Between The Heavens and the Sky

A 21st Century Christmas Carol

2010-12-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

The Republican dominated legislature of Arizona, along with the Governor , are proving the adage...The truth is stranger is stranger than fiction...armed with an admittedly skewed survey they unilaterally removed funding for those who had already received approval for transplant funding.

People who were told that they would soon be able to receive organ transplants were shocked when they were told that there was no money available in the till, shocked to realize that the Republican controlled Legislature had disallowed the expenditure of funds towards those who qualified under Arizona's version of Medicaid aka AHHCS (access).

These folks had already been approved for the procedures in question; all were waiting for a donor. Most knew that finding a donor can sometimes be like looking for a needle in a stack of needles, but they were hopeful nonetheless.

Francisco Felix is a man with Hep C who, in a cruel twist, located a liver from a relative who was a match, but since he was cut from funding, the liver he found was given to someone else. Removing those with Hepatitis C from financial assistance targets many of the poor, especially people of color who seem to make up an disproportionate number among those with Hepatitis C.

Another individual, Mark Price was the recipient of a gift from an anonymous angel who came forward to pay for the procedure, only to die just before the operation. He was next in line to receive a bone marrow transplant until he was removed from the list.

One, but not all, of the reasons given by Jan Brewster, is that receiving some cancer treatments fall into the "optional" category and that there is no guarantee that the treatment will succeed, somehow ignoring the irony that she and the legislature have guaranteed the efficacy of no transplant, death.

In this 21st century iteration of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the bankers are played by the Arizona Legislature and the Scrooge character by Jan Brewer; she of the "headless corpses" in the desert.

It is increasingly clear that the policies put in place in Arizona have the heaviest impact on those of us who cannot afford the thousands of dollars needed in order to receive the "greatest" health care in the world.

It should come as no surprise that the Republicans in power throughout the country will soon be emulating the tactics and policies in Arizona in order to balace their budgets. They have made it very clear that they are no friend to those in need, whether they be poor or middle class. They will attempt to balance budgets on the backs of those who can least afford it.

They know the poor and the sick have no advocates in the halls of Congress, no high priced lobbyists; they know that the media will only latch onto this story for only a few moments or until the next blonde goes missing.

They know that people would rather hear about the comings and goings of the half-term governor of Alaska and her brood, the next American Idol or which sub saharan country Angelina is going to adopt next.

It proves the old saying...the rich are different...

Eso es así...

The Last Thursday in November

2010-11-23T14:22:00.001-05:00

Two days before the annual eat-fest that is the last Thursday in November; i wonder whether some people are not really understanding what this day means to us who are not descendants of the Mayflower or unforced immigrants.

There are some who give a too literal definition of the Thanksgiving Ritual; for some it is a celebration of of life in the so-called New World, for others, it is a painful recollection of stolen dreams and vivid nightmares glossed over by images of black-hatted Puritans pushing ever westward towards the final conquest of a continent.

I won't try to bridge that divide, I'll leave that to others much more qualified than me to make that argument. My effort today is to give my opinions on what this day means to me and to perhaps other people of color.

I don't believe that any of us have ever bought into the myth that about Plymouth Rock and Squanto of the Patuxet; and while there is a germ of truth in any myth, the reality is usually much different. I understand that we have all participated either as children or as parents in the ubiquitous Thanksgiving plays and activities, but I have to believe that while we smiled for the audiences, we knew that it was not our story.

Our story is much different, it is a story that endures through time, forced labor, discriminatory practices codified as law; and outright hatred on the part of some people in this country.

It endures because we keep out our eyes wide open to the injustices that befall many of those less fortunate, it endures because the basis of our hope lies within our families, families united in and by blood; families we create by choice, and even those parts of our families that at first blush may seem to be in an dysfunctional state.

It endures because it must; we have no choice in that matter, the shoulders we stand on will become the shoulders our children and grandchildren will stand on.

We know that Thanksgiving as an American holiday does not necessarily line up with our reality; but it does give us another reason to gather around people we love and even some we just tolerate, that is what I, and I believe many people of color take away from this last Thursday of November, we may have Turkey or Pernil, we may have have ham, or lamb if we are keeping kosher or halal.

We may be serving Pasteles or Tamales, many of us will watch a game or two on the box pondering whether we should have another helping, while others will be playing flag-football. Some will be celebrating the arrival of a new member of the family, or remembering those who passed before us. Sadly, there will be others who will take that celebratory toast a bit too far and we must find ways to help them find a way out of the morass that is not allowing them to be the best that they can be.

That is what makes the last Thursday in November a day to enjoy, reflect, laugh and sometimes cry; it's part of the whole megilla, el cuento total de nuestras vidas...

Open Carry, Arizona SB1070, Florida Bill No.6 and other Republican Follies

2010-04-22T17:13:00.001-04:00

The past couple of weeks we have been treated to a traveling minstrel show know as the Tea Party Express, featuring half-term governor and fully failed VP candidate in the 2008 election Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, J.D. Hayworth and a cast of loony wannabees; courtesy of the Republican Party, although each has disavowed the other.

We’ve seen, or rather heard of the hundreds of protests attended by many dozens of people protesting everything from open carry laws to the nations’ slow but inexorable march towards ‘socialism.

We have seen or heard the commotion caused by the passing of SB1070, in the Arizona Legislature that seems to bestow powers to local and state law enforcement to stop and ask for papers proving one’s legality to be at that particular geographic locale. The Governor can sign, veto, or just allow the bill to become law by her inaction.

The bill has a provision that allows citizens to sue localities if they feel they have not been aggressive enough in the enforcement of said bill.

The title of the bill, “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” is similar in name to other Orwellian right wing obfuscations such as, clean coal, clean air and others that strain the imagination.

This bottom line effect is to empower local and state law enforcement agencies to stop and question anyone they deem has “a reasonable suspicion” of not being in the U.S. legally. The definition of ‘reasonable suspicion’ is so vague that one can rightly suspect that anyone having a taquito for lunch may be stopped and asked “where are your papers”…and…well, you get the idea.

I don’t think Governor Brewer will sign this bill, however, I don’t believe she’ll veto it either, right wing politics being what they are in Arizona, she will take the easy way out allow the bill to become law in 90 days…here’s hoping I’m wrong

On to Senate Bill 6 passed by the both houses in Florida and vetoed by Republican Governor Charlie Crist; among the more draconian affects this bill would have eliminated tenure for teachers and based their pay on outcomes, or more to the point what percentage of students in heir care scored on the various standardized tests being given throughout the K-12 system. It would not have factored in students with disabilities, learning or otherwise.

Anyone with just a smattering of common sense knows that some people don’t test well; you could well have ended up with a student who has done great work in the class room, great attendance, but tested bad on those three days of tests….

I don’t know what motivated Charlie Crist to veto this bill; it could have been any number of reasons, his sputtering primary run at the senate, his desire to free himself from imploding Republican Party, I just don’t know. Whatever his reasons may have been, he did the right thing.

Charlie Crist does not ask me for advice, but for what it’s worth, he’s a popular governor, he’s from the left coast of Florida, St. Pete to be exact, and that alone carries an element of cool that cannot be measured. He should drop out of the Senate primary, and leave the race; I suspect that there would be many a Democrat and Independents who would view this move in a positive manner.
And now to the fun part of this rant.
There have been several so- called “Open Carry” rallies around the country, protesting the alleged confiscation of weapons and other sundry and ridiculous moves by the ‘gummint’ against “real Americans”…the half term governor of Alaska and utterly failed 2008 VP candidate, Sarah Palin has been criss-crossing the country on the Tea Bag Express sending shivers up the spine of the ‘real americans’, warning them that at some point in the future the government will come in the dead of night and take your weapons from you; she screeches, “…don’t retreat, reload…”

She claims ‘they’ want to kill granny with their death panels, and that Jesus, was and is the leader of this Christian Nation, and if you don’t share her belief, well then, I guess you won’t be one of the cool kids.

She claims that ‘they’ will subvert the 2nd amendment, and several groups have formed around the country with the stated purpose to defend their perceived right to carry weapons openly wherever they go.

Gun Owners of America and the Oath Keepers are two of the most visible groups running around scared that the sky is falling. I don’t remember a single ‘open carry’ during the nightmare that was the Bush fiasco. I don’t remember a single ‘open carry’ rally when the Patriot Act was passed in the middle of the night by the Republican controlled Congress, that among other things, allowed no-knock home invasions by the police, ‘sneak and peeks’ allowing the government to go into your home and then get a warrant.

I wonder what would be the reaction if Black and Brown folks started attending some of these Tea Bag and Open Carry rallies with their legally purchased weapons strapped to their hips, what would be the reaction if Black and Brown folks carried their rifles and shotguns to political rallies as some anti-Obama protesters have done during the campaign.

