nice summer weather. I haven’t wanted to spend much time inside on the computer! I also got word this week from my Mom that my Uncle Randy passed away, and I want to thank everyone for the kind wishes for my family. It wasn’t unexpected, but it’s still sad news to hear, especially since his wife (my Aunt Emma) passed away not that long ago. She had Alzheimer’s, and she really didn’t know Uncle Randy anymore. So it’s just kind of a sad story all the way around. My main concern was how my Mom would react (Uncle Randy was her brother), but she’s doing okay. Anyway, thank you all very much on behalf of my family.

We had Ken’s mom, stepbrother and his wife over yesterday. I made cole slaw, deviled eggs, baked beans, and Ken cooked burgers and brats. Everything turned out really well, and we were fortunate to have good weather most of the day. We were able to play some lawn games, sit out on the deck and talk, get the food cooked on the grill, and sit outside and eat it! There was a threat of inclement weather, but it held off for us. As we were finished eating, some dark clouds started to move in, and the storm came in very fast. We got inside before the skies let loose, and we played a little ping pong, pool, and Rock Band before they had to leave.

I was stunned and saddened to wake up this morning to the news about the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. There are plenty of questions right now, and Indiana OSHA is investigating, but it mostly looks like a huge gust of wind that toppled the stage, with no negligence involved. I can tell you that the line of storms that we shared with Indianapolis moved in very quickly, so the winds had to be high; some of these straight line winds can cause terrible damage. The footage of the collapse is horrifying to watch, but I’m very proud of so many of my fellow Hoosiers who went up to the stage to help, rather than fleeing. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. A sad day for Hoosiers.

Another collapse this past week was the stock market, although it was more like a couple of days of tanking rather than a full-out collapse. Of course, the Republicans blamed it all on President Obama, despite the fact that it was the teabagger faction of Congress that drove our country to the brink of default. Which part of Standard & Poor’s report stating that political brinksmanship was to blame for our credit downgrade, with further clarification from them later that it was specifically certain Republican lawmakers that fueled the standoff, don’t they understand? Seems like S&P were pretty clear in their report.

Tim Pawlenty’s presidential campaign collapsed yesterday when he came in a distant third in the Ames Straw Poll. When I got up this morning, I read reports that he would be dropping out of the race, and he did indeed bow out. I’m sure he was a nice guy, but he didn’t seem to have much of a grasp on economic policy (I’m no expert, either, but even I could tell that a lot of his remarks just didn’t make sense), and MAN, he was boring! It’s one thing to be nice; I like to think that for the most part, I’m a nice person. But it’s something else entirely to have no passion, no edge, no intensity or zeal whatsoever. I can definitely get fired up, as you all know quite well. Pawlenty? Yawwwwwn.

Finally, I think we saw the collapse of good sense and rationality in America when Michele Bachmann won the Straw Poll. I have to laugh about it, because it just slays me that anyone could possibly think that she could and should hold the highest office in the land. She lies about her record; her biggest legislative achievement (as she mentioned at the recent debate) was introducing a bill to repeal the recent law passed about em-effin’ light bulbs (seriously?!); she hates gays, thinks they’re going to hell, and doesn’t think that a gay couple with children qualifies as a family...I’d like to see Elton John bitchslap her; she buys into the whole biblical “wive be submissive to your husbands” bullshit (and NO, Michele, respect is not a synonym for submission...you don’t read about a Dominance & Respect fetish); and apparently she has a direct line to God, who tells her to run for office. This silly bitch wants to make our country a theocracy, with her special brand of evangelical fervor the law of the land. It just astounds me that people actually support something like that. I sometimes get angry about it, to think that anyone can be that stupid, but mostly I choose to laugh. Which is easy to do when I look at this picture. Talk about a thousand words!

Having said all that, I would LOVE it if she becomes the Republican nominee. Seeing her debate President Obama would be delightful!

Leonard Pitts had an excellent column today about finding hope in the fact that the more Americans know about the teabaggers, the less they like them. I’m not sure why it’s taking some so long to come to that realization, but at least it finally does seem to be happening. It’s become increasingly obvious that the teabaggers’ main goal is to destroy President Obama (witness Bachmann’s main talking point of “We’re going to make Barack Obama a ONE TERM PRESIDENT!” which she repeats ad nauseam) rather than putting the good of our country first and foremost. Pitts goes on to say that a certain portion of our population wants fiery rhetoric and simplistic answers. Sadly, I think he’s right. It’s easier to just listen to the catchphrases and soundbites than to take the time to read, research, and learn. I share Pitt’s optimism that the teabaggers’ influence is waning, but I retain my own pessimism when it comes to the willingness of some Americans to pay attention and take the time to go beyond what they hear from their like-minded friends and their “fair and balanced” news networks (and I use the word ‘news’ loosely there). When you’ve got a portion of America that still believes that our President wasn’t even born in this country, it’s hard to be optimistic about their intelligence, you know what I’m saying?