My friend's stag was this past weekend. Honestly I wasn't sure if it was going to be all that cool, it being a party designed to separate fools from their money and all, but it ended up being pretty fun. Beer and food = most guys are happy. Simple equation. This must be a Buffalo/WNY thing. None of my friends had similar parties. I brought a Jenna Jameson DVD to raffle off and that bad boy went FAST. Couldn't have been prouder with my selection. How can you say no to a "choose your own angle" feature?

The girlfriend was also in town, not for the stag or anything, as she told me she didn't know how to dance, heh, but we did get a little bit of time together. Things are getting more serious, and we're talking about the future. What will happen next year? The year after? Having witnessed my friend JV go through this process, I told her if one day I get married I refuse to have a big ceremony, refuse to have a shower (another shameless marriage benefit), and refuse to throw a party at some reception hall. I

The whole process resembles some jejune conformist nightmare. Seriously, outside the awesome wedding of (e:Ladycroft) and (e:Rory) aren't they all the same? Why does everyone have to go through the same BS process? Since when was going deeply into debt, for the satisfaction of knowing you have a bigger diamond, more lavish party, better cake, a requirement to be a married couple? I've thought of registering my protest by wearing the same shirt and tie every time. Same haircut.

Anyway, my girlfriend said something very interesting to me. It should have been obvious to me, but when you think about all of the photographers (love me some (e:dcoffee), you don't count, man), reception halls, caterers, mens and womens clothing, invitations....there is actually an industry dedicated to the perpetuation of this awful paradigm. I wonder what is more true. Does the industry thrive because people WANT to go through the pain in the ass? Does the industry thrive on appealing to us emotionally, making us feel like our relationship has less value if we don't do it the "right" way? Or is it peer pressure?

She also said she doesn't want to have another (cough) big to-do. This was such a huge relief for me. It's going to sound bad, okay, I'm not going to pretend it sounds lovely but the good thing about dating someone who's already had her day in the sun is that I'm off the hook, no dealing with the aforementioned pain in the ass. The only thing I would want is one good dinner with my boys, maybe some golf and cards. Whether it is this situation or another, I want to just go away somewhere, minimal number of people, middle of nowhere. Maybe on a beach. I'm sorry for saying it but I feel more connected spiritually in nature instead of in a hot church building. Don't you?

It sounds awfully close to me saying I'm ready for the next step but it is still way too early to do anything other than poke around the issue. Can't believe I'm talking about this. Anyway, I'm very thankful for what I have in my life. Very thankful. I have been so blessed this year. I think I've met my match. She cares about the little things that make life interesting and fun, which I had lost sight of for years. Life is great, people! You have to unplug, detach yourself from the day to day so-called "existence". You make yourself happy by happily investing in other people and other experiences. You feel fulfilled by participating in someone else's fulfillment - and really giving it your best. Even if this falls apart tomorrow I will still be blessed because of everything I've learned.

I've forgotten how much I enjoy mixing drinks. I'm pretty good at it too. What is your favorite summer beverage of choice?

Dear City of Buffalo,

It's always annoyed me that we have to pay a "convenience fee" for paying a parking ticket online. Bush league man, Bush league.

I love Orlando. Sun, gorgeous girls, and plenty of booze. I wish I could tell you what went on tonight but what I will say is my man got his ass paddled. Three girls, then they gave ME the paddle, it was like winning the Super Bowl. I smoked him with that paddle big time. Pray he never gets revenge. I laughed so hard.

All of you who use FB know it informs you of upcoming birthdays. I don't know anyone's birthday, except for Jerry, so this is a tool I can use. The thing is I usually end up forgetting to send a Happy Birthday note anyway, which presents an issue. Is someone going to be pissed because I left someone else a Happy Birthday note and didn't leave them a note as well? What ends up happening is I don't leave ANYONE a birthday note. FB presents us will all kinds of potentially awkward scenarios like this. I wonder if I've left any of you a Happy Birthday note.

I'm praying for good weather for the Farmer's Market tomorrow. I want to pick up some veggies and maybe some potted things. I'd love to have some herbs as well. After that we're going to Zillycakes to get some cupcakes....then who knows what? It will be 40% chance of rain. Good vibes...good vibes.

I don't know why I stress so much over finding a place for dinner. She would be happy just sitting anywhere with me. That's great, but I'd like for it be a unique and fun experience for her. All I want is to see a big ole smile on her face.

