Seriously

The Roots of Violence
Wealth without work,
Pleasure without conscience,
Knowledge without character,
Commerce without morality,
Science without humanity,
Worship without sacrifice,
Politics without principles.

~Mohandas Gandhi

That Giant Sucking Sound

.....is a trillion dollars immediately pulled from an economy which has fallen flat on its' face and cannot get up.

We are, I fear, in for a bumpy ride. Many of us will not survive the trip. I believe it would be in our own best interest if we stopped falling for the "how large do we want government to be" false argument and instead focus on the real question at hand: what type of society do we want to live in? Forget the misleading rhetoric and get down to brass tacks. Are we ready to enter into a system of government which is designed to support an oligarchy? Because this is where we are swiftly heading.

We should be discussing an infusion of a trillion dollars into our economy; funding infrastructure which is crumbling, updating an outdated rail system, funding clean energy development. We should be discussing tariffs and tax law changes which would bring manufacturing back. There is much we should be doing, but instead we are watching as the bandits prepare to take the last of what we have to give before they kick us over the precipice. 

To the Point

"Seems to me the GOP seeks a banana republic: a toxic blend of right-wing populism, anti-intellectualism, debt defaults, and an end to the ladder of economic opportunity. They would divide us into a few Haves and a lot of Have-Nots. And they would slowly crush the heart of progressive America—the rising middle class created by Democratic economic policies of education and empowerment. All while preserving, protecting, and defending a tiny oligarchy of millionaires and billionaires."
~ Paul Begala

When You Have a Minute

I know that the people who generally comment here know all or most of the information contained in this article, but it is worth the read and perhaps someone will read it who is not fully informed on the unjust tax policies of the US. It is pertinent, considering the constant refrain of "job creators". It is long, but if you have the time, worth reading, if only to reinforce what you already know to be true.

David Cay Johnston Article

I'm A Closet Queen

Fan. I was and still am a fan of Freddie Mercury. His voice was amazing and his audacity was audacious. At the beginning of his career, the unabashed, here I am, what I am, of him was bold indeed.

I worked at a city hospital while I was in college. It was my first exposure to openly gay men, as the male working population there was about 90% homosexual. I was accustomed to looking at life from the outside of the circle, so they and I became natural friends. It was one of life's learning moments. The flagrant queens fulfilled everyone's stereotypical bias (and were endlessly fun and interesting), but many defied definition. My best friend was a conservative. I did not understand it, but there you are. In very short order, I saw people of various types, personalities and likability. I saw human beings, living their lives, just like anyone else.

My state of birth, the place I returned to after a small wandering about, has a Democratic governor and a very radical rightwing legislature. Said legislature is putting on the ballot an amendment to the state constitution banning same sex marriage. It is not enough that we have a law banning this, they need to make the grand spectacle of a constitutional amendment. The governor cannot block it.

I wonder about people who want laissez-faire governance where business and guns are concerned (they are also putting together a 'shoot on sight' law for intruders of property), but are so dogged in their need to control individual actions. Of course, they all cite their religious beliefs, which are not supposed to be the basis of law in the US, but which are increasingly creeping in.

I do not believe in the omnipotent being, nor of the son, but if I did I would have to wonder why such a being would create individuals which then its' followers are expected to revile. It screamingly lacks logic. I know logic and religion rarely shake hands, but come on. From what I have gleaned over the years, Jesus was more about inclusion than exclusion. Was on the side of the underdog, the disenfranchised. How did his followers stray so far from his ways? How can they remove an entire class of people from humanhood in the name of Jesus?

May 21st is supposed to be 'The Rapture'. What if it really happened? Wouldn't there be a whole lot of very surprised righteous. I would be left behind, according to the pious, so I would get the very big thrill of observing their well-deserved horror. Oh, yes indeed.

You know, you don't have to agree with a thing to tolerate it. If it is not harming us or the society then we should have no say in whether it is done or not. It is not my nor your life, nor our business. One can still shield oneself with religion and proclaim "I am not a bigot."

Which leads me back to Freddie Mercury. I think I would have liked him. I know I like his talent and how he lived his life was his business, not mine.

Wish I'd Said That

The greatest evil perpetrated is the evil committed by nobodies, that is by human beings who refuse to be persons.

~ Hannah Arendt

Curiouser and curiouser.

~ Alice

Miscellany

Don't be fooled, this is from last year.

It rained last night, thunder & lightning....oh my. Wash away the winter dirt and gloom, bring on the green.