Wait, I really don’t have to wonder, look at the political persecution that haunted Black Panthers after they staged their protests on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento; let’s not forget Wounded Knee, the Brown Berets, and the Young Lords Party in New York.

Well, as Vonnegut used to say…and so it goes…!

In Haiti and Chile: People or Property First

2010-03-01T17:32:00.005-05:00

A quick and unscientific glance at what it is that seems to carry more weight; the care and comfort of the people, who by no fault of their own, are victims of natural disasters, or the protection of property held in private, and to a lesser extent, government hands.

While I have been subject to the vicissitudes of mother Earth, we had three hurricanes literally cross through my backyard a few years back, it was nothing compared to the damage my family endured when Andrew decided to” come a callin’”. My folks huddled for five or six hours in the only corner of the house that remained relatively intact; along with, if memory serves me right, my sister and her husband, a couple of dogs, a cat and a parrot named Cuca,who still suffers from the anxiety of that time manifested by plucking all her feathers when there is any sort of tension in the air.

When they emerged, what they saw would be permanently etched in their collective memories; the destruction and devastation was legion. Tubs on top of autos on top of roofs on top of swimming pools. Then as now, there were reports of looting and the state of Florida wasted no time in calling out the National Guard to primarily protect property, the food aid came later. We knew Andrew was coming, just as we know today, almost ad nauseum, when the next one is going to hit and where.

Having that information comes in handy, because we can generally agree on what actions we need to gather in order lessen as much as possible, the oncoming storms.

Earthquakes are very different; preparations on the individual level is limited to stocking up on water, candles, canned foods, emergency medical supplies and the like. In terms of infrastructure it is the responsibility of federal, state, and local municipalities to impose strict guidelines in earthquake prone areas. While it is true that some builders and contractors will try to game the system, it is also true that in those areas where natural disasters are not unexpected these highly enforced building plans are more able to withstand the natural course of events than those that do not. A cursory look at building codes after Andrew, Oakland and the Bay Area after the World Series quake, Los Angeles, Japans’ urban areas are good examples of positive reactive measures now being transformed into proactive actions on the part of government and the private sector.

What the hell does that have to do with the title of your post?

This morning, the headlines screamed how thousands of troops are headed to the quake ravaged region of Concepcion to stanch the outbreak of looting that some say is running rampant throughout the area. I watched some very interesting videos and still photos of some of the damage. Apartment buildings leaning in precarious positions; waiting for the next aftershock to finally bring them down; reminiscent of the buildings in the Marina District in San Francisco and throughout Los Angeles.

There were signs that some “looting” was\had been going on, but to place it in its’ proper, I don’t know that you or I would not have done the same. I don’t remember the bloggers’ name, but she\he made a very cogent argument for looting in the face of starvation or shelter.

It is without question that while the best of humanity can be measured by its’ actions in the face of adversity, the inverse is also true. The sharks circle the prey during these difficult times, if water is a dollar a bottle, it will climb to five dollars a bottle. If gas is $2.50 a gallon, the predators will make a killing with inflated prices. That seems to be the nature of the beast, and all the “We Are The World” videos are not going to change that.

However, as in Haiti, the Chilean governments initial action is to protect property first, and then to see to the needs of the people. The case in Haiti is a bit different because of the historical disregard the various iterations of ‘government’ ruling Haiti had and still has towards its’ people. That example actually worked to the advantage of the people of Haiti, since the ‘government’ was a sham, its’ inability to respond militarily was sporadic at best. The focus seemed to center on the humanitarian aid; with the occasional report of shootings by police guarding chain locked supermarkets and pharmacies, although we were not shown what was going on outside of Port-au-Prince.

The imperative to survive is central to any species, if your children are cold, you must provide shelter, if they are hungry, you must provide sustenance and if they are ill or hurt, it is your duty to seek help, even if it means breaking into a locked pharmacy, or a bodega covered with plywood.

Looting historically has been the way kings and queens paid their vassal troops after invading this or that nation state, tribe, and so on. Loot took different forms, most looting in the past has been for monetary gain; whether it was in gold, silver or human cargo, it did not seem to matter.

I have seen firsthand, the hooliganism, the riots in Harlem and the Bronx, in the early and mid sixties; and while the inequalities of justice and opportunities were at the forefront, the seamier side of humanity reared its’ ugly head. Shops were broken into; people were assaulted by the police and their fellow neighbors, fire and rescue personnel were attacked while trying to save what they could. That was looting pure and simple; for material gain and not as a tool for survival. Much has been written about these and other instances. The riots and looting in L.A and Detroit had no survival construct; and although the political reasons for these actions may be debated the actions themselves were unforgivable.

That was looting in one of its’ ugliest forms, destruction for the sake of destruction.

In Haiti, there was a photo of a man shot dead by the local constabulary in front of a store; clutched in his fist was the apparent evidence of his crime, a plastic bag with what seems to be three of four bottles of water. Which is the bigger crime, the need to provide for ones family or the need to protect private property?

In Chile, thousands of troops are being deployed to stop what the government and the media described as ‘rampant’ looting. The media and the government of Chile use words like ‘ransacked’ and ‘rampant’, as if the need to make it to the next day is a villainous act. As usual, the people most impacted are the indigenous people of Chile although an earthquake doesn’t give a damn who you are of where you’re from. I mention it because as a matter of demographics, if you live on the periphery of any society chances are you’re going to get the short end of the stick. I have seen the pictures; I have watched the videos and what I see is nothing more than the imperative to survive in full bloom. There was an AP photo on Huffington Post of what seems to be a pharmacy, the shelves bare of water and other things like bandages, medicines and water; prominent displayed in the very front of the store was a full shelf of productos íntimos; apparently these so-called looters were less interested in condoms than in emergency supplies.

The pictures are different in Haiti, what was already horrific, became more so; the years of corrupt governments aided and abetted by the West will not end with this outpouring of aid. Haitian children will still be eating mud the next news cycle begins. Haiti was pushed aside by the Olympics, and will be pushed aside again, this time by the tragedy in Chile or Tiger Woods.
The protection of property should never be at the cost of human beings trying to make it to the next hour, or to the next day. The media behaves like most corporate entities behave; they are not here to provide a service, they are here to protect their interests.

Governments on the other hand, have a moral duty to its’ citizens, and they should be shamed when they do not.

Oh…and if I’ve pissed anyone off…oh well…

Doctor Doctor, Can You Help Me Out

2010-02-25T19:12:00.006-05:00

I’ve been watching the so-called “Health Care” summit for the last seven hours; I do this so you won’t have to. Unfortunately I am as uninformed now as when it started; I take that back, I think I actually know less than when it first started.

This is what I know to be true; there are too many people who face very difficult decisions about their health care; I count myself among the many that have made Hobson’s choices when it comes to allocating resources to medical and prescription expenses. I have a child who may have to face a future without proper health care because he has a pre-existing condition; I fully expect him to have a family and he’ll have to provide health care for his family, but may find himself placed in a position where the choice is no choice at all.

I have another who went many years without insurance for his family because it was prohibitively expensive; it was not until the company he worked for were finally able to offer health insurance that they were able to receive coverage, although I shuddered when I saw how high his premiums were; they will soon add another child to an already lovely family and their out of pocket expenses are sure to be through the roof.

I have a daughter with three beautiful children who, only by the grace of G-D, has not encountered any serious health problems, but I also know that she is hampered by her inability to provide preventive care for herself or her children.

I had the misfortune some years back to come down with a debilitating chronic illness, coupled with two spinal operations. The care I received was excellent…the chronic disease is under control thanks to a great immunologist and his ability to properly diagnose the condition. To clarify a point, the disease was discovered during an annual “let’s make sure you’re ok” exam, serendipity reared her lovely face.

I had pretty good insurance and my out of pocket expense were, let’s just say that the poor house was definitely on the horizon.

I’ve had two spinal operations two years apart and the prognosis is that I may need another one; and while the skill and care of the medical professionals were without par, I doubt that I will undergo another; the damn recovery is too painful. The fact that I had insurance did not eliminate out of pocket expenses, they were substantial and we’re still paying four years later.

One example, I get two injections every two weeks, my deductible…One hundred dollars a month, now I could stop the injections, but then I’d be in the emergency room and ICU every couple of months. That is just one example

I live in a household with my wife and her eighty-one year old mother. She has the Medicare Part D prescription plan, which she pays for, and for the first six or seven months, her out of pocket expenses average about one hundred-fifty dollars a month. However, when she hits the ‘donut’ hole; she has to pay full boat, and that figures jumps to about five hundred dollars a month.

We cheat…those medications that she and I have in common, I will share mine with her so that she does not have to pay the inflated price…that is not always possible, but we do what we can. My wife and I do the same thing, when we can.

There are too many people that are not as fortunate as I am, which brings me to the so-called Health Care Summit. Disclosure: I voted for President Obama and still see this presidency as a last roadblock to the laizes-faire approach to governing of the past twenty years.

