"When fascism come to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross".
- Sinclair Lewis, 1930 Nobel Prize winner for Literature.

Not that this is a necessary reflection on today, but it is something to keep in mind, nonetheless.

If you've been tuning in here to read a good rant, I appreciate it, but here's the person who does it best is at Annotated Rant:

Yes, I know. Another three weeks have gone by without posting. I just haven't felt the need to write anything, and things were pretty hectic around here for a while. We decided to put our place up for sale a couple of weeks ago and got an offer within a few days. Unfortunately, we had just started our search, and we had no idea where we would go. The buyers were really pushy - asking way below the asking price on top pf asking us to pay all their closing costs, include all the appliances, and wanted possession in three weeks. Uhhhhhh, f-you? We wanted to get out of MV, so we did our best to try and place a decent place. Three times were we told that there were condos that would accept our dog, and twice did we put an offer on a place only to be told later that they won't take the dog (condos). So wtf was our realtor doing? We wasted hours and hours looking and making offers on places that wouldn't even take our dog. Was this woman even looking at the condo doc's before telling us this? So, needless to say, we didn't find a place in the 48 hours Mr. and Mrs. pushy gave us to find a place and get back to them with an answer. We haven't had any bits since then, and we're not even sure we want to go through the hassle and the financial cost of moving. Our place hasn't even kept up with inflation, and if we were to buy one of those condos in IC for a couple of years, we'd loose money there as well. Not to say it might be worth Stephanie's sanity (and mine), but it is a hefty weight to consider. We did look at houses briefly, but the only ones we could afford were small, old, and run-down. This wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't going to be at grad school half the time, but I don't think Stephanie wants the hassle of such a house all to herself (for all intents and purposes) for the next two years. What to do, what to do?

On a separate note, I found our why it is that cte. at work has my in a tizzy all the time. It's the chair. Just one guy. I notice that the last meeting when he wasn't there, everything went smoothly. He returns, and he's Mr. Controlling. If you say anything that challenges his view or belief, he retorts with absurdity, quite aggressively. Two examples. The first is when we were reviewing survey results for adjuncts at the college. One question asked what one's highest degree attained was. Options: HS, Bachelors, Masters, PhD. He said "why is there no MFA? I said (and another member said almost at the same time), "and MFA is a Master's degree". To which he said "no it's not". I said "M.F.A. - *master* of fine arts; it's a master's degree" to which he responded "no it's not". It's like a four year-old just saying "no it's not" over and over again, because he just doesn't want to believe it. Now granted, instead of PhD, it should have said doctorate, but if we listed every possible degree option, the results of the question would become meaningless. Buy the way, this same guy advocated that adjuncts sit on hiring committees. Ummm, you have no idea about credentialing, and you want to sit on a hiring committee?

Example two. We were talking about how many adjuncts responded that they would participate in a health insurance plan. I said how I pay between 300 and 400 to be covered on Stephanie's plan. He said he just lets the State take care of him, and if they try to bill him, he has no possessions to take; health insurance is just a lifestyle choice. And he says this with a smirk of righteousness. Man, I hate new age hippies. Well, everything is a lifestyle choice, making his claim totally empty. Not eating is also a lifestyle choice. So what? My brother would have lead a life of great suffering had my parents not busted their asses to pay for all the medical care he needed with his Ectodermal Dysplasias. I doubt the state would have paid for half of it. But no, I guess it's just a lifestyle choice. Man, what a dick.

Alright, I'm off to one of my many medical appointments for this month. But perhaps I should just forgo the health insurance and let my physical health slowly deteriorate. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.