Some of you will remember that I started a political blog a year or so ago, which I abandoned rather promptly. I became blocked every time I sat down to write. It was the strangest thing, I went blank. But then, when I consider myself, it probably is not such a mystery. I dislike tasks, I don't function well under orders and I easily distract and lose interest. I basically had set myself up to quit, because I gave myself an order to write specifically on one subject. Don't tell me what to do!, was my response to myself. This little insight also gives a hint as to why I work with horses and not humans.

I learned last evening on FaceBook that I have a cousin who is a birther. Ah, the family tree. She is also very religious. And concerned. I, on the other hand, am a heathen and fairly pissed off. I am no fan of President Obama and I will not cast another vote for him, as I am also fairly scorned, but come on, really.


I don't know why, but I was thinking this morning about the years which have passed and yet I am basically what I was born as. The serious faced little girl, standing off to the side of the crowd, never quite mixing in, but never quite walking away either. The only thing changed is I'm not a little girl anymore. Many valiant attempts at changing myself have resulted in my remaining myself, so I guess the lesson learned is I wasted some time. I don't do that anymore.

I don't understand Kindle. I love books. Real books. I own them. I display them. I lay in bed at night, turning pages. I have no desire to read in my bed with a piece of electronics. But then, I am in the dark ages on all of the electronics. I think I am better off for it, but that is an opinion of a slightly crabby, reclusive grey haired one. So take it for what it is worth.

I think I shall go out and play in the mud with my beasties now. Good times, oh yah.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Did we elect George Bush in someone else's body?

Quote in today's paper by Barack Obama: "Programs people rely on will be cut back", Obama said, adding Americans had to begin to live within their means. "Needed infrastructure will be delayed." "Cuts will be painful."

To whom? To the least of us, that's who. Let me give a little economic lecture here. Money does not disappear. It moves. It can move up, it can move laterally or it can move down. It has moved up to 1/2 of one percent of the population, sucking the life out of the country. And this budget bill and the one to come for 2012 is designed to move what is remaining in our meager pockets in the same direction. Critical thinking is seriously missing in our general population. I guess massive numbers of us will need to pee on the electric fence before we learn. They get away with this because we let them.

If tax cuts to the 'job creators' created jobs, we should be swimming in work, as we have had tax cuts for these mythical job creators for ten years. Ah, but it isn't enough to get them to create those jobs. They need more and Paul Ryan has just the ticket; more cuts, down to a top tax rate of 25% for individuals.  And of course, we can't change the tax laws to force GE, Exxon Mobil, et al, to pay federal income tax. We can't discontinue the federal payouts that these defrauders receive. We will not change the law that rewards companies for sending their jobs to other countries. Countries that these greed mongers exploit to the fullest extent possible, before moving on to the next. But we will cut Federal employees, infrastructure spending, medicaid payments, attempt to dismantle Medicare and Social Security, defund WIC & programs for the disabled and elderly, eliminate Federally backed loans for first time home buyers, cut veterans benefits, or if I simply cut to the chase; throw us under the bus.

And here is something important: no one creates a job because of a tax cut. Jobs happen when demand for something increases. Not because someone's personal wealth is increased. Tax cuts for rich people are a way of redistributing the wealth, to rich people. Tax hikes on rich people redistribute the wealth to society. We are getting our pockets picked. The only entity that creates jobs when there is not demand is the government, because it is not in the business of profit. It should be in the business of protecting the people, but at this time it is not a government of the people, by the people, for the people. We have an oligarchy, yes we do. All of these Federal spending cuts are going to tailspin an already fragile economy. But the titans of industry and finance are not concerned about that. They need to have their pathology fed.

We had better get busy and start peeing on that electric fence.

Observations on a Dreary Morning

Is this the face of America? I'm in a mood, which means I'm thinking about stuff.

The harder a person thumps a bible the less likely they are to possess charity, compassion and empathy.

Crazy talk gets notice and credibility. Reason is dismissed like so much garbage.

Glen Beck is either insane or immoral. Or both. As well as the viewers who subscribe to his vitriolic rants.

One would think a tall man would have quite a length of spine. President Obama may have a spine, but he seems to lack a backbone.

I've learned, by listening to the Average American Who Knows So Much, that we are different so we don't need universal health care. Because we have a Constitution.

The Average American Who Knows So Much does not know that democracy is a system of governance and capitalism is an economic system, and that the two are not mutually exclusive. China is a dictatorship that practices capitalism very well. You, Average American, are not a capitalist. You're just a poor schmuck.

Free enterprise is not free market.  Free market means someone is getting screwed, like you. Or me.

Long-term unemployment in the US is inevitable. Job loss will subside in a couple of months, but job creation of any significance will not occur. We are still sending our jobs out of the country. We need to change our trade policies (remember free market) and put a financial cost to sending jobs out. Fat chance. Wall Street would not like it.

Carl Rove wrote a book. Carl Rove should have been booked.