Seven plus hours of back and forth bickering exposed what we have known for many years; the overriding concern of the Republican Party is to mimic the post-industrial society of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, or to paraphrase Dickens…are there no poor houses…?

I kept hearing that those who are very poor receive care because Medicaid will take care of them; I have a friend in Georgia whose spouse is slowly fading that would take issue with that statement.

Strawmen arguments put forth by the republicans were tort reforms, junk lawsuits, reconciliation, blah blah blah.

I firmly believe that this is a crucial time ranking with the Civil Rights Bill of 1964, and will dictate what direction this country will take.

Best line of the day: You are entitled to your own opinions; you are not entitled your own set of facts.

There ya go…

Things That Will Greatly Improve My 2010

2010-01-02T11:45:00.004-05:00

It is no big secret that the world breathed a sigh of relief when 2009 ended. It brought to a head all the really crazy crap that has happened in the last decade.
Don’t get me wrong; there were some outstanding success stories that abounded throughout the decade that just passed. While the world was mired in Iraq a very successful little company made oodles of money off the suffering of others, I’m sure you’ve heard of XE nee Blackwater, which brought along with it levels of hubris not seen before. In fact, a Federal judge just dropped charges against five Blackwater guards involved in spraying live ammo all over a plaza thereby killing at least 14 whose only crime was a) being in the plaza and b) being Iraqi. Hubris thy name is XE…

The 2000 decade was also very good for those selling in derivatives market which in my understanding goes something like this…if I have “if” in one hand and spit in the other, what do I have the most of…but all was not lost…we learned that a C student really has no business being president…if you vote mediocre what else van you expect?

Which brings us to another little item…why did we allow the wolves (the Fed) that were guarding the henhouse (the banks), to keep the keys and allow them to Bonus (new 2010 verb) the very same people that left the gate open to begin with.
But I digress.
Lets get back to the theme of this stream…I will undoubtedly offend some folks, and for that I apologize, notice I did not say I’ll apologize If I offend someone, I apologize in advance because I know someone will get their panties in a bunch over what I say...so these are the
Things That Will Greatly Improve My 2010 in no particular order;

All I want to hear about Tiger Woods is that he won or put up one hell of an effort to win the British Open. I don’t care if he has a girl in every port…it’s not my money he’s spending…although I think he’s an idiot for leaving such a trail of evidence…he must think it’s 1950…oh wait, if it were he would not be playing. So please no Tiger Woods stories unless they’re about his golf game.

President Obama is not a magician. He came in with one hand tied behind his back. On the other hand we voted you in for change, not more of the same…if the Senate won’t confirm your appointees, use the damn Recess Appointment Process, it worked for the C student, and while I’m on the subject put some skin in the game when it comes to healthcare reform…not health insurance reform. Anyone who has had to endure the so-called Part D donut hole wants it GONE…not modified over five years, many of our seniors won’t be around that long if they to make the decision between buying medication or heating the house.

To my Jewish friends who support sweeping away an entire people; I remember watching Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem via network TV and his answer to all the horrors done to the enemies of the Reich…” I was a lowly soldier doing what my superiors ordered”…think about that next time you level a Palestinian home or take over another Olive orchard.

To my Muslim friends…Martyrdom is not something one seeks, it is a state achieved when the entire world against you and you do the principled and moral thing. You stand for those less fortunate. Period.

To the few Christian Fundamentalist friends… and I think I have a few; Live in this world now. The Rapture if and when it comes does not have a timetable. According to your Bible, you were given dominion over the Earth…In my book it means that you should not stand by while we pollute the very water we drink, even though the Federales say there is an acceptable amount of crap that can kill you in that water...same with the food.

Let’s stop with the sexualization of children…they are children for only a short while; there are times when you have to say no to them. A three year old who can “crunk” is not cute…a three year old who know her\his alphabet and colors, can dial 911 if necessary, now that IS impressive.

A bit more respect…that’s not too much to ash for. Agree or disagree, the louder the tenor of your argument the less chance that I or anyone else will consider it.

New babies will be one of the Things That Will Greatly Improve My 2010. Congrats to my son and lovely daughter-in-law.

Fix California already…remember the adage as California goes the Nation will follow ten years later.

If someone got rid of the phrase “Homeland Security” I shall be truly grateful…a little too fascist sounding to me.
No more ersatz celebrities. Attention Paris, Lohan. Gossliens, Heene’s Whinehouse ad infinitum.

Let’s stop being scared of the “other”. We are the “other” to others, and fear will always stand in the way of progress and peace
To my LBGT friends, it is my opinion that you too will be able to participate in that time honored institution; Divorce!
Finally, to all my religious friends, there is ONLY one Commandment, please pay more attention to that and quit judging others on some scale that even you cannot measure up to.

There you have it.

We Are Not Paying Attention

2009-11-02T20:09:00.007-05:00

A few days back, in Richmond, California a girl was raped. I don't know this girl; I don't know anyone who knows this girl. Richmond, California is approximately three thousand miles away from where I sit, and yet, the story could have been set anywhere.

The little bit I know about Richmond is that it was north of Berkeley, one of my favorite places in the U.S, and a northeast of the best city in the world, San Francisco.

But I digress.

On the 26^th of October, what should have been a great moment in any high school kids memory turned into a nightmare seared in the memory of one young girl as it should be burned into all our psyches'.

A young girl who, as the newspaper stories say was a good church going kid and dreamed of joining the Police Explorers' but nonetheless wanted to "fit in" with the crowd in school.

When she left the dance and waited for her father to pick her up, she was apparently asked, lured into joining a group of students and non students who were, as we used to say, "drinkin' and actin' a fool."

She was somehow convinced to drink alongside this gang of fools and soon found herself the object of their insanity, and that is exactly what happened; a collective insanity that allows a group to attack the 'other' without any qualms, without any fear of consequence.

The news accounts go on to say that this young woman, a little girl really, she is only fifteen and probably just recently put away her Barbie's, endured a two and a half hour ordeal that can only be imagined. The goons were cheered on by their fellow ass-holes, as they repeatedly raped and otherwise defiled the soul of an innocent.

The San Francisco Examiner reports that the Richmond Police estimate that twenty or more men or boys were involved and that some had even taken pictures on videos on their cell phones.

The latest story out of Richmond is that this situation was inevitable, that the area where these heinous acts occurred was known to be a danger spot, and place just itching for the right elements to align themselves, as if this were a natural event that could not have been prevented. The area had no cameras, no patrols by school security, poor lighting and abutted a neighborhood known for gang activity.

That so many things were wrong and no action was taken is inexcusable, bordering on negligence and dereliction of duty; and I have read all the excuses…poor neighborhood, high unemployment, state budget cuts, and on and on. However at some point, we the people must take responsibility.

Little boys model what big boys do. Little girls model what big girls do.

To believe, as some do, that violent video games, sexualized hip-hop videos, the ugly words we call each other…bitch…ho…the inability of parents to monitor and behave in a way that sets an example to them.

These kids are no different than other kids in the U.S. most want to succeed in their dreams, but what they lack is a moral center, and if there is no moral center, well, nature abhors a vacuum.

Don't confuse 'moral center' with this religion or that religion, it has more to do with watching out for your kids and mine. Be aware of the influences that get in the way of growing a good human being.

Snitch, if the idiots selling their fear in our communities believe they can get away with anything, they will continue to hold our kids hostages and by extension they hold us in their grip.

As I said at the beginning of this rant, I don't know this girl, but I'm sure you and I have passed her on the street, seen her on the bus and probably sat next to her on BART.

Look to your left, and look to your right, she's probably standing right next to you.

Ten Things I Forgot I Knew

2009-09-28T11:18:00.007-04:00

1. God, in whatever iteration has only one commandment; Love Thy Neighbor. Everything else is fine print or disclaimers.

2. Nothing is comparable to the smile of a newborn. Even if it's only gas.

3. Kindle and Sony readers are not books. There is a connection with the author that can only be had by anticipating the future that is the next page.

4. Friends are priceless; acquaintances, not so much.

5. Con un amor se borra otro amor

6. You have to suit up in order to get in the game. No one ever hit a home run from the bench.

7. Music, like books, can only be duplicated digitally, there are no digital musicians.

8. I find I cannot hold grudges. Too heavy, and it clouds my vision.

9. There are not enough smiles, no matter how many there are.

10. Music should be an integral part of life. It should be savored like fine wine. Only the good stuff ages well.

In Praise of Teh Stupid

2009-09-05T14:00:00.004-04:00

After one of the most contested elections in recent history, one in which all manner of idiotic statements were made about the eventual winner of said contest; many of us were pleasantly surprised to see that the American electorate were finally coming to their senses after many years of political machinations, fears of the bogeyman lurking behind every corner, and even where the all monsters hide...under the bed.

