landgazing

I bought The Da Vinci Code tonight. I hesitated before I bought it because I felt I was becoming part of the frenzy over the book, and soon the movie. You don’t want to feel that you are giving something your attention simply due to its popularity. There may be some substance and merit at the root of that popularity; perhaps not. However, simply keeping up on cultural trends is nothing to sneeze at - it gives you some “cultural capital.”

Ever since the Vatican started amping up its criticisms of the book and calling for a boycott, I couldn’t resist.

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I’ll be blogging on my voting choices soon. The biggest races in Clackamas County seem to be the Circuit Court race between Susie Huva and Dave Paul and the three-way race for county clerk - but I don’t think anyone was expecting this election to be a nail-biter.

I’m more excited about the Clackamas County Commissioner’s race between incumbent Larry Sowa and Lake Oswego city councilor Lynn Peterson, which will be decided in November.

Remember to exercise your rights!

MY MANIFESTO, BIBLE, whatever floats your boat…

I am an Oregonian, and I enjoy politics.

BUT:

I am not a pundit. I don’t live for C-Span, write
partisan essays taking up five screens or feel
self-aggrandized swimming in the vagaries of the
system or indulging in smarty-pants pol-speak.

I am not a partisan. On paper, I’m an independent.
In real life, I’m the same thing (ask my fiancee or
her daughter). Wouldn’t we ALL say it depends on
the issue?

I’m not a pol. I’m a working stiff, trying to get
my Bachelors, struggling to keep a house afloat (with my fiancee)
while organizing a wedding and navigating the minefield
of egos and feelings that comes with that territory.

I try to keep up with things as best I can, as you
do. I read the Oregonian (or as Lars calls it the Daily
Dead Fish Wrapper) almost every day and listen to talk
radio from Hewitt to Hartmann.

What is my goal? Give short takes on political and
cultural life in Clackamas County, Oregon itself, and
the US of A, infused with, at varying times, spite,
humor and/or indignation. Who has time for Hannity’s
3-hours-a-day-every-day? I sure don’t. And the partisan
boards and blogosphere are humming with spittle,
venom and hatred from the Freepers to the nutbags at DU.

I’d like a lighter touch and some more evenhanded-ness.
I can’t find it on blogs, so, darn it, maybe I can
introduce some. As I said before, I’m not a George Will,
and I don’t have a degree in Political Science. I just
try to apply some critical thinking and basic intelligence
to what I see out there. OK?

I probably won’t post daily, but I promise I’ll write when
I believe I have something meaningful to say.
In other words, I won’t tell you I’ve just washed my cat.

That’s the kernel and the nutshell right there,
so let’s get started, uh, tomorrow!