I can be clear, and I can be garbled....often at the same time. Here's the proof.

I think I have been stunned into silence for the past week or so. That, or I may be so sick of the human race that all I can do is just shake my head, and it's not really easy to post a sad head shake.

(He shakes his head, sadly.)

See? Doesn't work very well. I think it's the whole, "open to interpretation" thing. You may picture me shaking my head starting to the left, and moving slowly to the right, for example; and others may see me shaking my head with a starting move to the right. Others may have be dressed in a double breasted black suit, others as a clown. Each interpretation lends a different spin.

The sad clown shaking his head is basically my self image.

I like the big shoes, and the little car we can all cram into.

(He tries nodding his head, sadly. Sadly, this isn't as effective as the shaking.)

Yeah, I kind of look like a sad clown bobblehead when I do that.


I have been following the state legislature for awhile, and I don't believe I've seen anything like it. First of all, ND is the only state that has a legislature that meets every TWO years. You would think that since they had so much time to actually think, and the rest of the time to talk to other people that think...they would come up with some better things to try and force onto an unsuspecting public.

Among other things:

They are attempting to change the legislative schedule from 80 days every two years into 100 days.

They are also attempting to change the legislative schedule from 80 days every two years into 120 days.

There is one resolution that would eliminate property tax, as long as the state comes up with a plan to help out the towns and cities to actually have a budget.

There is another one about banning smoking in every single public place in the state.

And, of course, there's the one about giving rights to the embryo. I think there is a rider on that one about giving voting rights to the rhinovirus, but that may be just a rumor.

That last one is the one that causes my head to shake sadly.

There is much to admire about living up here. There is a surplus in the state budget to the tune of just under one billion dollars, and they're talking about extending that surplus indefinitely; the recession hasn't really hit this state as hard as the rest; unemployment is low, as well as the homeless population.

But there are just too many people wanting to stick their noses where they don't belong.

Don't tell me where I can and can't smoke.
(On the flip side to smokers: For the love of GOD, would you PLEASE be polite about it? Could you ask before you flare up? Could you NOT flare up if somebody asked you not to? Common sense and courtesy, they're not just antiques.)

Don't tell me what to believe about what is life and what isn't. God is calling, and he wants you to know that arrogance is a sin.

But that thing about property taxes....oh, yeah, I'm ALL OVER THAT.