Well, there were many of us who that once the election was done with, we could get on to the business of building and shoring up all that had been destroyed and let rot after many years of laizzes-faire mismanagement that had been the hallmark of not only the Bush administration, but of many aspects of the Clinton so-called third-way style of governance.

Now, I understand that to lump William Jefferson Clinton with the likes of GWB may cause some consternation among members of the Democratic Party; however let's understand that it was not only the eight years of the Bush administration that got us in the mess we find ourselves in.

Granted that the economic growth experienced during the Clinton years, is to a great extent, preferable than the wholesale idiocy that describes the mess that we find ourselves in. having said that, let's not look at the Clinton years as some pre-Pottersville existence, It was under the Clinton administration that, in an effort to streamline federal 'bureaucracies', fast-tracked FDA approval for drugs that we are now learning are not the magic pills that we were led to believe they were. After that, we saw the gutting of federal agencies tasked with the safety of we, the people. OSHA oversight was non-existent under the Bush administration. however, let's not forget that none of this would have occurred without the acquiescence of our elected officials, Democratic and Republican alike. It is unfortunate that in this rush to get 'government' off our backs we are left with 'rushes' to the market of drugs and other items that have proven to be detrimental to ourselves and our children.

But I digress...we are talking about teh stupid...that strange condition that seems to have taken over the minds of otherwise intelligent people.

It has become the practice of those who should know better to allow uninformed rabble determine the future course of this country; seriously folks, does anyone really believe that an address by the duly elected leader of this country should be viewed as some sort of political indoctrination that will somehow turn johnny and Judy into little Che Guevara's or worse yet little Mao's.

James Greer, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party seems to believe that the message from an accomplished intelligent man, to whom hard work and diligent study habits helped him reach the pinnacles of success we should all wish our children would aspire to, is somehow a message of political propaganda

Death panels and killing grandma; The insurance industry has helped spread this canard through the the so-called grassroots organizations that are funded through the very same insurance industry...talk about circular logic. I know too many people on the receiving end of these "Death Panels"...insurance underwriters who deny coverage and are then rewarded with bonus' at the end of the year. I have a friend whose wife is fighting lung cancer, and no, she is not and never has been a smoker...she has however lost her job because of her treatments and was forced to pay Cobra premiums that they could not afford and are now on a waiting list for Medicaid because Medicare will only pay for eighty percent of the cost for chemotherapy, yet somehow, through all this, they still have to put food on the table and a roof over their heads...these are people who worked all their lives. paid their taxes, and did all those things a good citizen does. The insurance companies do a great job at denying benefits and 'killin grandma' while teh Stupids are all over television spewing hatred and ignorance.

Teh Stupids even inject themselves into the arena of foreign policy, when confronted with the fact that the myth of WMD's were not just myth but outright lies, they feign shock that anyone would impute less than noble intentions in bringing a war without necessity to a country that had nothing to do with the baseless and cowardly attacks of 9/11. Tom Ridge has backtracked on his assertion that threat level warnings were not politically motivated. I believe his next tome will be one to defend Bernie Madoff against charges that he actually stole money from people, after all, how dare one assume that a man like Bernie the philanthropist do anything that was not in the interest of his clients...and yes...I know one has nothing to do with the other...but please remember we are talking about Teh Stupids.

Obama and Hitler...this is the one that Teh Stupids have really rallied around...and the one that is the most offensive, I was born five years after the end of WWII, I still remember as a young child the arrest and trial of Adolf Eichmann, while perhaps not the architect of the final solution, he more than most, executed that horrific assault on the human race. The images are still in my head of Eichmann behind the bulletproof glass as he utilized what would be the excuse du jour..." I was just following orders", an excuse that would be reiterated throughout the years by all manner of monsters...it is an excuse that that has become the sine qua non in the world today... West Bank...Rwanda...Dafur...Abu Ghraib, and sadly too many more to name. You can hardly pick up a newspaper or read the intertubes without some reference to man's inhumanity to man, some crime committed in the name of some God, Allah, Yahweh. you name it, it's been done.

This is how far we have fallen, we are arguing with people who truly believe that the world is six thousand years old...we are arguing with people about whether health care is a right or a privilege...there are elected officials in this country who insist that their version of Christianity is the one true one...we have universities in this country who are turning out some of the most uneducated graduates one has ever seen...and these are the people who will lead this country into the future.

So what do we do...it seems that we are outnumbered by Teh Stupids...we write our letters to the editors...we write our congresspeople...we show up at town hall meetings, and yet...Teh Stupids continue...

And that's that!!

Twitter...???...I hardly knew her...!!!

2009-05-13T16:04:00.009-04:00

Let's see...it's been about a month since I've posted anything here, or anywhere else for that matter; but now, seeing as how all sorts of new exciting things have been happening, it's time to put my two cents where I probably shouldn't.

There are so many things, one has to wonder where to start, I mean there were the first hundred days of the Obama administration; there was that whole Twitter phenomenon; the Miss California brouhaha, and whether or not Charlie Crist was going to run for the Senate seat that is being vacated by Mel Martinez. Apparently Mel wants to spend more time with his family. Oh...and let us not forget the Padre Alberto story that has South Florida, particularly, the Miami area all verklempt over the idea that a good looking priest might be in love with a woman who seems to be an adult.

Anyways...I'm going to try address each of these and maybe some other stuff, let's see how it all plays out. So here goes, in no particular order of importance:

The first hundred days thingie really seemed like an exercise in idiocy, this administration is so new that to try and extrapolate what it may or may not accomplish is like wondering where the relationship is going after the first unchaperoned date to Sunday ten o'clock mass. It makes absolutely no sense. Let's ask that question in January 2010; we may have a better idea then if the last election was the change we all hoped for. I believe that when all is said and done, we will have seen progress in a way that will fundamentally alter the sense of of who we are as a nation and where we need to be as a people.

I do not watch beauty pageants and care very little for them, and by beauty pageants, I include the various and sundry versions of beauty pageants; Dancing with the Stars, Survivor, American Idol (I know I will probably catch hell for that one)...I don't care who won Iron Chef America or Japan for that matter, I don't give a hoot who was booted off what island or apprenticeship. Don't care who got chopped, diced or whatever else happens to contestants. I especially dislike any and all pageants that involve children. The idea that women must strive to meet some idealized version of beauty is anathema to me. I say this as the father and grandfather of one daughter and three granddaughters. The opinions of this young woman on same sex marriage are about as relevant as mine are on quantum physics, and about as informed. When a story like this dominates the news cycles it makes wonder if we have already dealt with important stuff, and nothing else needs to be done...Universal Health Care...check...Stable economy....check...Troops are home and receiving the plaudits and care they deserve...check.

Twitter...What can you say about an application that really has no socially redeeming values, I mean really, are you that important that I need to know what you are doing in 140 characters or less...if it's that important and you need to talk to me...try calling. I realize that this a radical idea, but those numbers on your Blackberry, LG, iPhone are there so that you too can experience what Alexander Graham Bell must have felt...a voice at the other end. A couple of years ago, my eldest son says to me..."Dad...I want you to join Twitter so that I can keep you up to date as to my comings and goings...". I could not see the need then, and I sure don't see the need now. Really...how many more electronic leashes do we need?

Charlie Crist is running for the Senate, Mel Martinez wants to spend more time with his family, I wonder just what is going on here. Crists' approval ratings here in Florida are through the roof, but if you drill down as to the 'why', one has to wonder. Other than hitching his wagon to the President's star, Crist does not have a gubernatorial record to speak of. The first budget that he will sign is full of draconian cuts that will affect many state employees, schools will face deeper cuts, tuition at state universities will increase and counties are facing shortfalls that will impact first responders. State employees who have not had a raise in approximately three years will now face a two percent cut in pay for those making more that 45k a year. That is one hell of a record to run on...the only possible silver lining to the gathering clouds is that Alex Sink may end up being the first female governor of Florida.

El Padre Alberto: Ok...this one is new to me...I had a doctor's appointment on Monday...he's a great guy, second generation Cuban-American from La Republica de Miami...he decided to bring me up to date on all things Miami. Disclaimer: I love Miami...it's like being in a foreign country without having to pass through Customs...I love all the different cuisines you find there...Haitian, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian. Great food from Ecuador, Argentina, Guatemala, although I must that I like New York Knishes better than Miami or Miami Beach Knishes. Anyhoos...so this Padre Alberto Cutie, a forty something hunky Catholic priest who has some sort of following among young Catholics has done the unthinkable...he fell in love with a thirty something women who is a good looking as he is hunky, at least that's what my Mom says...Well. the diocese has not wasted any time in punishing this priest for this seeming heresy...they have apparently stripped him of his priestly duties and have taken him off the air. He hosted a call in show on Radio Paz in Miami dealing with everyday issues concerning the youth in Miami.

