things that piss me off

• congress renaming french fries and french toast "freedom" fries and "freedom" toast. what the fuck? so france disagrees with us a bit and suddenly we're striking them from the language? the hell? are they serious? is this how a government faced with all sorts of crises (war, deficit, terrorism, war) should be spending its time?
• dubya pissing off the rest of the world because he can't admit that he was wrong, and that war in iraq is not the best idea just at the moment.
• congress and the administration sticking their heads in the sand about the budget. they keep presenting these budgets and fiscal forcasts that completely ignore the costs of a war in iraq, and the subsequent obligatory occupation. and so they keep insisting that tax cuts are the order of the day. hello? tax cuts? in war-time? are you NUTS? now is the time when you could get away with tax *increases* by selling them as a patriotic way to support the courageous troops fighting for our freedom (fries). i am physically unable to roll my eyes any further back into my head.
• dubya having sold himself during the election as a compassionate, middle-of-the-road conservative interested in making friends with the world, and turning out to be one of the most stubborn, arrogant, right-wing presidents we've ever had. could he go back on a *few* more of his campaign promises?
• the cattle voters of this country who continually let dubya get away with this shit. i know there are plenty of right-wingers out there who are giddy with the way dubya is running things, but i'm sure there are plenty more moderate republicans out there who *should* be really fuckin pissed off at the way dubya has hijacked their party.

okay, to clear the air and lower my blood pressure, here's a list of things i like. a lot. list not inclusive.

• karl
• the easy melody of a REM song
• snow in the streetlights at night, appearing, swirling, hanging still, disappearing
• smell of a guinea pig
• gen mai cha
• late afternoon sun coming through the windows, lighting up the room all goldensoft
• dignified decay of old imperialist russian buildings
• the hermitage
• smell of horses and hay
• chevre
• ladybugs
• lightning bugs
• bonsai
• green leaves seen from beneath against a cloudless blue spring sky
• smell of hyacinth
• hot chocolate after sledding in new snow
• the view from the top of a mountain
• terrycloth bathrobes
• flannel sheets
• smell of rosemary
• driving alone on a warm spring day with all the windows open, my hair flying around, and "bye bye baby" by the ramones at full volume
• cool whip, eaten straight from the container
• depeche mode, circa 1985
• radiator heat
• chocolate-covered espresso beans
• guinea pig lips