When Flushing Isn’t An Option

Living on a street with huge old trees has introduced me to some new terms, like “clean-out valve.”  This valve is sort of a reverse periscope into the innards of our sewer pipe, required because sometimes the tree roots grow into and clog the old sewer pipes.  The process is this:

• The shower drain burps or the toilet threatens to overflow.
• We go outside and remove the cover to see if there is, um… something in there.
• If there is, we call the city to come ream out the pipe.  If there isn’t, we call the plumber.

Today was one of those days, only the toilet overflowed this time and I was the flusher, standing there with wet flip-flops and an unenviable mopping job.

Dearly Beloved, lunch will be a little late!

Perhaps the experience has influenced this post:

North Carolina has a primary runoff coming up in June and The Daily Show writers must be salivating.

The choice between two Republican candidates for the US House of Representatives in District 8 is testosterone heavy:  a sports guy and a gun/God guy.  Jon Stewart could just send a film crew.  Either guy is good to go.

Harold Johnson is well known from his years as an area television sportscaster.   “The Big Guy” was one of the early weather/sports reporters to inject his no-Off-switch personality into his reporting.  “Sports with personality,” the station called it.   Remember Ted Knight on The Mary Tyler Moore Show?  There’s even a physical resemblance.  Here’s Harold in his own words.

Since name recognition is his main qualification, it’s hard to know where he stands on issues, other than the usual “cut taxes and red tape.” 

Let the big dog eat!

Currently, he doesn’t  live in the District where he’s running–something of a problem, one might think–but he says he’ll fix it by moving there if he wins.

While Harold may be a little short on vision, the other candidate, who says that Johnson is “but a grasshopper” in his eyes, is right out of Visions R Us.

He’s been tackling the name recognition challenge with huge billboards along the highways in the District and  began TV ads against “liberal-leftist God-hater” Obama and other Democrats in 2008, thus putting his money and his mouth on the same path.  So far, he’s given his campaign over $1,050,000 of his own money.

When Tim D’Annunzio held his political rallies here, folks were invited to “A Machine Gun Social and Fundraiser from 6 PM until the ammo runs out.” MP-5’s and M-16’s were available for $25 a magazine and one could register for an AR-15 giveaway.  Let Tim tell you about it.   Watch this.

It’s hard to get more social than that, huh?  Wait.  It gets better.  Or worse, depending on your point of view.

D’Annunzio’s blog, Christ’s War,  mixes in his own thoughts among quotations from the Old Testament and Revelation.  I didn’t link to his blog;  it’s simple to find.  That’s where voters can get their information, since he grants few interviews to the media, or, as he calls it, “the beast.”

Those who speak of his “past sins” are satisfying “their own lust” and are “condemning themselves.”  That would not include me because I didn’t want to read far enough to know about his past sins, even though some of them are public record.

I have gathered from reading his website and various news stories that he wants to abolish the Departments of  Agriculture, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, Transportation, Treasury, and Home Land Security.  Medicare and  Social Security would be turned over to the states.  Oh–that taxing 16th amendment would have to go.

His energy plan, not surprisingly, is to reduce restrictions and turn the private sector loose to drill, baby, drill.

Wondering how this Pennsylvania transplant made his money?  A loan from the SBA enabled him to start a company making body armor for the Defense Department.  Oh, the irony. . . !

A slate of six candidates was narrowed down to these two in May.  I’m not in that District, so I don’t know about the other four candidates.

One of these guys will be the Republican candidate in November, running against Democratic incumbent (2008) Larry Kissell, who increased his own name recognition when he chose not to vote for the health care bill.

Name recognition?  That’s how we choose candidates?   Kids put more study into their list to Santa!

Don’t we have some responsibility to look into what they hope to accomplish?  Shouldn’t the “vote out the incumbent” theory have an implied goal of putting in someone better?

This isn’t the only runoff in our state, nor is ours the only one having a runoff.    The turnout will probably be even less than the 14% statewide total we had for the primary election in May.

What are people thinking?  Their votes don’t matter?   The difference between these two candidates was about 1,000 votes, with D’Annunzio getting the most–37%.   .

Personally,  I’d prefer to send representatives to Congress to represent our interests instead of wanting to channel the holy spirit.  I’d like for them to be intelligent and forward thinking.  I’d like for them to stop telling us what the American people want and  listening to us instead.  All of the American people.  Not just the shouters.

That’s not likely to happen, if only 14% want to be heard.