The swift response to this heretical behavior stands in contrast to the horrific and laggardly approach the real scandal of pedophilia in the clergy, Catholic or otherwise. Let's make sure we understand this correctly...a good looking forty-something man is in love with a good looking thirty something woman...the horror!!!

I end with this thought...Twitter sucks...we have solved all the other problems in the world so that we can now focus on a clueless beauty pageant contestants, Miami is safe now...now we can focus on the troubles of two people who seem to be in love...and Charlie Crist is going to run on his gubernatorial record...such as it is.

So...there ya go

The Millionaire Rallies

2009-04-16T19:37:00.002-04:00

Otherwise known as the "Teabaggers Revolt" I tried to stay away but like any wild car wreck, you don't want to look, but it's impossible to look away. A little background; I live in Central Florida, aka the buckle of the Bible Belt. Polk County is the largest of all Florida Counties in terms of area The Green Swamp begins in the northern part of the county, if church attendance were to be made mandatory, it would happen here first or maybe after Texas....but I digress.

I decided I would toodle on down to the county seat to see for my self how this whole Tea Bagging...er...Tea Party thing was going to play out.
I fully expected the turn out to be huge, and by that I mean that there would be hundreds of people turning out to shake their collective...oops...collective is a socialist word. I fully expected to see hundreds of people show their solidarity...crap...wrong word again...that they would come together in fellowship (good church word) to protest the governments plan to take away the hard won money from millionaires all over the U.S. I also expected to see all the good millionaires from the County, but I believe most had already taken off to Europe, The Bahamas,or the Caymans in order to visit their money.

I was delighted to see that Dozens and Dozens of people were able to take a stand against, I'm not really quite sure what. You see, on one side of the park people were milling about in what I can only assume was just a day in the park, while on the other side, people were carrying signs and placards showing their solidar...oops...fellowship with the poor downtrodden...wait...that's not why they were there either.

It turns out that there were myriad reasons that inspired these folks to forego Wednesday church meeting. Some were there to speak out against the nefarious plan that the President has hatched to take away our assault weapons, others were there to voice their approval against all things conspiratorial. I must say though, no Black Helicopters.

I will say this, I took pictures of many signs and the folks were very polite, although I chose to not engage them in any political discussion. I did that for two reasons, a) no matter what I say, they still think the world is flat, and b)there was a scary looking dude with a "Hitler was elected, look what the Germans got" sign. He seemd to be everywhere I was. No, I am not paranoid, ok, just a little bit.

Anyway...I've been gone from here for awhle, trying to stay away from the echo chamber, and yes, even Progressives can suffer from the "echo chamber" syndrome...but,

I got pictures!!!!

I Got Pictures!!!!

Do Happy - Be Happy

2009-02-01T22:40:00.001-05:00

5 Easy Concepts to Practice while Searching for Happiness
I INVITE YOU TO TRY THEM:

1. Find and Nourish Your Best:

"Strive toward excellence based on your unique talents and potential". Ask yourself, what are my strengths? What things/activities make me feel energized and optimistic? Listen to your inner self; let your emotions/feeling guide you towards finding out. Once you have a basic idea, continue doing this things. Strive towards a better you and don't give up! It takes practice.

2. Plan/Design Your Happiness:

Did you know that you are the master of your destiny? I know this one might be hard to swallow, but everything you get you bring to your life. The process is simple: you think it, you make it. Now, don't get wrapped up in the technicality of it all. Don't waste time arguing against or towards it; just be, do, and create for yourself. Give it a try! Sit down, think out what you want in your life, what would really make you happy - not things, but feelings. Design your life; make a plan. Be creative; have fun. You can sketch it, paint it, write, make a collage (see treasure maps)... Just make sure to keep it around as a reminder of what you want, what will make you happy. Once you have it planned, get to it. Do what brings most joy into your life.

Interesting links:
Create Your Treasure Map to All You Desire
Treasure Mapping
Thanks Maricruz for the links.

3. Stay Present

This is one of the most important concepts to put into practice and sometimes the hardest. But in order to feel happy and be happy, one must be present and connected to the now. It is not about going back to the "good old days", nor is it always contemplating a better time to come. Happiness is rooted in the present , its felt here, NOW. Opportunities to experience happiness present themselves everyday, so stay firm on the ground with your eyes wide open. Avoid wasting your time daydreaming, you might just miss your life... Stay connected to the people around you and the events that unfold in your everyday experience. "Keep your life full of novelty, even if it's just trying a new activity or putting a new spin on an old favorite".

4. Be With Others

Remember that line from the movie Into The Wild (2007) ? Happiness is only real when shared. Think about it: have you ever felt extremely excited about something only to find this feeling quickly scape you because you have no one to share it with? "It is no surprise that social engagement is one of the most important contributors to happiness". Happiness is experienced at its best in the company of others. It is during that interaction that we find new ways of looking at life, recharge our hope in times of despair, create new realities and purpose for moving forward... It is in the company of others that we are the best we can be, and being our best is the number one source of happiness.

5. Allow Yourself to BE HAPPY

It sounds simple, but many people stop themselves from experiencing simple happiness. I know because I am one of those people. Many times I find myself wrapped up on my day to day responsibilities, living like I'm racing against the clock f my life. This non stop accomplishment driven routine stops me from feeling simple joy: I STOP MYSELF FROM FELLING SIMPLE HAPPINESS. A second taken to rest, breath, goes against all rules of productivity - something I have learn to make myself feel guilty about. But why do we do this to ourselves? Why don't we just allow ourselves to feel the joy of "non-productive" stillness?
For many, too much happiness goes against basic believes. For others it just feels like too much indulgence. But we must understand that in order to feel happy, we must first allow ourselves the time to experience simple joy. Take a 5 minute break, do some breathing exercises, go for a walk in the middle of the day, enjoy a child's smile, get home early from work and hug your family, call your friends, let your parents know how much you love them... Practice simple joy unconditionally - Allow yourself to be happy!

Best Wishes for a Life Filled with Happiness!
Ofelia Badia-Piñero

Adapted from the O, Magazine article 5 Things Happy People Do By Gabrielle LeBlanc

2009-01-31T15:49:00.002-05:00

They Protest, We Email.

I've been kicking the horrific numbers of proposed jobs lost during the past week. On Monday morning, we started the week with announcements from a number of companies that 43,000 jobs were going to be cut; later in the day that number was revised upwards to 70,000. That is one hell of way to start the week.

We hear on Friday that the new number of jobs lost would be in the neighborhood of 100,000, that's one hell of a neighborhood and it seems that the light at the end of the tunnel just may be an oncoming train.

I am not an economist, but I am beginning to think that of all jobs in the world, the only ones that fail upwards are the pundit class, Wall Street CEO's and economists. Nice gig if you can get it.

The sectors involved are varied; from Caterpillar, Inc. to Pfizer, from Boeing to Chico's, a Fort Myers, Fl. women's clothing outlet. That last one may not seem important, but if you're one of the 500 who will lose their jobs, it's important enough.

It's clear that before things get better, they are going to get a bit worse. According to CNNMoney .com on January 29:

The U.S. economy lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, according to government reports. This includes 21,137 mass layoffs, a seven-year high. In a mass layoff, 50 or more workers are laid off at a time.

And from the same piece:

The job market isn't expected to get any better any time soon. The Council Board forecast two million job losses for 2009.

I know I may have taken a rather circuitous route to get to the title of this post, but it seems to me that wedapeople could or perhaps should do more to register our discontent.

From the AP: January 31, 2009

MOSCOW — Thousands of protesters rallied against the government in cities across Russia on Saturday, reflecting mounting anger over the nation's economic woes.

The protests, among the largest yet, posed a challenge to the Kremlin, which faced little threat from the fragmented opposition during the years of oil-driven boom.

The largest march took place in the far eastern port of Vladivostok, where about 3,000 people denounced the Cabinet's decision to increase tariffs on imported cars. Some shouted slogans urging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resign.

And from FT.com:

By Ben Hall in Paris

Published: January 29 2009 09:11 | Last updated: January 29 2009 23:17

At least a million striking workers held demonstrations across France on Thursday in protest at the government's reform programme and its response to the economic crisis, demanding extra help for ordinary families in place of state aid for the banks.

Now, I'm not sure if the Russian and the French protests will bring about the needed changes, but I have to believe that, at least in the case of the French, mobilizing one to two million people to take to the streets will at a minimum bring to the table some strength in negotiations.

In the case of the Russian protests, Putin has to take into consideration that Russian workers are not to be taken lightly.

Now that we have a new administration in place, we must keep their feet to the fire. President Obama has his Economic team in place and I think he deserves some time to try and wrap his head around the problem at hand.

I will give him the benefit of the doubt, but I must say that I am somewhat underwhelmed by his choice at Treasury and about some of his advisors. Larry Summers has already made his presence felt in the under emphasis on infrastructure spending and Geithner has been handed the wheel to the shipwreck he failed to see coming. These are people who for the most part live in an echo chamber reinforcing their own ideas and sadly, not allowing different ideas to find root in their imaginations.

