I want to get away from the crap parade. Too much, too soon, all bad news. In less than a month, I've learned that my daughter & brother have aggressive forms of cancer. I haven't had time to absorb the news, and during that time, Ashley's news was worse, because after her 3rd chemo treatment, she was dropped by her insurance provider under false pretenses. Thankfully, that is in the process of being resolved.
It's disgusting. It's horrible. It's insane. I hope Mark isn't treated like Ashley by his insurance company.
I don't think I can take anymore bad news. I already have a migraine from the previous news. Right now I feel numb; can't cry, can't even get mad. I don't answer the phone anymore, afraid of it being more crappy news. I went off on one telemarketer hawking funeral plans! That person will never call here again.
I've been back to an old blog site, because there are some ultra-conservatives who are so oblivious to reason that I'm able to vent my frustrations by baiting them and smacking them with facts! Yeah, it's a turkey shoot. It makes me feel better. :) I respect their opinions, but not when they use their own opinions as facts, resort to dodges, or lies.
But in the end, I'm still left feeling helpless to help my daughter and brother. I can do what I can, but it's not enough, to me.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Sea Change
Pres. Obama's State of the Union address last night will keep both houses of Congress busy these next 4 years. All the media refers to his programs as "sweeping changes" and one guy called them, "audacious and ambitious changes." They are: health care reform; education; the economy; and balance our trillion+ dollar deficit by the end of his first term.
Everyone is saying how impossible it is to make so many promises and keep them. Most of the people saying so just happen to be Republicans. Republicans who allowed the problems we're facing to continue, even when opportunity was at their doorstep 16 years ago to prevent this. Republicans who NEVER conducted oversight of themselves. Republicans who've profited by the lack of non-enforcement of regulations, laws, and unethical practices in our banking system, Justice Dept., our tax laws, and the blatant favoritism at the hands of Pres. George W. Bush, IN THE NAME OF FREE-MARKET ECONOMIC CAPITALISM.
Now that Democrats have more power, the wind has shifted to the left, which strikes fear into the very core of staunch conservatives. It HAD to shift, because government under Republican ideology(see above) was manipulative and abusive, and neglectful of the very things that keep a country healthy. Capitalism, under laissez-faire economics, only works when responsible, ethical people are at the helm. It's only right that now the Republicans aren't controlling government any longer. New regulations have to be put into place by Democrats( it would be nice to have Republicans participate when it's the RIGHT thing to do), to keep our government, its agencies, and major corporate institutions from behaving as though the Old West were in full sway once more. History DID repeat itself under George W. Bush. And now we're all paying for it because Republicans couldn't restrain their abject greed.
The one thing that Republicans refuse to see is that change IS necessary, because THEY ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE DOWNFALL OF OUR ECONOMY, through NEGLECT and ADEHERANCE TO A FAILED IDEOLOGY. They cannot change what they believe, so they attack those who adapt to change. Everyone, everything evolves over time. So too, economics. The time is ripe for capitalism to evolve, from an antiquated ideology to something combining capitalism and socialism. It's NOT a bug-bear, to those who research what I'm saying. It's a natural maturing of our successful economy. When people are successful, people demand more services, and pay for them with their taxes. Under Republican dominance, we got NOTHING for our tax dollars. Under socialistic reforms, we will get what we voted Democrats into Congress for--the programs we kept INSISTING we needed, but were not given, by Republicans. This is only the first month of Pres. Obama's term in office. If one of his reforms is successful, I will look at him as a miracle worker, and wait for the others to take place.
The time is right for the Republicans to pull their collective head out from their collective ass and become good, loyal Americans once again and put the country above themselves.
