Motley Moose – Archive

The ‘Culture War’ has been going on since I returned to the ‘States in 1979. After being ruthlessly ejected from our home in Iran by a religious fanatic, I felt we had returned to a country that was being taken over by the religious right. Jerry Fallwell stood with Ronald Reagan and the Secretary of Interior believed in the Apocalypse. In late 1979 I met, for the first time, Mr Donahue who introduced me to a wide variety of people and ideas. I soon realized that I was a liberal. A leftist liberal who believed in the social contract as outlined by FDR and Kennedy. I was not old enough to vote in 1980, but I cried when Carter lost and Reagan went on for eight miserable years as the ‘Teflon President’ .

The result of this catastrophe for me was that I got very interested in politics and world affairs.  

Just over 32 years ago my family left Iran, our home for almost five years. Living in Iran was very interesting and someday I am certain that I will put written word to the stories I have of ‘growing up in Iran’. Our family lived in Iran from 1974 until February of 1979. Four of those years were spent in Tehran where we lived in the northern part of the city. We could see the Shah’s palace from our house but we lived south of the great bazaar of northern Tehran. At least I think it was. It is very likely that other shopping centers existed even further north. Our landlord was very wealthy and we rented his summer house which was separated by a wall from his home.

All of the streets in Tehran had walls. While the streets had young trees that were fed by open irrigation that ran through the entire city, the walls were looked much like the streets.  

I have never been to Egypt. My brother went on a school trip there in during the time we lived in Iran, but I always wished I had been able to go there. I lived in Iran for five years, although the final year I attended boarding school in Salzburg and My parents moved to southern Iran to a place called Chahbahar. It is an interesting place, look it up:~J

While I had hoped that the revolutionary protests in Iran in 2009 would have turned over the current government, I do not believe the revolution is over, but we will need to wait a while before it rises again. I hope the people of Persia can take their country back soon. At this time, it is one of the few countries in the world that are almost completely run by a religion. At least I think that is the case. Sigh. Now I will need to look that up>:~I

So I have been very bummed lately. A lot of bad stuff has happened over the past few years and I am ready to be finished with it now. Oh and YouTube sucks, as it has changed significantly over the past year. Fox won’t let their…uh, er…’programming’ be shown anymore, so why bother? Given all of that, I dare YouTube, make me laugh.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. Oooph. Yup, that made me rotf & lmao. So did this…

Ok. That was very funny and it made me laugh. It also made me fairly pissed, as I believe that marijuana should be legal. Period. That it is not available medically, is total bullshit. Legalize and decriminalize drugs. Save money and people. Put more money into prevention, accurate education, and treatment if needed. Grrrr.

Ahem. Here is the obligatory year according to Jib Jab.

Sorry. Kind of late. I am always late with stuff. I miss Headzup and TPMtv’s “The Day in 100 seconds”. Can we get them back please?

Thunder snow

northern Alabama

There can be no question that over the last century, our world has changed more, and at a quicker pace than any other time in history. I grant I could be wrong as I have not done any research in this area, but technological advances and an unprecedented interaction between almost every culture on this planet, has in my opinion, led to a massive global cultural change that is a culmination of the last several centuries that have seen increased mobility of citizens, sharing of technology and wares of all kinds, and an ever increasing share of the nations of this world have governments that have been turned over to their people, is simply astonishing.

Although the ideas of democracy and religious tolerance have existed for millennia, and technology has risen and fallen over time, it would seem at the beginning of the 21st century, humanity exists in a profoundly different world than did our great-great grandparents.  

I swear I live on Tehran time. As they are nine and one half hours ahead of Minnesota, it is a problem;~J Heh. Must be why I am a night owl…and absolutely why I am always late:~P

I have had a rather bizarre life. At least that is what a therapist once told me during a session a few years ago. While it made me laugh, as the comment was rather blunt and crudely said, it is true that my time on planet Earth has been an unusual existence. By the time I graduated from high school, I had attended nine different schools. However, there were but two places I have always identified as home. Our family lake cabin in northern Minnesota and Tehran, Iran. Iran was the home I lived in the longest of all of the other places I resided as a child. I will always miss the place where my ability to flourish with each change in my life cemented, and where my independence and fearlessness began to manifest.

We are currently seeing profound changes in predominantly Islamic countries in Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia that remind me a bit too much of my childhood experience of living in, and our eventual leaving of Iran, in early 1979. In the mid 70’s, Tehran was a wonderful place to grow up, and though I had hoped I might at least have a chance of visiting Persia again with the rise of protest during the summer of 2009, I now see that possibility must wait a while. At this time, the Islamic Republic of Iran has a very strong hold on it’s people and no outside admonishments  or intervention will change the future of Iran. Unfortunately (or fortunately), only Iranians can change their country now.  

Yesterday I was watching the news (not my favorite activity lately), and astonishingly enough, I saw something interesting. I will call him…Boxing Obama! I think he ate his spinach on Tuesday, and while I am not an aficionado of the pugilistic arts, my perception is for the first time in his presidency; my main man gave the left a right hook, grazed the right with a left uppercut, and smashed the nose of the media full on. It might have made the middle cheer. We can only hope that will be the beginning of some actual forward motion.

Honestly? I liked it and he’s ‘still got me babe’.