What Happens in Iowa...

The blogger reminisces about what really happens in those Iowa caucus settings.

I’ve lived in 9 states now (and the Austin-McAllen move should count as a 10^th). In 1996, I had the good fortune to live in northeastern Iowa. I taught in Dubuque at a Catholic school and lived in a town of about 3,000 people just south of it on the Great River Road. The town was Bellevue. It was a beautiful town and a great time to be alive, with a new baby in my arms as I headed out.

Headed out to caucus.

Headed out to caucus for…Lamar Alexander.

That’s right. It’s not a misprint. Things change.

I was wearing flannel. Official flannel. I still have that shirt somewhere, along with stickers that say, “ABC: Alexander Beats Clinton.” It was Bob Dole’s race to lose, but I was convinced that a former education secretary would make a good president.

There was only one precinct in Bellevue. I walked into the public library to join 40 other Republicans and discuss gun control ad nauseum.

It was a hotly-contested race, overall. The campaigns were actively seeking caucus-goers.

There were 40 people.

Assuming half of the town was republican, that meant that (roughly) 2.7% of the population was going to determine this town’s nominee. That’s because when you caucus, you give up your evening to do it. You don’t swing by the grocery store or library on your way home from work. You commit.

The session began with a brief confused welcome and requests for people to speak for candidates they prefer.  I went third. Like J.C. Watts, I used my daughter as a prop for my Alexander push.

A man tore up used copy paper into smaller pieces. Then we “voted” on the unused side of the paper. The guy next to me put Bob Dole (not Robert). We folded our papers and placed them in a “Bob Dole for President” hat that was being passed around. There was NO sense of electoral control in that room.

After the votes had been counted, the contest went for “Bob Dole,” with Lamar coming in third. The caucus then proceeded to nominate delegates to the state convention. My daughter-prop worked, and I was set. All done but the platform.

The first volunteer thought we should have some type of gun control. Then EVERYBODY needed to speak. It was awful. It was long. I used my prop as an excuse to leave after an hour. Loved that prop, but not as much as I do now.

By the end of the meeting, I was headed to the state Republican convention…and a lot of head-scratching.

The race in Iowa was fun for a geek like me. All the candidates came to Dubuque. I even got Arlen Specter’s autograph. Yep. Big time.

It ends tonight in Iowa, but we are JUST. Getting. Started.

Journey to A Long Goodbye

For my guest blog on Talk More Argue Less, just hit this link.

Vox Populi

The blogger requests input on the fate of Picasso's Tête de Faune.

Every year, Cards Against Humanity makes a special offer to patrons: send them $15 & receive whatever they feel like sending you.  Last year, I received personalized CAH cards AND one square foot of land in Maine.

This year, I have received three pairs of socks. They also bought a minor painting by Picasso.

Informational Video:

https://picasso.eightsensiblegifts.com/

I must vote tonight on whether this Picasso painting should be donated to the Art Institute of Chicago...or cut into 150,000 pieces (one of which I will receive--and frame).

Voting ends tonight.  I turn to you for my vote.  "Donate" or "Cut?"  Leave your one-word preference in the comment section.  Please let me know by 10 p.m. CST.  

Thank You, Kasey...from a Million Miles Away

Every once in a while, you find a song that hits on ALL cylinders, one that speaks to your current condition and mindset.  Kasey Chambers is an incredibly gifted songwriter.  She tours with Lucinda Williams, which makes perfect sense.  Her song, "Not Pretty Enough" got me through some tough points in my former life--giving voice to how others around me made me feel.

This one, though, goes even further.  It's almost like she got into my head and gave voice to my fears, my dreams of whatever future is left, and the need to make meaningful promises to myself and others...

...and remind me that I have to be open to complete failure and reset in my life, my love, my relationships with others, and my ties to God.

Here is the link to a YouTube video for "The Rain."  Sometimes it helps to hear Kasey's vulnerable voice express these meaningful lyrics.