They take to the streets, we email…one of the demands of the French workers is that the government provide… 'extra help for ordinary families in place of more state aid for banks'…what a concept.

I do not pretend to know who the French classify as "ordinary families', but I would suspect that their measuring stick is very much like ours, people who do what is expected of them, and in return they expect the government do what is expected of it.

The Russian protests are demanding that the government step down because of the worsening economic conditions. They were met by riot police

They take to the streets…we email.

I honestly believe that except for a handful of people in the upper reaches of government, especially our representatives, have no first hand clue what it means to be without a job, to not know if the next decision is to pay the mortgage or buy medicine. Let's not forget that some of the most vociferous rants against universal health care are from the very same Senators and Representatives that receive the health care they would deny the rest of the population.

The very people who are in charge of the economy are, for the most part, members of the same country clubs as the bankers they are trying keep afloat. It's a funny thing when I read or hear that such and such bank, insurance company, brokerage house is too big to fail, and yet they get bigger and bigger and yet, still they fail.

They protest…we email.

2009-01-28T20:17:00.001-05:00

The Failed Obama Presidency

The last eight years have for the most part been part and parcel; a massive exercise in greed and manipulation. From the highest reaches of government and finance, we have witnessed excesses that were the norm back in the days of the robber barons.

The rampant abuses are reminiscent of an uglier time in our history; the arrogance of wealth and power is now seen as the perks of being one of 'the boys'. This arrogance is seen daily in our political leaders and the so-called giants of Wall Street.

In 2000, George W. Bush was selected as the heir to the Presidency; just as in some of Europe's oldest monarchies, ability was trumped by being a member of the lucky sperm club. As is the norm in monarchies, one's aptitude or lack of same only becomes a problem when one is called to perform above one's ability, and as he have seen over the past years, he fails stupendously.

As an electorate, we missed the opportunity to 'throw the bums out' and instead chose to 'stay the course' and returned the same idiots to office and expected a different outcome; a sure sign of electoral insanity.

Many of us were criticized for our lack of enthusiasm for our elected officials, the problems in government were manifold; unqualified people were making decisions that would have a lasting effect on us. The Abu Grahib and Katrina scandals laid bare the horrible truth. We were on a ship without a rudder.

In 2006, it seemed like we were coming to our senses, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives was replaced by a Democratic one, but it was still business as usual.

Which brings us to the 2008 election, on the Republican side, it seemed like they were all trying to bring us kicking and screaming into the nineteenth century with their emphasis on more laizzes-faire economics and a nativist turn that would have scared even the Know-Nothings. I would not have been surprised to see the retread of the Alien and Sedition Act of the eighteenth century.

Then came Barack Obama…skinny black guy from Chicago by way of Hawaii, and Indonesia. A one term U.S. Senator from Chi-Town, he really shook things up. He denied the heir apparent the chance to run for president (pissin' off a bunch of folks, among them Hillary, Carville, the PUMA's, Chris Matthews, the Sunday Talking Heads, just to name a few).

November 4^th, 2008 and January 20^th, 2009 are days that will be marked forever in the history of the United States; not only did we undo the Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House of Republican, we also managed to elect the skinny guy from Chicago, we also swore him in as the forty-forth President of the United States.

Many things happened in 2008 that made this possible, McCain and Palin, the Wall Street bubble that had been threatening to explode finally burst, and then there was McCain and Palin. I just can't thank that old' maverick enough!

This brings us to the title of this post: The Failed Obama Presidency.

He has been in office for less than ten days and yet we still have all these problems to deal with.

Wall Street has not recovered the five thousand points that it lost over the past two years. On the contrary, it seems as if it has stagnated. The Masters of Ponzi, which may be a new post graduate degree, Madoff, Nadel et. al are not in jail, they are under house arrest. Roger Thain, late of Merrill Lynch spends over a million dollars to redecorate his office. All this and more.
Universal Health Care has not been passed…we who voted for Obama, must ask ourselves whether or not we have made a colossal error in voting for him. It's called leadership!!
The so-called 'Stimulus' bill is still tied up in Congress even though we own the House and the Senate. The fear of being bold seems to have taken hold, now is not the time for the timid.
The Middle East in its current iteration is impossible to maintain, the inability to see this problem as a human rights issue is what is clouding the solution. Israel cannot maintain its territorial integrity as it stands today; the risk of a nuclear confrontation is too high. The Palestinians lack an honest broker that can be bold enough to suggest a radical solution. A two state solution is not a solution at all, a negotiated one state solution, in my opinion, is the only way out. It is a bold and radical proposition that deserves a chance.

There is an element of sarcasm in what I call 'The Failed Obama Presidency'; we've become so accustomed to immediate gratification that we've forgotten how long it took us to get into the position we find ourselves in. The issues we face today had its origins during the Reagan administration, they were exacerbated during the first Bush presidency and they were made worse during President Clinton's 'Third Way' when the DLC managed to turn the Democratic Party into republican 'lite'. The dismantling of The New Deal protections for workers continued apace throughout the Dubya's administration and culminated in what we are facing today, malfeasance on Wall Street, crooked politicians, and ideologically driven opposition whose heroes are small minded and lacking in their civic and patriotic duties.

The Obama Presidency can only succeed if it takes the bull by the horns, this is what I voted for, and it is also what the American people expect from the 'skinny black guy from Chicago.

There you have it…or not.

2009-01-23T22:02:00.002-05:00

My Two Centavos

Well, here we are again, another year has passed, a new beginning is on the horizon and all is not well in the world. We seem to start each year with the bestest of intentions, we resolve to do better by our families and friends, we promise to take time out for ourselves and embark on that self revelatory journey we have hope will lead us to that spiritual awakening we know is just around the next bend, just beyond that next hill, just on the other side of that cloud.

I'm going out on a limb and make my do or die projections for the year. I have a very scientific, data driven process that can only be describes as such, I bend over and with my nose touching my knees reach back and pull them out you know where…this being a family show and all, I won't go any further into detail; suffice to say my process is as accurate as all other psychics, clergy, soothsayers and the like. Although I must admit I missed that whole 'let's elect a black guy to the highest office in the land'…and for disclosures sake, I voted for the guy.

So here it is:

The Republican Party will continue to self-destruct. They will insist that the only remedy that will work is one where only the right people get hand outs and the rest be damned. Sort of a return to the middle nineteenth century or as Scrooge would put it and I paraphrase; are there no poor houses, are there no debtor's prisons.
The right wing of the right wing party will of course claim that all this Sturm und Drang is affecting us because we have not given the gods their due.
Gay folks will be able to get married. Yep! It's going to happen, although I can't for the life of me figure why they would want to enter into a failed institution. Let's face it; marriage offers little benefit other than a tax break and making your parents proud, or not... What I believe should happen is to change the laws in order to allow homosexual and heterosexual couples to benefit from their commitments to each other. Allow the partners to make decisions concerning their children, their health care and all other decisions made daily by people who define their partnerships by whether someone in clerical vestments or dark suits bless their union. So let's be clear, Gay people will gain the right to marry, unfortunately they will also have the right to divorce, but that's another story for another time.
Although we voted for the black guy from Chicago (and before anyone gets a little too wound up…he and I are very similar in complexion) no one should even begin to think that racism is dead in America, or the world for that matter. The ugly truth is that people will, and still are, judging folks by 'the color of their skin and not the content of their character'. We can count the number of Black and Latino elected officials at the local level and come up short.
The issues in the Middle East are so far from any equitable solution that I expect it to get worse rather than get better. Israel believes that it has the divine right to this territory and the Palestinians believe that they too have the same right. The Palestinians are living, if you can call it that, hand to mouth, amidst rubble and privation, parents burying their children and children burying their parents. The cradle of the three great religions is becoming, or rather, has become a cauldron of bitter recriminations that must surely sadden Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. The two state solution proposed by the Western Powers will not see fruition in 2009. It is my opinion that the only solution is a one state democratic Israel with a negotiated repatriation of displaced Palestinians, after all, they too have a historic claim to the land.

In 2009, France will be cool once again. Seriously, they have the best food in Europe and some of the best chocolates too.

In 2009, Microsoft will attempt to re-invent the wheel. Windows 7 will make Vista look cool. They still haven't learned the lesson that people will pay for upgrades to their Operating Systems, but they don't want to have to buy new PC's every time Balmer hiccups. It makes no sense.

Apple will survive even if Steve Jobs does not. Too many talented people there.

So begins another year, lessons learned and some ignored; fret not though; the ones we did ignore have a nasty habit of coming round again

On a personal note…I will try very hard to…aww the heck with all that…I will continue to love my wife…my sons and daughter…my beautiful grandchildren…and follow the doctor's orders.

