Needed: Action, Not Reaction

I love my country. There have been many times I have wondered what life would like had I been born to parents in another country. When those questions pop into my head I am truly thankful that I was born in America.

One disturbing thought that is a reasonable and articulate is how we have gone from a country that often carrys the flashlight to other nations to guide them to democracy and freedom, to a country that is an a constant state of reaction. It has not just been in the past four years, it began decades ago in the streets of Birmingham, on a bridge in Selma, and in a motorcade in Dallas. Every reaction has a price. Four young girls killed in a bombing of a church, in a place that one would think our children were safe. Young Civil Rights activists murdered because they wanted one simple thing: the right to vote for all people. JFK's assignation led to our Presidents being shuffled around in dark limousines that allow them to see out but prevents us from seeing in.

The first school shooting, in Heath High School in Paducah, Kentucky in 1997 where three students were killed has been relatively ignored compared to the carnage that happened in Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Virginia Tech, an Amish school in Pennsylvania and now Newtown Connecticut. After each tragedy the public made noise about tougher gun laws, but after time had passed and communities moved on, nothing of any significance changed.

More recently we have seen a member of Congress shot and innocent bystanders murdered in Arizona. We watched in amazement as Gabby Giffords worked at being a survivor rather than a victim. A shooting rampage in a movie theater in Aurora Colorado saw our voices rise and fall once again. This time, we have twenty small bodies of six and seven year olds and six adults who tried and died while trying to  keep children safe. The reaction from the country is still raw. More people than ever want stricter gun control laws. Some are even making the asinine statement that teachers should have guns in the classroom.

In 2009, when a psychiatrist at Fort Hood in Texas opened fire on a military base he managed to kill thirteen people during a mass shooting.  It wasn't the military, who had all the guns needed to fight in war that took the shooter down, it was a local policewoman. If a shooting at the most populous military base in this country could not stop a shooter, then why would anyone think a teacher could do it? How many teachers would feel the need to arm their classroom when all they really want is just a safe environment in which to teach? The fact are clear - if have a gun for protection, you better be damn ready to use it or it will be used on you.

You cannot fix everybody. Some people are just broken. They live an invisible life to most people. We collectively look away when we should be looking at them. Dangerous people live in Everywhere, USA. There are some things that cannot be stopped. Once a psychopath decides to go on a killing spree, only then do we cry out for our Government to do something, anything, to stop this from happening again. The sad reality is that you cannot stop them, you can't read their minds, and you can't point them out in a crowd.

The Sandy Hook Elementary school did everything right that they could do to protect their children. Teachers knew what to do and so did students. The school doors were locked. There is no blame game to be played here. You can blame the shooter, but he is dead and he took the answer as to why he did it when he shot himself. His mother, with whom he resided, was his first victim. She cannot answer why.

Connecticut has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. You cannot walk into a gun store and come out with one. You have to take a certified gun safety course as part of your gun permit processing. You have to have a background check done. It costs money to get a permit. That in itself is often a deterrent to people wanting a gun permit. But there is no place that can decide if you are a psychopath determined to kill as many people possible in the shortest amount of time. In a free society, you cannot have a gun dealer being the person deciding you are too mentally ill to own a gun. They are no more capable of that than you or me. While criminal records are easily available, medical records are not, nor should they be. Too much of ourselves is already planted somewhere on the internet.

This is the time to take a look at gun control laws and see what can be fixed or outlawed. I don't like guns and choose not to own them, but if the guy across the street is a deer hunter who takes responsibility for his weapons, there is no blame game there either. On the other hand, a true hunter will tell you that the type of gun used in Newtown is not a hunting weapon. It is a weapon used for one purpose only, to kill the maximum amount of people in the amount of shortest time. There is no logical reason to own a firearm like this unless you are employed by law enforcement or the military.

Don't let the conversation on gun control wane. We lose so many children every year because they are innocent victims in the wrong place at the wrong time. These children are not the casualties in Newtown, they are the casualties in our cities. It doesn't matter if it is a mass shooting or not, their lives are gone before they ever get going. We must be the voices that do not stop. We must be the voices that are louder than the opposition.

War on Christmas? Did Congress Approve It?

There is no War on Christmas.

There never was a War on Christmas. This is something Fox News invented to rally up the low informed viewers that seem to love all the bullshit that comes out Fox News anchors everyday. Just because you read something on the internet doesn't make it true. Just because it comes out of Bill O'Reilly's mouth doesn't make it true either.