Everyone is saying how impossible it is to make so many promises and keep them. Most of the people saying so just happen to be Republicans. Republicans who allowed the problems we're facing to continue, even when opportunity was at their doorstep 16 years ago to prevent this. Republicans who NEVER conducted oversight of themselves. Republicans who've profited by the lack of non-enforcement of regulations, laws, and unethical practices in our banking system, Justice Dept., our tax laws, and the blatant favoritism at the hands of Pres. George W. Bush, IN THE NAME OF FREE-MARKET ECONOMIC CAPITALISM.
Now that Democrats have more power, the wind has shifted to the left, which strikes fear into the very core of staunch conservatives. It HAD to shift, because government under Republican ideology(see above) was manipulative and abusive, and neglectful of the very things that keep a country healthy. Capitalism, under laissez-faire economics, only works when responsible, ethical people are at the helm. It's only right that now the Republicans aren't controlling government any longer. New regulations have to be put into place by Democrats( it would be nice to have Republicans participate when it's the RIGHT thing to do), to keep our government, its agencies, and major corporate institutions from behaving as though the Old West were in full sway once more. History DID repeat itself under George W. Bush. And now we're all paying for it because Republicans couldn't restrain their abject greed.
The one thing that Republicans refuse to see is that change IS necessary, because THEY ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN THE DOWNFALL OF OUR ECONOMY, through NEGLECT and ADEHERANCE TO A FAILED IDEOLOGY. They cannot change what they believe, so they attack those who adapt to change. Everyone, everything evolves over time. So too, economics. The time is ripe for capitalism to evolve, from an antiquated ideology to something combining capitalism and socialism. It's NOT a bug-bear, to those who research what I'm saying. It's a natural maturing of our successful economy. When people are successful, people demand more services, and pay for them with their taxes. Under Republican dominance, we got NOTHING for our tax dollars. Under socialistic reforms, we will get what we voted Democrats into Congress for--the programs we kept INSISTING we needed, but were not given, by Republicans. This is only the first month of Pres. Obama's term in office. If one of his reforms is successful, I will look at him as a miracle worker, and wait for the others to take place.
The time is right for the Republicans to pull their collective head out from their collective ass and become good, loyal Americans once again and put the country above themselves.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
I LOVE ABSOLUTE RADIO!
Absolute Radio(aka AR) in the UK is simply great. I've never had such fun, made such good friends, as I have on their blog site. The sites I've been on in the US were ok for a time, but a lot of people are mean-spirited, selfish, confrontational, and tend to form cliques, which makes it difficult to establish friendships. I like making friends, keeping them, and having fun.
I've thought about this dynamic for sometime now, and in my view it's because of our culture in the US. It's markedly different from AR, even though the culture on that site is as diverse as ours. Yes, weirdos, lonely people, neurotic people, are out there blogging, joining public chat groups, etc. But they don't manifest FEAR! whenever they are on site for the first time. Nervousness, perhaps, caution, definitely, but not FEAR.
The US media, through terrible actual incidents directly connected to internet contact, which is aired/printed in various media, have instilled abject fear into people whenever they surf the internet. It's almost as if Americans EXPECT to be victimized, or to DO the victimizing first! I understand the dangers of the internet fully, but I doubt anyone has used common sense in explaining this to others!
The US media just love dangers, victims, suspicious people/circumstances, criminal behavior, and blare it LOUDLY, REPEATEDLY, until one has become desensitized to it all.
When will people learn to use common sense and stop acting like decapitated chickens????
I've thought about this dynamic for sometime now, and in my view it's because of our culture in the US. It's markedly different from AR, even though the culture on that site is as diverse as ours. Yes, weirdos, lonely people, neurotic people, are out there blogging, joining public chat groups, etc. But they don't manifest FEAR! whenever they are on site for the first time. Nervousness, perhaps, caution, definitely, but not FEAR.
The US media, through terrible actual incidents directly connected to internet contact, which is aired/printed in various media, have instilled abject fear into people whenever they surf the internet. It's almost as if Americans EXPECT to be victimized, or to DO the victimizing first! I understand the dangers of the internet fully, but I doubt anyone has used common sense in explaining this to others!
