@blatham,
No anger intended. I've become perplexed and frustrated with the complacent credulity and excuse-making of the media and the strange self-imposed silences of people who I believe know better , about the all-too-evident failures of the current administration and its deliberate efforts to sow discord; prevent compromise; and project their own narrow-mindedness on their opponents. There's an Orwellian quality to it all that disturbs me.
We have witnessed an interesting combination of the stunning incompetence of the progressive elites relative to the lofty promises of public good they have made, along with a strange and worrisome capacity to get (or at least seek) political advantage from the very chaos they have sown. It worries me. I'm very confident we'll see a decisive shift in the electorate in the next two elections, but a great deal of damage can be done in the interim.
The result is I focus on these essentials and express my reactions very directly. The stuff in your earlier post was indeed a lot of bullshit in my view. That doesn't mean I don't find you to be an engaging and interesting person - If that was the case I would have simply ignored your post. Same goes with Setanta - we rarely agree, but I like him and enjoy his discourse..
The contemporary acceptance of homosexuals is a cultural phenomenon far more than a political one, and I think you know that. Indeed even our sainted President didn't "evolve" to contemporary views until very recently. The relative suppression of homosexuals a few generations ago was every bit as much a liberal/left political phenominon as it was one of the Republican right. Essentially the same is true today, though there is political division on the legal status of marriage. Our society and political establishment do indeed have an interest in marriage, mostly involving the status of children and the national interest in the upbringing of the next generation. These are legitimate issues that don't involve the non acceptance of homosexuals for who/what they are. We see a good deal of evidence suggesting some pervasive breakdowns in some segments of society in this area and serious people can disagree about these aspects of marriage law without being intolerant of homosexuals. This is a fairly common straw man you and others throw up on these matters. It should be beneath you.
Overall I believe there is ample evidence in the public discourse today that the intolerance of the progressive elites currently in power is at least the equal of their opposition, and this reveals the greater depth of their hypocrisy.
Apart for the drought things are going well for us here. I attended the funeral of my wingman from my last squadron in Savannah two weeks ago and will go to Washington for the wedding of a nephew late next week: life goes on. Elise will leave afterward to take a couple of granddaughters to Paris and Berlin ( a reenactment of trips she fondly remembers with her own grandmother) while I work on opening a new office and operation here in the Bay Area. The company just finished a so-so year, but things look more promising ahead. The summer encampment up on the Russian River was delightful as usual, and I'm looking forward to more. I'm working out regularly, though one knee is showing signs of resenting it.
In view weeks I'll do my semi annual meetings with our business partners up in Calgary who are making a killing supporting the tar sands extraction industry in Alberta. Canada is an interesting mix of relative contradictions compared to the U.S. Weak central government and powerful provinces. Very well-developed raw capitalist enterprises, with a surprisingly thin veneer of socialist overlay . The regulatory burdens on industry there are nothing in comparison to what we face here. Calgary also has the largest concentration of pissed off Hindi taxi drivers I've ever seen.
Your descriptions of your current life on Vancouver Island sound very good to me, and it appears you are approaching it all with your usual verve, energy and irony. That's good - these are the essential components of sanity and happiness.