Let me tell you how Bill O'Reilly became the laughing stock of Connecticut about twenty years ago. He used to work for a local station, the same station that helped launch Mika Brzezinski's career when she was just a young, local correspondent. Most people didn't even know she was Zbigniew Brzezinski's daughter. Everyone knew who Bill O'Reilly was. He was as narcissistic then as he is now. I don't remember how a private tape recording of a very, very drunk Bill O'Reilly got into the public arena, but it did, and it was played over and over again on a local rock station. He was lamenting about a prostitute and how no one loved him. I'll go out on a limb here and say the nuts haven't fallen very far from that tree.

So, according to Bill O'Reilly, his show, the "No Spin Zone" (ha!) is the most watched news show on television. I don't watch it so I can't comment on that point. One fact I do know is Bill O'Reilly lies and makes up "stuff". The "War on Christmas" is a perfect example. Where did this so-called war start? On Bill O'Reilly's show. He tried bullying Governor Lincoln Chafee (I-RI) the other night about the State's 'Holiday tree'. I'm not sure if O'Reilly really understands that Governor Lincoln Chafee is the son of former Rhode Island Governor and Senator John Chafee, who also happened to be a decorated Korean War Veteran. This berating of Governor Chafee came one day after O'Reilly argued with an atheist that Christianity was a philosophy, not a Religion. So, following his logic I guess Judaism, Islamism, Muslimism, Mormonism, Catholicism, and I'll throw in Orgasms, are all just philosophies. So, if Christianity is a philosophy, what difference does it make if you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Why don't we celebrate Plato's birthday too?

If the people who invented "Black Friday" are any indication that 'Merry' and 'Christmas' do not belong together, that just reinforces the point there is no War on Christmas. If corporations would allow their employees to enjoy the entire National Day of Thanksgiving until at least 12:01 am the next day when the Greed of Christmas takes over, perhaps sense and sensitivity would return to shoppers who will do anything to be first in line.  This year "Black Friday" started on Thanksgiving Thursday and the people approved. Some ate their Thanksgiving turkey at 6:00 am Thanksgiving day just to get out and shop.They did not act like there was a 'War on Christmas"; they acted like they were the War. All the while, Bill O'Reilly and the crew of blonds and nitwits from Fox News sit on the sidelines fanning the fire with pictures of Barack Obama, because everyone knows, everything is his fault.

Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

Why can't we just along with each other?  If an Jewish man, a Muslim man, and a Christian man all stood with their toes in the shallow part of a lake, took their clothes off, and stood there, all they would be is three naked men. No more, no less. If a naked atheist was in the deep water drowning, they would do their best to save him. When you are naked among the naked, you are just a naked person.

America is divided on a whole slew of issues but we are far better off than some of our collective human beings. We don't have bombs dropping on our head and let's face it, our wars are never on our front lawn. Our wars are in other places, not here. The next time any right winged fanatic claim there is a war on religion in this country I am going to throw up. The word "war" should not be thrown around so easily. I am also saying this as it relates to women. It is the discrimination of women that this country needs to fix, but it is not a war. There is no "war" on religion in this country, unless you count the people who believe the world is only 6,000 years old. They are the ones shouting the loudest. Saying it doesn't make it true.

You want to see a war? Take your pick from about a dozen countries currently in the state of war. Too dangerous you say? Tell that to the Americans currently fighting in Afghanistan. Since quite a few of the soldier's there were little kids when 9/11 happened they must wonder just why the fuck we are still there. Former President Bush sent our military in to hunt down the people responsible for the terrorist attack on 9/11. I think we can safely say we got them. Some are in prison (somewhere, because we all know other counties take our political prisoners because they can torture them and we keep our hands clean), and the others are dead. If we stayed in Afghanistan another twenty years, it wouldn't matter. We can't change the world. We can't change another country's culture. We cannot mold another country to be an image of our country. The only thing we can do is act with kindness towards each other and teach each other tolerance.The rest is up to them.

I can't help but wonder what would happen if every warring country put their guns down for one day. One twenty four hour period where no one shoots at each other, no one sticks a bomb under a car, no planes fly overhead and drops bomb. What if we cross that invisible line and shake hands instead of firing bullets? What if we looked at each other and found one thing in common with our enemies? It could be the color of our eyes, the weary lines of fatigue on our faces, or the shoes on our feet.

If we cannot find one thing in common, then we take our clothes off and become naked. That's the way we all came into this world. We were born humble and needy. Our needs were met by our mothers and our humility was eroded as we grew. But it's a good start.