The US media just love dangers, victims, suspicious people/circumstances, criminal behavior, and blare it LOUDLY, REPEATEDLY, until one has become desensitized to it all.
When will people learn to use common sense and stop acting like decapitated chickens????
Saturday, January 31, 2009
NEW & IMPROVED GOP
At long last, the RNC has finally realized that they've alienated people for only 8 years, according to the news article I read this morning in my paper, the Houston Chronicle. It seems everyone was on the same page during the Clinton years. With the election of Michael Steele, the first black RNC chairman, the GOP will be working to "improve its image" after the media and Democrats have wrongly accused them of being out of touch with the public, dictatorial, and careless of the well-being of our country.
"Wrong?!" Sounds like the whole party is in denial of their actions under the leadership of G.W. Bush and is trying to sweep the last 8 years of complete dismissal of the public's needs and wants, gross abuse of power, and the rule of law(US Constitutional law and precedents) under a giant rug. Not to mention total non-bipartisanship, though that was the campaign theme when Bush ran!
"Cleaning the slate" is going to be a tough sell, involving the "leopard changing its spots", which, as everyone knows, is code for no change at all. Underneath is the same old cat, waiting for the chance to pounce. Then too, the House and Senate Republicans have to do the same thing, and they've already shown how "bipartisan" they are: voting unanimously in one body against Obama's economic stimulus package.
Until the GOP stops regarding people who are moderately liberal as FOES, instead of fellow Americans, NO change AT ALL, NO image improvement, will ever take place. Wake up idiots and smell the coffee! Bringing in minorities is just a token facelift, and a pretty empty gesture at that. Bringing your ideology into REALITY is what's really needed if you want to be trusted again. Your party and Dubya drove this country and the economy into the ground. You are to blame. And you're still in denial.
"Wrong?!" Sounds like the whole party is in denial of their actions under the leadership of G.W. Bush and is trying to sweep the last 8 years of complete dismissal of the public's needs and wants, gross abuse of power, and the rule of law(US Constitutional law and precedents) under a giant rug. Not to mention total non-bipartisanship, though that was the campaign theme when Bush ran!
"Cleaning the slate" is going to be a tough sell, involving the "leopard changing its spots", which, as everyone knows, is code for no change at all. Underneath is the same old cat, waiting for the chance to pounce. Then too, the House and Senate Republicans have to do the same thing, and they've already shown how "bipartisan" they are: voting unanimously in one body against Obama's economic stimulus package.
Until the GOP stops regarding people who are moderately liberal as FOES, instead of fellow Americans, NO change AT ALL, NO image improvement, will ever take place. Wake up idiots and smell the coffee! Bringing in minorities is just a token facelift, and a pretty empty gesture at that. Bringing your ideology into REALITY is what's really needed if you want to be trusted again. Your party and Dubya drove this country and the economy into the ground. You are to blame. And you're still in denial.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Dubya's Legacy
This is Bush's last contribution to his own pedagoguery- a once grandiose design for 2 buildings located on the campus of Southern Methodist University, now, sadly, or fortunately for us little people, the design is now calling for a "single building with two separate wings, with design elements distinct from each other", according to Laura Bush.
The President's response? "It will be cool-looking."
I googled for Stern's sketch of the proposed building, (albeit a cursory search), but it proved fruitless so far.
According to the blogs, the backers for this project are all Bush cronies, who all seemed to get the same urge at the same time- donate money to SMU! Why is this NOT surprising! A partisan project initiated by a partisan President, and paid for by partisan money!
I have just one burning question: why isn't his Presidential Library and Freedom Institute being built on the campus of his alma mater, Yale University?
The President's response? "It will be cool-looking."
I googled for Stern's sketch of the proposed building, (albeit a cursory search), but it proved fruitless so far.