There you have it. Or not

It's My party and I'll Cry if I Want to

2008-11-22T10:26:00.003-05:00

Sophia Nelson writes in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post...'It's my party, but I don't feel part of it'...and goes on to say how she pretty much had to hold her nose in order to vote for then Senator Barack Obama, and seems to suggest that the only reason the Senator won the election was because of the disaffection felt by Black and Latino voters to the Republican Party.

The Republican Party she describes existed for only a short period, a period of less than a hundred years, when it began to align itself with the most extreme elements in the American political landscape. The modern Republican Party, at least since the late 1940's has been the party of exclusion, isolationism, and xenophobia. There seems to be this tendency among Republicans that their party has been the party of progressive growth with a commitment to diversity. Where is the justification for this delusion?

Let's call this hallucination for what it is; at no time in modern history has the Republican Party made any real effort to reach out to the so-called minority community. Those who did come to the Republican Party, in my view, were practicing what I call ' political Darwinism', or rather, they become big fish in a small pond. They are held up as useful tools in order to appeal to some sort of 'pull yourself up by your boot-straps' fable. The role of class cannot be underestimated in this discussion of the Republican Party. Let's not forget that the so-called 'progressive' wing of the party is the 'country club' or Rockefeller wing of the party.

Yes, I said "class", that elephant in the room that no one seems to notice even though that elephant has been at the center of racial and class strife since at least the Goldwater years. The revisionist view of the GOP would have you forget Joe McCarthy, Goldwater's' eagerness to bomb the hell out the Vietnamese and his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and let's not forget the Birchers, the KKK in Indiana during the twenties, and on and on. Sophia Nelson would have us believe that Lee Atwater and Karl Rove really had the interests of African-American and for that matter the interests of Latino\as at the forefront of their ugly political machinations.

Now, the Sophia Nelsons' and Michael Steeles' of this world would have you believe that the Republican Party of the 1850's is the party we should be remembering, and not the more modern iteration; the Jesse Helms wing, or the not so subtle appeals for 'law-n-order' during the Nixon campaigns. that finally exposed the Democratic Party of the south for the racists that they were.

Sophia Nelson notices that out of the more than 2000 delegates, only thirty-six or so were African-American, and I would imagine that the number of Latino\a delegates could not have been much more. Voting against one's own self-interest has always fascinated me, I don't understand the disconnect that must occur in order to continually identify with a group that has made no secret of its' disdain for the African-American and Latino community.

Will President Obama be able to salvage a successful first term with all that needs to be done, i have no clue. However, looking to the Republican Party for solutions in the twenty-first century is a little like fixing your toilet by installing an outhouse in the back yard.

2008-11-19T07:18:00.000-05:00

website hit counters

The Obama Paradox

2008-11-18T09:06:00.006-05:00

I believe that we watched the unraveling of more that twenty years of the so-called conservative ascendancy, or as Fred Barnes quoted W.D. Burnham, Professor Emeritus at The University of of Texas at Austin in the Weekly Standard, November 2004..."If Republicans keep playing the religious card along with the terrorism card, this could last a long time. Referring of course to the 'permanent majority' being bandied about by the leading lights of the right wing, DeLay, Limbaugh, ad nauseum. They were partially correct.

The terrorism card did not have the desired effect, in spite of the 'dog whistles' within the McCain\Palin and the outright lies of the 527's acting on behalf of the Republican right wing. However it is my opinion that the religion card is still in play.

The Obama Paradox is that while the campaign was able to GOTV in communities largely ignored by the Republican Party, it also brought to the voting booth many of the socially conservative elements of both the Latino and African-American population.

The sad truth is that while many people who voted for Obama\Biden voted proactively to bring the past twenty some odd years of political disgrace to an end; there are a good number of people who are still uncomfortable with the idea the of "gay" rights, as if those rights rights are somehow greater than those afforded to us by our Constitution.

It is not fantasy to believe that a member in good standing at your local Black Church in Oakland can vote for Obama\Biden on the one hand and then pull the lever approving Prop 8 with the other, or that while a Latino or Latina in Orlando may be chanting Si Se Puede, that they too would be approving Amendment 2.

We are doing a decent job at exposing the 'Terror" card for the cynical tool it is in the hands of right wing demagogues.

Now we should work just as hard in exposing the cynicism that 'religion' is playing in our national discourse of human rights.

There ya go.

update: the money poured into the pro Prop 8 movement in California was largely funded by the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, and that good ol' standby, Focus on the Family.

later update: The Florida Amendment 2 moneybags seems to be limited to the Southern Baptists Convention

Originally posted at Talkingpointsmemo.com, TPMCafe on November 6th, 2008

Unlucky or Just Plain Incompetent

2008-11-16T20:02:00.002-05:00

I almost lost my lunch when I read the following two days after the Presidential election;
"Historians: Bush presidency 'battered,' 'incompetent,' 'unlucky'
So says CNN on Thursday, November 6, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/bush.legacy/

That there is any discussion on whether the presidency of George W. Bush was unlucky seems to be the leif-motif of the true believers in this failed administration. That the Bush administration used it's sense of destiny to push an agenda espoused by the Christian Right is an historical given. From the appointment of political hacks like Monica Gooding who used political fealty and religious litmus tests to make hiring decisions in the Department of Justice to the clearly incompetent Michael Brown to head the FEMA response in New Orleans, the term "unlucky" is not a word I would use to describe the train wreck of the last eight years.

The CNN report found at the following link http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/bush.legacy/ attempts to make the case that all the Bush administration is the victim of some unforeseen mojo that will be better explained through the passage of time.

Now I will agree that the temptation to foresee how any particular administration will be viewed in the future is an exercise in Nostrodamian tea leaf reading, but there a few things that I can state with a degree of certainty; it is not the "unlucky" things that may or may not happen that determines the character of an individual or an administration, it is the response to that "unlucky" event that will reveal the true grit of an individual, a community, or an administration.

It was not the attacks on September 11th that defined us as a nation, it was the response of the community and country that came to the aid of the stricken that showed our true colors; a people who will stand together to heal a national wound.

It was the incompetent response to that tragedy that will mark Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, who with their own agenda to re-fight the First Gulf war, led to four thousand plus Americans and untold thousands of Iraqi's to die and allowed Bin-Laden and his cohorts to escape into the Tora Bora area. The net effect is the trashing of the Geneva Convention rules against torture, maintaining secret rendition sites, and establishing an POW camp in Guantanamo, Cuba.

It was not the "unlucky" turn of events that led Hurricane Katrina to strike with such ferocity that left New Orleans no better than a waste land, leaving many dead and countless others homeless.
It was the incompetent response to that event by the Bush Administration that will forever define the old Reagan adage..."I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

This presidency is the logical progression of those intent on destroying what little is left of the New Deal programs and undoing the benefits that Union members were able to achieve.

The current financial crisis is the outgrowth of of the Reaganite Club for Growth policies that permeate not just through the current administration, but with the tacit approval of the Democratic Leadership Council.

Unlucky or just plain incompetent?

Gimme a break!

Two Days to Go

2008-11-02T14:31:00.006-05:00

Two more days, and I already feel like a junkie looking for his next fix. Two more days and I'm wondering, will everyone go back to sleep after what might be the most important election of the twenty-first century.

What arrogance.

We really have no idea how important or unimportant this election is really going to shape up compared to the truly horrendous problems we will surely have to come to grips with in the very near future. Some of them are obvious, some of them are not.

The immediate problems in our financial sector is, in my opinion, have no easy solutions, yet, everywhere you turn only the most bland of ideas are getting any attention. We have chosen to infuse banks with capital, while leaving those who failed to see the oncoming train in charge. We, the taxpayers, own banks, yet we cannot set policy. We will be the last to be paid for our investments and the first to lose.
Eleven trillion dollar debt.
Health care costs are driving many families to the brink. Deductibles are too high, care is less than adequate. As long as health care is 'market' driven, I doubt that there will be much relief on the horizon. Unless of course of you are a member of Congress, then, no worries.
Loose nukes. need I say more.
Global warming and energy independence. Obvious problems. Not so obvious solutions.

If this election is going to have any historical effect, then we will have to look beyond the obvious and lay the groundwork for true sensible solutions.

Oh...my Wednesday morning prediction...Obama\Biden...we pick up six Democratic Senate seats...and thirty-five in The House...

How's that for pulling out something out of ones' arse.

Another Day, Another Buck Two-Fifty

2008-10-24T17:47:00.007-04:00

What passes for smarts these days is the ability to look at the past with 20/20 vision. Apparently the economists and their analysts were unable to see the the dark clouds on the horizons that have turned into what the former Fed Chairman and golden boy Alan Greenspan termed as the coming...credit tsunami.

The warning signs were either ignored completely or pooh-poohed by those who were the "smartest guys' in the room and those who disagreed were dismissed as nervous nellies who had no faith in the markets ability to correct itself.