Put your toes in the water. Stop being so scared. Scrape up an extra ounce of courage, be brave and look at your enemy and see that he wants the same as you. Peace.

The New War in America: The War Against Stupidity

I have delved into the darker side of our country right from my dining room table. It is a shocking view of extremest beliefs, lies and conspiracy theories. It is a Facebook page.

Perhaps I was lulled into thinking the extreme right wing were just a bunch people with tea bags hanging from  their hats and often misspelled signs and flags wrapped around themselves. Fox News is tame compared to these people. Forget about all the noise of states who want to secede from our country. That's just something silly and useless. The enemy is not our government. The enemy is us.

I cannot comprehend the hate towards Muslims. They truly believe that President Obama is a Muslim and is ready to undermine the US Constitution. One person claims there are FEMA camps all over the United States and they are getting ready to come for you. Another person claims to have seen Muslims raping the late Christopher Stevens with a knife. Another claim's President Obama's wedding has secret Muslim code inscribed in it. Because I am a rational person, I have a very hard time understanding irrational people.

To be able to comment on this page I had to join. I think I upped their membership to forty six people. I don't know where the other forty people are because the conversations were basically between me and four people. I suspect one person is either their for the entertainment or he's fighting an uphill battle by stating the truth. It doesn't really matter, they are blind to the truth.

I am treated like a first grader. Every time I point out the obvious, someone comes back and says "no, that's not how it is." One person stated that if something happens to President Obama and Vice President Biden, then we will have "Killery" as President. I explained that is not what happens and went into the historical facts that led to Gerald Ford becoming President. No response. Maybe it was too difficult to understand. I have noticed many, many misspelled words.

The reason for hating all Muslims is because they are Islamic jihads. Yet, if one looks the word "Jihad" up in a thesaurus, a synonym is "evangelism". Wait a minute, isn't that supposed to be a Christian term? I mentioned that everybody does business with Muslims. I like the guys who run the 7-11 down the street. I like their family members who work there on weekends. I was told it's a ruse. They have to be polite in order to win you over. These guys won me over a long time ago because they are kind, funny and just plain nice. Many mornings when I used to stop in for a coffee on my way to work, there was an elderly man wiping up the coffee counters, making coffee and making sure the merchandise was lined up correctly. I jokingly asked one day if I could have his job when he quits. The owner told me he didn't get paid, he does it because he has nothing else to do. He did however, get all the food he needed for free. That's the American way. That's called looking out for each other. It's also called kindness. The guys at 7-11 don't want to kill me. They want me to come back more often.

About Obama's ring. Let's face it, you cannot believe everything on the internet. I was directed to an article explaining in great detail what is on Obama's ring. It was all very interesting but it was just one article on a right wing blog. I looked at it a little closer again. It was written by a Islamic Muslim. That's what he called himself. Right there on the blog. So I asked the question: Why do you site this source as credible when you obviously think every Muslim is an Islamic Muslim, the ones you hate so much? You can't have it both ways.

I guess that was the icing on the cake. I have heard nothing from this group since I asked that question. I don't need to find out if they kicked me out. I'm sure they did. I'm just sorry that I did not have the opportunity to tell them they are what's wrong in this country, not what's right. They are neanderthals who think we should go back to good old days but instead of going after African Americans, they can just insert the word "Muslim". Hate is not on the menu, but if you ask the chef, I'm sure he can cook it for you.

Love and Longing

I am an orphan. My parents are dead. It doesn't matter if I was forty-seven when my mother died and I was fifty-three when my father died. I'm still an orphan. At least it feels that way.

My head is filled with memories. What scares me most is that I will forget them. I never told my parents thank you, you did a good job, and even though I said I would never raise my kids like they raised my brother and I, I did. My parents deserve all the credit because they created me and they instilled a moral compass even before anyone knew what a moral compass was. They let me fail, but when I started to fall down, they held me up. When I was stupid they told me I was stupid. And they always said "someday you will understand." It took me a long time to figure that out, but one day I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes puffy and red from crying about one of my kids. The face in the mirror said "do you understand now?" and I nodded yes.

I have always told my kids that the hardest thing in the world to do is be a parent. It is harder than marriage, harder than losing a job, harder than almost anything I can think of. I have passed on the secret message of "someday you will understand" to the mothers of my grandchildren.