So....here are my thoughts so far. I need to make a res tonight!! This is for Friday or Saturday, whatever works best.

La Tee Da (still really want to try it...too cold for the patio?)
Left Bank (assuming I can even get a res)
Hutch's (loved it when we went there last time)
O'Connells
Tabree

What do you think? Help Jason to not stress.

With strong moral leadership like this, we can be assured Virginia has a bright future.



Seriously, I'm so happy I left the GOP

Several changes have been proposed to the AZ law. I've read very few articles, and heard from very few people who understand (or even want to understand?) what the law actually says. No Barry, you can't get hauled off from the ice cream shop. It is only 16 pages - not one of those 2,400 page abominations. Proposed changes linked below:



I also have a PDF of the original law if anyone wants a copy.

I have my problems with this so-called solution. It's misguided to the core. A law that doesn't distinguish between the good people who contribute to our country and the violent criminals who cause various problems is just not going to work. The former group will not help us get rid of the latter group, and realistically the former group isn't going anywhere.

I sympathize with Arizona in that due to Federal negligence over the course of time they have been unfairly put in a position that leads to this kind of desperate action. Breaking their response down into base accusations of racism and bigotry shows incredibly cynical, lazy thinking. They have real problems that have to be resolved. The opposite (roughly, don't get too literal on me on that) position, a sanctuary city policy, is something a lot of people look at and question. I would argue that position also fails to make the distinction between workers and criminals.

I'll give you one fairly well known example of how a sanctuary city policy ends up working for a city's citizens. In San Francisco, when an MS-13 member who had previously committed violent crimes as a teenager goes on to gun down a father and two children (look up Edwin Ramos) I think the policy fails. To be fair, Gavin Newsom later amended the policy, but the policy was short sighted to begin with. Remember, the people we want to bring into the fold can (and probably have) been mistaken for rival gang members as well.

Did anyone bother to boycott San Francisco?

I hate to put it this way, but US citizens should not be considered collateral damage by the government. I also don't think it's fair to the illegals, most of whom are here to escape shitty situations elsewhere, or to just provide for their families, to be considered collateral damage by the Arizona government. It is in everyone's interest for government to take a stand that distinguishes between the good and the bad, and punishes the bad. I have zero problem with an Edwin Ramos begin deported. He may get life in jail - but was justice served? Should we be pleased? No, I don't think so.

It is long past time for the Feds to start taking this thing seriously. We have to have control of our border and it is within our rights to control who is coming in. As far as I'm concerned the good folks who want to contribute to our economy should not have to live in fear of being arrested or deported. As I said before, they are not going anywhere. Arguments about mass deportation are null and void. Control the border, control immigration, separate the good from the criminals, and work like hell to get the criminals ejected.

I would offer the non-criminals two options. All of them would have to pay some kind of token fine. All of them would have to learn English. Some people just come here to work and then bring their dollars over the border to support their families. I would get them documented (thoroughly) and allow them to do so. People who want to become US citizens can do so as well, but they would have to get back in the queue, however long that takes, and perform some kind of national service. It doesn't have to be the army or anything. We can be imaginative. I'd like it to be something positive that contributes to local communities and will erase any doubt in anyone's mind about the God's honest truth, which is that they want to live and work among us. I am going to forgive their illegal entry, and if that makes me a flaming lib then so be it.

What's really sad is that it didn't have to come to this - I think George W. Bush put forward a measure in good faith. I think this is one area where his religion guiding his decision making was a good thing. Whether it was perfect or not is debatable I suppose, but he got creamed from both sides for what he did. We have to start somewhere reasonable. There are a bunch of other tangential discussions, unionization and so forth, that can be discussed later.

It is time to stop with the hyperbole, to start breaking bread again and not worry about who gets credit. I don't care how someone who earns citizenship votes. Every human being, healthy, lame, white, black, rich, poor, young, old has an inherent degree of human dignity that can never be erased from our core values as Americans. Every human being has value. We can stay who we are and control our borders at the same time. We have to.

New York State wasn't just content to let me pay my taxes last year, they harassed me claiming I had never paid. Six months later they finally sent me a letter acknowledging what I'd already known, that I paid my mother fucking taxes long ago. I hate tax season. Between them and the federales I can't wait to see how much my middle class ass has to redistribute to the freeloaders. I always end up paying.