What happened: No, I did not get a promotion.

Yeah, this is one of those stories that would require us to be perched on bar stools with plenty of time. I was on a high wire act for two or three years. I'd finally gotten down off the thing and then they came after me. I have a big screw sticking out of my back.

The very short version is that I told all the powers what needed to happen to keep the wheels from coming off. They blew me off for two years and then, seven months too late, they came through with human resources. Everybody got the long knives out and needed a head to cut off. Mine apparently got offered up.

So, the public spin is that I've been reassigned because they need my expertise in data analysis and research, given my institutional memory. Most of campus knows something happened. People are scared (god, if they could do that to somebody like him), confused (don't know what to say to me), and angry (I have a friend who, without my input, declared my entire former staff persona non grata and deleted people from his distribution lists and disinvited them to events "I'm in Jim's column."). Me, I'm stuck in a closet and swing from depression to anger to relief.

My boss says she needs me ("I promise you are not being fired.") because "you know where the bodies are buried". It's ugly.

I'm back

I haven't posted since June. It's been a rough, weird several months. I was obsessed with two things: work and the election. I was doing four people's jobs at work. My spare time (when I should have been sleeping) was spent thinking about the election. I was no fan of Obama, but voted for him. I got caught up in his speeches, like everyone, and then betrayed by his actions, like the FISA vote. However, he brings something positive out of the citizenry, expecially young people.

My daughter was an Obama volunteer at her college. On election night they spilled into the streets. She called me. She was ecstatic. I couldn't even understand her on the phone.

I was at some friends' in Carbondale. After Obama's victory speech, we had to drive through Carbondale. The Strip was filling up and was about to close. I drove toward campus and students were running from all directions. I've never seen such spontaneous joy. No anger. No fights. Happy people. Black and white.

The concert the Sunday before inauguration was inpirational. Pete Seeger leading the crowd in all the verses to 'This Land is Your Land'. What must he have thought? He outlived the rednecks that tried to kill Paul Robeson and him. He outlived the congressmen that tried to jail him. ... Then the following Tuesday and all the black folks that came on busses for the swearing in.

...Ah, but now it's March. State secrets, corporate welfare... same as it ever was. ...I'm back.