I will try to break
Every habit that holds me
I will try to make everyone happy again
I will try to take anything you can throw at me
I will let the rain come in 

I will try to face everything that scares me
I will try to trace
Everywhere that I've been
I will try to wait for all of the hearts to be mended
I will let the rain come in 

And if I try too hard
Or maybe not hard enough
I'll be the one who says
"It's all gonna be OK"
And if it all falls down well its never gonna really matter
Because the rain washes everything away 

I will try to breathe
Deeper than all of the oceans
I will try to see
The battle instead of the winI will try to leaveAll that I've wasted behind meI will let the rain come in

And if I try too hard
Or maybe not hard enough
I'll be the one who says
"It's all gonna be OK"
And if it all falls down well its never gonna really matter
Because the rain washes everything away

May the rain wash away just the right things...for each of us.

Be blessed during this very dark time.  I mean that.  Always will.

Dealing with the Foreigners

"Man, there's refugees everywhere you look..."

Agreed, oh hypothetical white man.  They're even over there.

Violence in the Third World has made living in Syria untenable.  People leave war zones, whether they are civil wars or drug wars.  Right now, it's hitting Europe hard.  Hungary's government has proven incapable of making intelligent decisions, as has the "Fox News of Hungary."  Children die while legitimate refugee status gets delayed purposely.  People make analogies to Latin American immigrants coming to America illegally.  Donald Trump has exploited the "Texas Weakness" by hating Hispanic immigrants more than, say, Jeb Bush (W's brother).  Mitt Romney used that same weakness to take out Rick Perry four years ago.

Then there is the other side, where people a clamoring for an influx of Syrian refugees into the United States.  One article speaks to the comparison of Syrian refugee numbers to Bhutan, Burma (Myanmar?) and other countries.  I could address each country (especially Burma), but that would be dropping into the weeds on this argument.

The immigration issue is not an east-west issue.  It runs south to north.  This happens in both hemispheres.  Last summer, there was a massive influx of unaccompanied children.  The majority of those children (along with mothers and smaller children) entered the United States through Hidalgo County.

That was last summer.  2014.  We fixed that one.  Right?

We built "this:"

But it looks like this.  Ummm...  Well, those pictures are kind of hard to find.  Maybe an official picture of the unaccompanied minors or such.  Here's something:

Yep.  We handled it like we've done for the last two decades.  We built a detention center.  Several detention centers, really.  Karnes City is bigger, but I like Dilley (if only for that name).  Dilley, Texas is one of the more interesting centers.  In Dilley, we have a situation where "...these women are living in an environment that often exacerbates the trauma they have already suffered."

A couple of weeks ago, pro-bono immigration attorneys got thrown out of the Dilley Detention Center.  That may be related to a lawsuit from some of the women regarding poor medical care and general neglect.  Broken fingers? Drink more water.

Why are they still detained?  The Obama Administration claims that this is to deter others from making the flight to America.  This same administration produced an immigration speech summed best by Dan Kowalski:
The detention and deportation machine will continue as before. No mention, in the President's speech, of releasing the mothers and children from Artesia, from Karnes City, from Dilley, from Berks County.
Want the real answer?  Ask Corrections Corporation of America.  They made well over $60 million last quarter.  Guess how they became so profitable?  Uh-huh.  That story hit less than an hour ago down here.

We're not good at handling refugees.  We're not good at soccer, for that matter.

I know this sounds ridiculous to some.  I get that.  Here it goes, anyway:

We need to handle our own refugees first.

Now would be a good time to get that done.

Now.

When Goodbye Gets Ridiculous

Please note: the quotes inserted come from http://www.purplerow.com, one of the better baseball blogs.

Today was another in a long series of goodbyes. Some things just shouldn't happen.

Troy (deep breath) Tulowitzki (deep breath) is a (deep breath) Toronto (deep breath) BLUEJAY?!

The last time a trade this big happened at Coors Field, the staff ace left...and the owner got Romano's Macaroni Grill in return. Now, THAT's a crappy owner on par with Jerry Jones (no link inserted by design on THAT name).

Most readers of this blog won't care, but I do. You watch a guy play for 120 nights a year for a full decade, you get to expect seeing him. This man was the face of the entire franchise, and most of the current talent on that team can point to Troy as a reason for their success.

