My daughter sleeping

Okay, so this entry is not about the jungle, environmentalism, shamanism or politics. This one is just about my daughter sleeping.
My nine year old daughter Madeleina is sleeping on the couch behind me as I sit at the computer. She's been sleeping for close to five hours, a "five minute nap, okay dad?" as she put it at about 1 PM. Having her close is one of the wonders of the universe to me. Having her that tired on a Saturday is an indication that last night's Girl Scout sleepover was a wonderful time. The troop went out and help decorate a nearby cemetary in honor of Veteran's Day, then went to the troop leader's house and made Hobo Stew. Didn't imagine she'd like it when I heard that's what they were going to have but it turns out she did. "And dad, instead of water we used the V-8 juice that one girl brought! And it was great! Can you make that one day?" Then there was a talent show--she sang--during which one girl's talent was stuffing as many sour candies in her mouth at once as she could fit: troop leader said that when that girl heaved "those candies flew out of her mouth like flying missiles, and went all over the room."
So my daughter is sleeping under a comforter behind me and while it's keeping me chained inside the house, or at least nearby since her brothers aren't home, it's okay by me. A couple of years ago I would have gotten her up to go run errands. Now, I am just glad she's here and healthy and I only hope she's having a great great dream.
Sleep little darling. I hope every parent is as happy to be a parent as I am today.

Friday but not the end of the week

Well, it's Friday, alright, but long from the end of the week. Finished a cover story on prisons and now I've got my column due for Skunk Magazine three days ago and it's still not done. Was waiting for the elections and hoping that Colorado and Nevada would shred the fabric of the drug war a bit by making it legal==or illegal to prosecute==adults for possession or use of one once or less of pot. Neither state went for it, so I guess that's what people want. Either that or pot smokers were too damned busy sucking on their bongs to go vote. Or, of course, so many pot smokers have felonies on their records that they can't vote. I love that one. It's such a cool way to manipulate the system. Criminalize millions with felonies, then take away their right to vote. Just cause someone steals a car or gets busted with a pound of ganja means they can't think clearly enough to vote. Who made that rule up? And another thing: how on earth can we put kids in the military at 17-18 and send them off to war in foreigh lands but not let them have a beer when they come home because the drinking age is 21? Not that everybody should have beer, but the concept is mind-boggling. How about we don't let 17-18 year old kids in the military? How bout we raise that age to 21, or 26, or 60. How about only people who have raised kids to adulthood and retired from their jobs can go to war?
Cause nobody would go, that's why. The kids still see the John Wayne/Van Deisel glory in blowing people to bits, and they believe the rhetoric about the army making you a man, and they love the advertising. Heck, a couple of my kids friends joined the Marines straight out of high school and 12 weeks later were marines in Iraq. I salute them, but salute them even more when, being told they were being rotated back to Iraq said "Hell no. I did my time."
Heck, if there was a reason for the war==and I know oil is a big and legit reason--a reason bigger than oil, then I think half the people in the US would sign up. But there isn't. There wasn't. Don't want Hussein? Take him out. We've got hundreds of assassins doing a job or two every year for Langley--the CIA--and they could have made him one of them. But letting young mister Bush, who awol'd most of his cushy military time, and the recently departed Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, neither of whom saw military service, get their collective rocks off with the blood of your sons is just too much.
Speaking of Rummy, good riddance. His arrogance was matched only by his shortsightedness and stupidity. Unfortunately, he'll remain in the circles of power as a high-priced consultant or CEO of a major corporation, which will allow him to continue to manipulate, or have considerable influence in the corrodors of Washington.
Did I mention it's Friday and I've got work to do?