It's almost Thanksgiving time. I spent last Thanksgiving with my father. He won't be here this year. It will be hard. It was difficult in the years after my mother died, but I always had Dad. He didn't give me any secret message before he died. There were no words of wisdom, no words of how outstanding his life had been, but the last time we spoke before he died he said "I love you." Those were the last words he ever said to me.
There was no secret message because that was the message. It's nice to hear people say "I love you." That's all anybody really wants to hear. But when you become an orphan, like me, you treasure those words. They are yours and you do not share them. Not in the same way.

Maybe next year I'll let go of feeling like an orphan. Maybe it will take me longer. Love and Longing are strange companions. They pop up when you least expect them. I am a pretty private person. I share with only a few people. But Love and Longing I hide. If I start crying in the grocery store, I don't care. If I start crying reading greeting cards in CVS, I don't care. No one knows me. No one cares. The best place in the world to let Love and Longing out is in the car. I make believe I have a wireless devise and someone somewhere is talking to me. No one is. I can cry. I can sob. I can throw things around and hurt no one. And when I'm done, I put Love and Longing back inside and become 'normal'.

If I happen to lose one of my unsuitable companions somewhere else, then I'll know I am doing better. You see, it doesn't matter how old you are, when you lose someone close, it hurts. It hurts for a long time. The world goes on but you see it differently. You become aware of your own mortality. You get angry and sad and hurt, all at the same time. You may have a meltdown, but that's ok. Your head tells you one thing but your heart says something else. Love and Longing are born in these hearts. The best you can do is adjust. The second best thing is to keep Love safe and get rid of Longing. Love lifts you up, Longing holds you down. You don't have to let go of anything, no matter what other people say. It's your loss, your grief, your heart. And remember this: someday you will understand.

HATE: The Foulest Four Letter Word

It is November, 2012. It is not November 1844. It is not November 1964.

America, it is time to dig a hole in the ground, put all your intolerance in that hole and bury it. Stop  embarrassing this country. Stop embarrassing yourselves. Wearing a badge of intolerance is no longer acceptable. We have put up with your shit for too long.

I have witnessed race riots, assassinations, horrible things said about and to gay people. I went to segregated schools. In my life I have seen the ugly side of America. Why in the world anyone would want to live that way again is beyond me. It was not our country's best moments.

Hate is a four letter word. The opposite of hate is Love, another four letter word. They are not interchangeable. You cannot say you love America but you hate some Americans. That makes you a hypocrite. You cannot call yourself a patriot unless you are willing to fight for everyone, not just some. You do not have to add to a conversation that you have gay friends, Black friends, Muslim friends, Hispanic friends. because if they were truly your friend, a person that you care deeply about, they would just be your friend. Friends don't need labels.

If you are uncomfortable about someone who is different from you, you might want to stand in front of the mirror and have a heart to heart conversation with yourself. Is it fear? Is it because of something you heard your parents say? Are you afraid you will lose friends if you become friends with this new person? Why do you feel the way you do? Get honest with yourself.

During one of America's darkest time, the Civil War, more men were killed than any other war we have ever fought. The loss of personal property was devastating. It was a war that pitted brother against brother, cousin against cousin, and brought our country to it's knees. Saying you want to secede from this country because the white guy didn't win the Presidency is unconscionable. It doesn't even make sense. He's only their for four more years; he's not a dictator for life. I grumbled through eight years of George W. Bush, I'm sure you can manage to get through the next forty-eight months. Women roared when a few old white guys thought they could define different levels of rape, but some of those same women have signed these silly petitions to have their state secede from the United States. Ladies, shame, shame, shame.

If Hate is to become America's new national past time, then I'll pass. My years on this earth are limited. I have already wasted too much time hating myself for things I didn't do, things I didn't say, things I cannot fix. Hate is a time consuming emotion. It can turn you into someone that others don't recognize. When you wear your hate on your sleeve, you distance the people who love you. It's hard thing to fix. If you gravitate towards other haters, how much do you really have in common? Probably not too much. It is true that sometimes love is not enough. Before we accept that, we reach into every corner of our soul to find some extra love to carry us over the bridge of despair. Hate isn't like that. When you start running out of hate, there's nothing left. You either replace it with love, or you leave yourself empty and wanting.  It's just not worth it, this thing called hate. It will never set you free. But it will kill you.


 

Climate Change? Society? Courage?

It's a cold rain falling
and I'm alone in the street
I used to hear dreams calling
but now all I hear is defeat
    it can't happen like this we are sure to lose
    if we can't help each other we'll have nothing to use

It's a cold rain falling
and I'll make my stand here
every helpless soul is calling
to be saved from their own fear
    we can't let this happen we have to hold on
     if we don't hear what they're saying all will be gone

It's a cold rain falling
but faith makes amends
I hear the stars calling
"it's the beginning, not the end."

