An introduction
A few words of introduction. Hopefully, the following will allow people to judge the pronouncements that are forthcoming.
Physically, I am 60ish, white, male, tall and not fat. I am in fair shape and no particular physical handicaps. I have tinnitis from gunfire and Rock ‘n Roll. Trust me, the Rock ‘n Roll was more fun.
Historically, I had my first run-in with the Klan outside Holly Springs, MS in 1969. It was not the last. I did 3 years in the Marines from ’70-’73. All my postings were stateside. I did not go to VietNam. I’ve attended 5 Universities and earned one degree. I’ve had 7 jobs in past 35 years, some were interesting, some were not, all involved programming and data retrieval.
Politically, I am a yellow dog Democrat. That is, I’d vote for a yellow dog before I’d vote for a non-Democrat. I despise Lieberman, think Obama is a nice moderate, John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich are among the very few true liberals in the US political scene and Jim Hightower is the model of a modern Progressive. I’d vote for Jerry Brown before Barbara Boxer and wouldn’t spit on Newt Gingrich if he were burning in hell.
I read fantasy and historical fiction for fun. I play pretty good bridge, bad backgammon and moderately stable (though losing) poker … Texas Hold’em to be exact. I cross country ski, snorkel and take long walks. Lately tho, the walks have been more frequent than the skiing and snorkeling.
I was raised in Mountain California and Southern Missouri and have spent most of my adult life in the Deep South: Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Washington, SE Texas (trust me, it ISN’T the west). In between I have had short jaunts of 2-4 years in New Mexico, California (SF and Berkely) and Minnesota.
In March of 2009, I got tired of feeling uneasy/afraid to speak about my gay friends, my chocolate grandson, my dislike of churces, my pro-union opinions and my traitorous voting for Democratic candidates. Thus, I moved to Massachusetts. So far, I can say it was the best move I’ve made in this life. I hadn’t realized how toxic the far right atmosphere was in Alabama for the past 16 years. I feel that I’ve come home.
Yellow Dog Politics 