According to the blogs, the backers for this project are all Bush cronies, who all seemed to get the same urge at the same time- donate money to SMU! Why is this NOT surprising! A partisan project initiated by a partisan President, and paid for by partisan money!
I have just one burning question: why isn't his Presidential Library and Freedom Institute being built on the campus of his alma mater, Yale University?
Friday, January 2, 2009
End Of An Error!
Don't know about yall, but I'm ready to begin the count-down of days until Dubya leaves office, and Obama takes the oath of office Tuesday, Jan. 2o, 2oo9! T-minus 3 days and counting...
Let's review the past blunders of Dubya's 2 terms:
Let's review the past blunders of Dubya's 2 terms:
- Removal of the 1972 Nuclear Arms Non- Proliferation Treaty;
- Defining terrorists as armed combatants not affiliated to any country's military, but conducting combat in a specific country;
- Using above definition, this allowed Dubya to abuse our signatories of the Geneva Convention Articles of 1957 re: torture, capture, and human rights;
- Ignorance of several Bills of Rights in our Constitution, namely: warrantless wiretapping, habeus corpus, freedom of speech; freedom of assembly;
- Reinstatement of the Cold War, by placing a missile base in Poland only miles away from the Russian border;
- Crossing the line of separation of Church and State, a precedent set by past Presidents, by allowing employers to use religious beliefs as a basis for hiring or firing employees, in a Presidential signing statement(it was his first act in his first term, on his first day);
- Abuse of military troop rotations, creating vets with severe PTSD; appalling treatment of wounded soldiers in our VA hospitals in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere throughout the country! ;
- Getting rid of Justice Dept. fully qualified attorneys based on political beliefs;
- Interference in a State's(TEXAS!) justice procedures when 2 Border Patrol agents were railroaded for shooting a drug lord; (they're STILL in prison!) the judges who heard the case and the appeal were Republican toady appointees by Dubya;
- The insistence by Dubya, Dead-Eye Dick and other administration officials of the truth re: lead up to Iraq invasion;
- The stupid waste of billions of dollars that could have gone to worthwhile projects(LIKE BRIDGE REPAIR) on a 700 mile border wall, of which only approximately 100 miles was built... where'd the rest of the money go? Because they stopped working on it...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Events Up To End Of This Year
2oo8 proved to be quite momentous. An unheard of almost 2 year campaign for president; the BIG 3 automakers needed bailout(?!) because of their mismanagement of their companies over 2 decades; the collapse of the economy over Alan Greenspan's and the Republican Party's insistence that "free market" would take care of us all(where's MY trickle?); the crushing debt we ALL created by building towers of debt on credit cards, homes, and other items we couldn't get because we didn't have the cash to back up the credit; frickin' hurricanes Gustav and Ike(the latter I lived through) and finally Dubya, who is at long last worried about an f---ing legacy! Whew!
And just when we thought we couldn't take any more bad news, Israel launched a full-scale war against Hamas in Gaza, barely a week before New Year's, and just after Chanukka! Way to go, guys, who knew missiles aren't peacekeepers? Oh wait-- just about EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!
It's been difficult trying to remain sane while some people on the other side of the Mediterranean just want to go berserk and screw things up for EVERYONE, let alone our OWN resident loonies in Washington, D.C.! They've done a bang up job, haven't they? Couldn't have done it better if they'd planned the whole thing... Well, they SAID they did, anyway...
And just when we thought we couldn't take any more bad news, Israel launched a full-scale war against Hamas in Gaza, barely a week before New Year's, and just after Chanukka! Way to go, guys, who knew missiles aren't peacekeepers? Oh wait-- just about EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!
It's been difficult trying to remain sane while some people on the other side of the Mediterranean just want to go berserk and screw things up for EVERYONE, let alone our OWN resident loonies in Washington, D.C.! They've done a bang up job, haven't they? Couldn't have done it better if they'd planned the whole thing... Well, they SAID they did, anyway...
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