Anonymous

You Want To Secede? Don't Let the Door Hit You In The Ass

Just when you thought the south was finally getting over the Civil War, they decide they want to Secede.

Well guess what. There will be no war. You want to become the country Previously Known as Part of the United States, go right ahead. We won't miss you. In fact, the rest of us will be better off. You can leave and take your problems with you, but you can't take our Federal Tax Money. Oh no, we paid it fair and square. You have to start from scratch.

The first thing the Rest of Us will do is put up one of those walls you are so fond of. It will be made of concrete and on top will be barbed wire and cameras so we can catch you trying to sneak back in to our country. Not gonna work, and we won't care what color you are, although we might grant political asylum to blacks and Hispanics, because they probably didn't want to leave the Land of Entitlement anyways.

The second thing we will do is set up a ballistic missile system pointing at the country Previously Known as Part of the United States. We know how you love your guns and we want you to take them with you. But you never know when someone might throw a Molotov cocktail over the fence. Let us be clear. We will retaliate.  You will need your guns to hunt for food because we are keeping all the food stamps. We have people who really need them. Since you hate our government so much, you can't have any of it.

I don't know how you are going to deal with education considering anyone who is educated has probably moved to New York by now. You can import flashcards from China and go from there. Just make sure you can count high enough to pay your bills. Oh, and your going to have to raise taxes. If you don't get that joke, you probably can't read.

We know a guy who says he's perfect for the job as your President. If you can persuade him to part with a little cash, he might help you get on your feet. He might not like the term "President" so much because it brings back bad memories, but King would work, and his wife will definitely love being called Queen. They will remind you somewhat of Ronald Reagan because they will be bringing horses with them. They just won't ride them like Reagan did because the King and Queen's horses dance!

I suppose you will get to keep all the roads and bridges you take with you, but if they start falling apart, you have to fix them. No more help from us. If a really bad storm blows your homes away, or if it snows so much your roofs collapse, we will make sure People Magazine covers the story. That's the least we can do. Maybe some kind souls will have a food drive and you can have all the cans of potatoes, mixed vegetables  and beets that have been sitting on our shelves for two years. Canned goods last for years and years. We learned that during the cold war.

I could go on and on. There are so many good reasons for you to stay with us, but since you are just pissed off because a certain black man, who already has a job, is married to his wife, has children who were born in wedlock is still President of the United States, then leave. Go. Go away. Good Luck. And don't let the door hit you in the ass. Just remember, you won't have Obamacare to fix your broken assbone.

It's Not Nice To Fool With Mother Nature

About a month ago I put an article on my Facebook page that scientists were predicting a cold snowy winter for the Northeast. Right now we have had a few days of what we consider beautiful weather for this time of year - it's in the 50's during the day. Today will be our last. Included in that obscure article was a warning about more extreme weather. Hurricane Sandy drove that point home barely two weeks later.

It used to be that scientists who predicted gloom and doom if we did not change our ways and stop abusing the planet were labeled as nuts. Now the nuts are the people who refuse to believe that we have indeed caused our own destiny by ignoring man made changes to the climate. The biggest nuts seem to reside in North Carolina who voted to no longer allow scientists to measure the rising levels of the ocean. Talk about burying your head in the sand. When the ocean overtakes the sand on the beach, it might be a good time to pull your heads out, if only just to save yourself.

I participated in this country's first earth day. Back then the goal was to clean up the trash, clean up the rivers and oceans and stop air pollution. I must say, those efforts worked. Our family has had a summer home on a small island in Casco Bay, Maine for generations. When I was a kid, the trash went in the ocean, the sewage went in the ocean and glass went in the ocean. The water was filthy. Some type of debris was always floating by, generally something plastic. The only upside to these practices that broken glass eventually turned up on rocky shorelines as "sea glass", which were different colored pieces of glass that had been tossed around in the ocean so much that they became beautiful small, smooth little artifacts that you collect, take home and put them in a jar as a display. You can't find sea glass anymore. It is a thing of the past.

But through the years things changed. Island people had to install septic tanks. They encouraged recycling. They even got a garbage truck with pickup once a week. The island is so small that you don't really have to have the trash out early in the morning, the truck drives by several times a day and if you missed after the first three runs, chances are you could catch in the next three runs. The only thing that can go into the ocean is your leftovers from dinner. Seagulls love leftovers.

