from rhonda to the raiders and points between

rhonda is now at home under my tender care. i get her home and we have two arguments about totally trivial things within the first two hours. it was so strange! we, of course, made up and had a good laugh about it. i imagine it was just all the tension we had both gone through, you know, what with cancer scare and all, major surgery, tight money situation, cancelled gigs, mind altering pain on her part and being scared out of ever-loving minds for the last three months or so. in a way, it was good to just have a couple of arguments about things that mean absolutely nothing. a taste of normal in a way, all couples have little tiffs every now and then, it is part of life with another. on the other hand, rhonda and i both have a certain quality that really helps make a good marriage: the ability to come to the other and say, "i was wrong and i am sorry."

that thought leads me to another: i think one of the problems facing our country is the inability of the republicans to say to themselves and then to others, "i was wrong and i am sorry." americans are a very forgiving group of people, i know this to be true for i have had several "second chances" in my life. (remember, by the time i was 24 i had a criminal record as long as your proverbial arm) we would let it go if only bush and the republicans would have the good sense to say, "we were wrong. there were no weapons of mass destruction there. there was no link between osama bin laden and saadam hussian, iraq was not a threat to us. we are bringing our troops home." because there were no wmd, there was no link, there was no threat. what is so fucking hard about realizing this, how much proof does it take to make them say those words? how much more money do we spend, how many more lives are to be wasted, how much more international capital do we squander before bush and all who follow him can come to their senses, put aside their foolish pride and admit to what all the rest of the world knows, you were wrong? there are plenty of things that need to be addressed in the good old u.s. of a; a health care system that makes insurance companies rich and the rest of us broke. a looming drought that is affecting most of the western part of our country. an educational system that ranks near the bottom of all catagories among the industrialized countries. (we are graduating kids who cannot read and cannot do simple math. trust me, that really narrows your job opportunities.) we have roads that resemble something that has been bombed, hundreds of thousands if not millions of homeless, schools without computers, an immigration policy that is so flawed as to be a joke, two million and counting in our prisons, gangs in our cities, regularatory agencies who are staffed with people who have ties to the very industries that they are supposed to be regulating (see the toxic stuff in the pet food and now livestock food as one glaring example....the fda has become a farce as far as protecting the people from the greedy and criminal) and the list could go on and on and so what are we doing? SPENDING BILLIONS AND BILLIONS IN IRAQ OF WHICH A GOOD PORTION IS JUST FLAT BEING STOLEN! all because no one in the administration can admit THEY WERE WRONG. and by osmosis, the republicans out there who are still supporting bush need to quit being blind, non- thinking followers and use their god-given intelligence to look at facts and not slogans, to let go of their fears and admit, as well, they were wrong. get over it, let's go on to what is important to our country, our children, our way of life and fix those.

(not that little tirade is going to change any minds, people who can't admit they were wrong aren't going to change because of something some obscure comic has to say, but what the hell, i said it anyway.)

the golden state warriors are showing why sports are so darn entertaining and why, to quote, they go ahead and play the game and not just name the winner. the warriors are out-guned, out manned, out hyped and all the other "outs" you can come up with, except for being "out-played." no one gave them a chance against the mighty mavericks but there they are; up 3 games to 1 and looking for all the world like the better TEAM.

opening myself up to much ridicule and possible "i told you so" i have bet the dodgers to win not only the national league pennant but the world series as well. pitching is the difference.

shame about marcus russell being drafted by the raiders. they will ruin his career. they are the worst franchise in the nfl and they have, beyond a doubt, the most rude, violent, drunk and too many times, armed fans in all of sports. the raiders used to be my favorite team in the nfl, that is until i went to a game in oakland. what a bunch of fucking thugs. al davis and the city of oakland should be ashamed.

so there you are folks, my ramblings on this beautiful april morning here in las vegas.