During the recent hearings of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Greenspan admitted that the ideology guiding his policies were proved wrong by the reality on the ground.

This apparent inability to see past this ideology is one of the reasons the country finds it self in the condition that it is in. This belief that the market is some sort of entity that exists irrespective of greed and self interest is truly pie-in-the-sky at best, and delusional at worst.

One would think that history is the greatest teacher, however, the more we examine our present condition, the clearer it is that we ignore our lessons and continue traipsing trough the tulips expecting different results. The excesses of the mid eighteenth century gave rise to beginnings of the labor movement, and the excesses of the early twentieth century gave rise to much needed social safety nets.

The past thirty years have seen a deliberate attempt to unravel the labor movement and to undo the programs that have provided hope to many people. The current financial crisis is just the latest result of wishful thinking on the part of the 'smartest' guys in the room.

There you have it.

Where Are We Now?

2008-10-18T17:59:00.004-04:00

It's about 17 days until the next election, an election that will do one of two things; either the country remains on the same track, or it could begin to change in a way that will begin to unravel the last thirty or so years of conservative and neoliberal governing. Greater minds than mine have analyzed the undoing of the New Deal and Great Society programs, programs that were put in place at different times for very similar reasons.

The New Deal sought to reverse the laissez-faire economic and social ideology that permeated the first third of the twentieth century. The Great Society programs of the latter part of the century attempted to give a leg up, so to speak, to those systematically excluded from the American Dream.

The New Deal gave us Social Security, the WPA, and other programs that helped in one way or another to end the nightmare that was the Great Depression. The Great Society Programs gave us, among other things, Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), The Federal Food Stamp Program administered by the Department of Agriculture, and the beginnings of what would ultimately be called an Affirmative Action program; designed to help those who suffered from an historical roadblock to higher education and access to higher paying jobs.

Those are, in a nutshell, the programs that many Americans used as bootstraps, in order to gain better opportunities and, with any luck pass those opportunities on to their children and so on. Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions; as with every other thing, there was progress and there was abuse. Welfare and AFDC was rife with fraud, double and triple dipping was not as rare as some would have us believe. There was lax oversight, which resulted in generations of families on the dole, just as in Great Britain at the time. Some believed that the assistance provided became the goal as opposed to a means. Affirmative Action was viewed by the some in the majority as easing the path to higher education for unqualified individuals over so-called qualified applicants. It is my humble opinion that while it may have been true in isolated cases, the evidence was and still is anecdotal. I believe that also applies to Affirmative Action in the job market; one hears at all times that so and so was promoted or landed a position over a supposedly higher qualified member of the majority population, in other words, like a legacy admission into university or promotion.

The coming election is important for many reasons; it is time to cede to government those functions that only a government can do. Government is not a business and should not be run with the same eye on the bottom that some businesses claim to have. The common good is the role of government, good roads, a healthy and educated population, a proper defense, and watching out for the least of us as many of the worlds' religions claim.

This election can be the sea change that will affect the future of this country, or it could be more of the same hatreds and divisions.

The onus is upon us.

The Patient is Alive

2008-09-30T16:13:00.008-04:00

Well, it seems like the strum und drang has abated for at least another day. While everyone is breathing a sigh of relief at the resiliency of the market, let's not forget that while the patient is still alive, it is on life support. The disease is still advancing, albeit at a slower pace.

If we look at the market in situ, it seems that we may have dodged a bullet, however, our problems are much deeper than whether individual stocks go up or down. The nature of the stock market is such that when a big drop or correction occurs then those in a position to buy will buy, thereby picking up some bargains that may have been overpriced or overvalued. But the question remains, are we out of the woods because the market responded to a buying signal, or is the market suddenly stable. And if the market is stable, what the heck happened yesterday ?

What happens if and when Paulson gets the authority to buy depressed mortgage securities? Can we trust him to be the Honest Broker that we need ? Or is it safe to say that since Paulson was created on Wall Street that he would look to his friends first.
It's a tough decision, to rescue or not to rescue
That my friends is the question

There you have it.

Show me the Money

2008-09-24T15:12:00.008-04:00

We are being asked to come to aid of Wall Street at a time when the economy is straining under the weight of deficit spending, tax cuts aimed at the upper one percent, and a seemingly unending war in Iraq. The war in Afghanistan is careening out of control, home values are dropping faster than clothing at a nudist park, gas is at prices that this country never thought it would ever see.
Groceries are costing more and more, and we are headed to a position where we may have to make difficult buying decisions.
I am not an economist; I am not qualified to to discuss macroeconomics, I have a dim memory as to what M1 and M2 are in relation to money supply, and I can barely understand what leveraged, securitized derivatives are and how they affect the brokerage houses.

What I do know, is that when most people go to the local supermarket and take a look at milk and other dairy products, the prices are through the roof. The conversations in the supermarkets rarely turn to Wall Street, the concerns are much more immediate.

There are folks who are falling behind on their mortgages...the unemployment figures in Florida are hovering at around the seven percent level, and in the land of milk and honey, California, the unemployment rate is 7.3%.
And yet, we the people, are being asked to save an industry that makes its' living betting on whether stock "a" will go higher than stock 'b". These folks will also bet that that company "a" will fail, and when it does, they collect on the "put".
So what is being asked?

As far as I can make out, we are being asked to reward risky behaviour without any penalties. Reward the gambler by giving him\her another seven billion pot so that they can continue playing a perverse version of Texas Hold'em.

I am not quite sure what the answer is, but I am very sure that the right questions are not being asked.

A fairly accessible explanation of CDO's

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=929747

So, there you have it...

Questions

2008-09-14T15:18:00.004-04:00

There are a number of things I can't seem to wrap my head around, not the least of which is...

Why does the media believe that Sarah Palin is the great white hope?
How long will the love affair last?
If Bill O'Reilly believes that Jamie Lynn Spears' parents were 'pinheads' for not properly supervising their daughter, what must he think of Bristol's' parents?
What do pit bull owners have to say about putting lipstick on them?
Do pigs have lips? And if they do, what shade is best for them?
Can a guy who has been in Washington D.C. for the last few decades really bring change to the beltway; and by change, does he really mean more of the same or can he really run this nation to the ground faster than his predecessor?
Is it really possible to affect any kind of sea change in D.C.?
Can McCain\Palin really pull the wool over everyone's eyes?

The most important question that remains to be answered is whether we can continue doing the same thing over and over again, and expect different results?

So there you have it.

Who you gonna believe? Me or your Lyin' Eyes?

2008-09-06T13:41:00.003-04:00

There is much to be said about the lies and misinformation being trotted out in defense of McCains' pick for the VP slot, much of it is either wishful thinking or just out and out lies.

The incredible petard being hoisted that Alaska's proximity to Russia somehow confers foreign policy gravitas on Governor Palin is at best laughable and at worst cynical.

There is nothing in Palins' history that would even begin to qualify her for the second most important, and the right of succession, to the highest office in the land.

I've been trying to wrap my head around the various arguments being bandied about by the right wing of the right wing Republican Party.

She's a governor
She was a mayor
She was in a beauty contest
She's a mom

On the face of it, the first two may in some way qualify her for higher office, that is of course if one ignores what city or town she was mayor of, or the state where she is governor.

I live in a town of approximately 25000, I know the mayor, and he is hardly qualified to be a VP or to be one step away from the presidency.

The state of Alaska may be the "largest" state in the Union, but is by far one of the smallest in terms of population and infrastructure. The county of Santa Clara, Ca. has twice the population and I'm pretty sure that it's GDP probably dwarfs that of Alaska. You may correct me if I'm mistaken.

Being a contestant in a beauty pageant only proves one thing, although I'm not sure what.

I'll concede the point that she is a mom, and being a parent is perhaps the most important job in the world, however if that's the rubric by which we measure candidates, then I nominate my mother...

So there you have it.

BTW...six colleges in five years...sheesh.

The American Disconnect

2008-09-05T13:55:00.005-04:00

The Republican Party convention has finally closed, and for those of us who have a memory of times past, it really was no different from Republican conventions that came before it. The level of nationalistic hyperbole should surprise no one, and its' appeal for simple solutions to complex problems are deja vu all over again. Nothing much has changed. The 'flat-earth, no-nothing' wing of the party has pretty much solidified its' stranglehold over the party.

The selection of Sarah Palin has clarified the direction of the party for the next ten years or so, the social conservatives have made it clear that they are in charge and it behooves anyone thinking about running for office whether it be dogcatcher or senator to hew very close to the line.

What was McCain thinking?

I'm not willing to concede the label of maverick to describe him. There is nothing in his background that suggests that he is anything but a 'go-along-to get-along' kinda guy. Let me correct that last sentence, there was only one time in past where that label had any legitimacy, back at the Naval Academy, when he graduated at the bottom of his class.