Happy Thanksgiving to all those who were able to push away from the table long enough to log on to the internet. I haven’t posted very much this week, because it’s been a very busy time. You know how it is.

So in no particular order, here are the latest ramblings from yours truly:

1. My Beloved Twelve-Time World Champion Green Bay Packers officially suck. They take a touchdown lead into halftime at Lambeau and I think, “hmm, they took a 17-point lead at halftime against this same team and lost on a last second field goal.” Sure enough, we lose on a last second field goal to go 2-8. We can no longer possibly have a winning season this year.

   For some, this would be hard to cope with. But for an eternal Packers fan like me, this just harkens back to the good old days when you were part of a lonely group of die hards cheering on the loveable losers in the cheese-puff helmets whose one-time dominance is long in the past. Back to the days when the rare Packers victory would warm your heart until next Sunday. It only hurts to have to watch Brett Favre doing it rather than Lynn Dickey.

   Now the Packers faithful dream of a six-game winning streak, to avoid a losing season. Barring that, we dream of surpassing the Lions in the standings, to avoid finishing last in the division. Barring that, we dream of winning just one more game than the Saints, to avoid finishing last in the conference. Barring that, we cheer for every team playing the Texans, to avoid finishing last in the league. Barring that, we dream of a number one draft pick who will someday return the Green and Gold to Super Bowl glory.

2. Boise State beat the University of Idaho by a score of 70 to 35. When I attended BSU, Idaho kicked our butt for 13 years straight, and I never heard the end of it from all my friends who went to UoI. Now, even though Idaho has finally jumped to our division in the WAC, we’re constantly making them look like Moscow High School. So nyah nyah nyah… go Broncos!

   It’s weird that BSU is having a 8-3 Division I / 6-1 WAC record, and that’s a bad year.

3. There is much to be thankful for today. On Wednesday, my wife became one of Oregon’s 12,000+ doctor-prescribed, state-regulated, perfectly-legal medical marijuana patients and I became one of Oregon’s 5,000+ caregivers, certified to possess and grow the medical marijuana my wife requires. I’m thankful that I had the resources to move to a compassionate, progressive state that is leading the nation in marijuana law reform. I’m thankful that Oregon’s legislature passed legislation that, as of January 1 (our fifth anniversary… whatta present!) allows us to possess up to a pound and a half of usable marijuana and 24 (6 budding) marijuana plants. I’m thankful to have been recruited for the board of Oregon NORML, the largest and oldest organization committed to ending marijuana prohibition. I’m thankful to be free from the black market and criminals and the ridiculous costs and risks associated with prohibited medicine. I’m thankful for all the money we will save on both black market and prescription medications now that we can grow the healing herb for ourselves. I’m thankful for the health benefits we will reap by avoiding harsh pharmaceuticals (most of which my wife is allergic to) and switching from carbonization (smoking) to vaporization or eating cannabis. I’m thankful that, short of DEA interference (which accounts for only 1% of marijuana arrests), I will not be arrested and imprisoned because I have dried flowers in my house or on my person.

   I’m thankful for my beautiful wife, whom I’ve known for nearly seven years now. They say that after seven years, you’ve replaced every cell in your body. So this next March, it will be like we’re married to a brand new person! I’m thankful that she took a chance on a long haired rock musician who could hold a conversation. I’m thankful that I got all the relationship stupidity out of my system before we met.

   I’m thankful for the fabulous family and friends I have here in Oregon, and I’m thankful for the fabulous family and friends I have back in Idaho and all around the globe, whom I miss very much. I’m thankful for all my little nieces and nephews who look to me as the big, wacky uncle, and make me wish briefly for children of my own. I’m thankful for all the people who couldn’t disagree more with my atheist, progressive, pro-marijuana views, but love and respect me just the same.

   I’m thankful to Bill Gates for creating a computer system just reliable enough to be successful, yet just buggy enough to keep me employed. I’m thankful this is one of the season I don’t have NFL Sunday Ticket. I’m thankful for the rain, the glorious rain that keeps this part of the planet so lush and green and beautiful. I’m thankful my two cats and dog are in good health and don’t ever make us mad at them long enough to consider adopting them out to Gypsies.

4. Americans want us to get out of Iraq. The world wants us to get out of Iraq. The Iraqis want us to get out of Iraq. Therefore, we will stay the course.

   We are running a huge deficit. Our Iraq War is costing hundreds of billions of dollars (some of which are even accounted for). We are in a massive trade deficit. We are cutting social programs for lack of funds. Therefore, we will give rich folks more tax breaks.

5. What the hell is going on with so-called country music these days? I flip through the channels and hit CMT every now and then. I get something called Big & Rich laying down a hip-hop groove with a steel guitar. I see somebody called Gretchen Wilson belting out a boogie rock number with Kid Rock and a steel guitar. I witness what must be an illusion in Cowboy Troy, a black man in a cowboy hat rapping about a train with a steel guitar. Is that how you know it is country, because it has a steel guitar? Nope, that can’t be it, because I’ve got a Robert Randolph & The Family Band album, and that ain’t country.

   Still, I like some country more than I like what’s going on in soul/R&B these days. Can anyone tell me where one Usher song ends and the next Usher song begins? All these crooning pretty boys sound alike to me. And these divas, please, pick a note and stick to it. Their voices go through more gymnastics than Kerri Strug in a grand mal seizure.

   Rap? Where do I start? There’s Eminem, Kanye West, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Shock G, and a few others I like, but the majority of them really bug me. Just because you can choreograph syncopated shouting does not make you musical. The good rappers understand rhythm and flow, verse and chorus, melody and instrumentation. How do you know the good ones? Recite someone’s rap to a friend, keeping the same rhythm and inflection, but replace the words with “nah nah nah” gibberish. If they can’t identify the rap, either it’s not musical or you’re a lousy rapper. (Seriously. Try the “nah nah nah” test with “The Real Slim Shady”, “Golddigger”, “Check Yo Self”, “Gin & Juice”, or “Humpty Dance”. If you’re any good a casual pop music fan will get at least 3 out of 5.)

6. I’ve been really busy getting ready for tomorrow’s Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards. This is the Super Bowl (pun intended) of events for the Oregon cannabis community, and the nation’s premiere educational seminar in the medical and legal understanding of marijuana and marijuana laws. You know, planning a huge event like this can be an exhausting effort. I will probably be running from 6AM-Midnight tommorrow. That’s why I drink Triple Strength Diet Rockstar Energy Drink!

Alright, that’s enough bloggity goodness for now. I’ll return to my regularly-scheduled Bush-bashing, American Taliban-thumping, hypocrite-examining, Libertarian-opposing, left-leaning progressive polemics after the weekend.