He was everything I wanted in a player: A ferocious competitor, a superstar you could build around, an incredibly hard worker who took prospects under his wing in the offseason, and a guy who understood how special it was for a fanbase to attach itself to a player who plays his entire career in one city.

The fate of a baseball team looms small in the lives of most people on this planet. To be honest, I openly admit that includes me. It's nice, but not necessary for happiness. I get all of that. I feel for the person who wrote:

Today is the saddest day of my life that didn't involve someone I'm close to dying. It hurts that much.

Look, I think--if you know me & my situation--that you can see the analogy. A boy can get tired standing on the pier waving goodbye to everything...repeatedly. The glass isn't half-full or half-empty--it's HEAVY after you hold it this long. Life doesn't ALL have to stay the same, but I'm trying to figure out what's left of the Paul Henley that lived in, say, 2010...or 2013, for that matter.

They're not just giving up a 30-year-old player, though. They're giving up the chance of having another franchise legend to slot next to Todd Helton in the pantheon of Rockies greats.

Tulowitzky autograph values kind of drop in Denver, long-term. No fan base will love Troy as deeply. Suddenly, a "franchise player" stands on the cusp of becoming a "journeyman player." Eventually, all these guys end up with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, anyway. This one still stinks, though. If he wins two World Series rings in Toronto, why would he become the first Colorado entry into Cooperstown?  In fact, consider this: Troy Tulowitzki worries that his son, Taz, won't remember when his dad played in Denver. Again, I can relate as a father. I'm fighting to stay relevant from 366 miles away. These trades change stories for generations, too.

"Yep--I can remember seeing Troy when he [insert whatever event you choose]. That was back when he played for Colorado and all...no really...he USED to be a Rockie (sic).  Really. No. I MEAN it..."

Whatever:

Ask an Orioles fan what kind of package that would have made it acceptable to deal Cal Ripken in 1995. Ask Padres fans what Tony Gwynn trade would make them go back in time and make them pull the trigger themselves.

Time is the great arbiter.

I leave for Budapest (that's right...Hungary) on August 4, 2015. I leave to "celebrate" what would have been my 25th wedding anniversary. If things are all going to change, anyway, at least SOME of that change should come from me. "My turn" should start at some point...perhaps this is a way to begin said turn. Follow my Instagram account to see what I find in what seems to be an incredible place. That account is Think17. That moniker is the mark of yet another dead dream.

Even as the major league team was terrible, Tulo was something to dream on. Now, that dream is dead. Not being able to watch him as a Rockie anymore is a devastating blow.

Hey, some dreams die.

Quote me on that one. I'm cool with that. Plans change. People change. Circumstances change. Everything changes. When it gets ugly, fight back.

Fight back, good reader. Fight back.

So--PROPS to D.J. LeMahieu, who plays at Wrigley Field with a chip on his shoulder because he remains convinced that the Chicago Cubs quit on him just a little early...

Props to those who have stuck with me--including my future hosts in Hungary. I've had "friends," "employers," "neighbors," and "family" desert me and leave me to wonder What the Hell Just Happened. I'm becoming convinced it doesn't matter what happened; it really only matters what happens.

For MEN Only...

Beloved Gentlemen--

I'm about to embark on an effort to assist MEN who seem to face ridiculous consequences when confronted by divorce or Title IX issues.  Please HELP THIS CAUSE by acting in accordance with the following:

"NO" Means "NO"

"NO" means NO.

"Not Now" means NO.

"Maybe Later" means NO.

"I Have A Boy/Girlfriend" means NO.

"No Thanks" means NO.

"You're Not My Type" means NO.

"*#^+ Off!" means NO.

"I'd Rather Be Alone Right Now" means NO.

"Don't Touch Me" means NO.

"I Really Like You But ..." means NO.

"Let's Just Go To Sleep" means NO.

"I'm Not Sure" means NO.

"You've/I've Been Drinking or on some medication" means NO.

SILENCE means NO.

"__________ " means NO.

Date Rape = Not Understanding "NO."

Look for the woman to say something like...I don't know..."YES!"

It's hard trying to do the right thing.  Please don't make it harder!

Thanks...