It's going to get cold again. Last year we moaned and groaned about losing power because of a freak snowstorm at Halloween. It was cold, roads were often impassable, and we waited in long lines for gas. I look back now and think we got off easy. No one's house blew away or floated away. It was uncomfortable. I argued with the hospital about discharging my father to go home to a cold, dark house.  It seemed like a freak of nature. What followed was a snow less, warm winter. Nights were chilly but not bone freezing cold. In comparison, the winter of 2010-2011 was one of the snowiest  we ever had. You had to creep forward to see around a corner. The snow was piled so high in front of my home, I didn't see the road again until March. Roofs collapsed from the weight of all the snow. The sun would come out, soften it up ever so slightly and then it would freeze at night. All the piles of snow turned into ice. It was hard to walk the dogs; the snow was too deep even for my large golden retrievers. Two winters of record breakers is enough to convince me something is up.

Tornadoes in New England are not unheard of, but they do happen. They did happen. How many times have we watched F5 tornadoes destroy populated areas. It's no longer just a field in Kansas. They kill people. Last summer we had hurricane Irene. While she blew away the shores of Long Island Sound and cut power to millions in Connecticut, the rains moved north and flooded Vermont. When was the last time a hurricane decimated Vermont? How many states must burn all summer before we admit "yeah, we had something to do with that." Is 100 plus degree weather going to become the norm for our summers?

When the arctic ice melts, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand it makes the oceans larger and the land masses smaller. As the oceans encroach on the land, the water absorbs heat from the sun. The warmer the water, the more that water feeds low pressure systems that become hurricanes, nor'easters  and typhoons. Hot air over land heats up the surface that feeds the clouds of severe thunderstorms, hail storms and tornadoes.

Every weatherman tells you to prepare a storm kit. That's the best free advice you will ever get. Think about the worst thing that could happen, the very worst, and prepare. You don't have a basement? Build a storm cellar. You live in a cold region? You might want to invest in a generator. Buy batteries when they are on sale, not the day before you need them. Get flash lights or battery run lanterns. Invest in a radio. Keep gas in your car. And last of all, don't be surprised by what nature throws at you. When you're sitting in the dark with nothing to do, it's a good time to contemplate what you can do calm nature down.

Save the Last Toke For Me

I would hope that the legalization of pot in Washington and Colorado would make other states take a good look at their own laws about marijuana. Some might, but most won't. They don't want to stick their toes in the water. Something might bite.

The real winners in Washington and Colorado are the citizens of each state, but both states are predominantly white. While they both have minority populations, the legalization of pot will not have the same effect as say, a state like Mississippi. Incarceration for drug offences primarily affect minorities who are also primarily the victims of drug wars in cities. The amount of time and money and time dealing with youth and adults caught with small amounts of marijuana has resulted in several states to "decriminalize" marijuana. You get caught with small amounts, you get a ticket. No one gets arrested, put through the judicial system like a losing lottery number and the court can proceed with more serious crimes. This allows police officers forgo lengthy reporting, transporting offenders to police lockups, and basically go back to dealing with more important issues of their job. And don't laugh and say it's "eating donuts" because it isn't.

Imagine what would happen if marijuana was legal in all states. It would be sold and taxed. The taxes would be shared between the state and federal governments. Think about everyone you know, because even if you don't smoke a little weed now and then, you certainly know someone who does. If pot was legal and taxed, I bet we get that pesky deficit under control in no time.

People my age (and I'm middle aged) have no qualms about the fact they smoke pot. Let's face it, we've been doing it for at least thirty five years. Young enough to enjoy it and old enough to know its really not a big deal. Usually the biggest problems we face is keeping it secret from our kids. Yeah, we were the hypocrites that warned them about the dangers of drugs, and many of us have raised children who want absolutely nothing to do with drugs. They are shocked to learn that Mom and Dad have been sneaking around their backs, toking up whenever the coast was clear. As we age, though, the reasons for smoking pot changes. And those reasons have nothing to do with getting high.

Medical marijuana is available in many states. It is in mine. I'm just too embarrassed to bring up the issue with my doctor, but it is a conversation I will have to start sometime soon. I have a debilitating form of arthritis. My hands are deformed and it has spread to my knees and hips. I try to keep walking as much as I can, but it hurts. I have had nights when the pain keeps me awake and a few Tylenol just doesn't do much anymore. I cannot take any of the TNF drugs that can effectively put my disease into remission for six months to a year. I have an artificial heart valve, and even when I had a simple operation to have my appendix out a year and a half ago, I spent fourteen days in the hospital because of an infection. The number one goal of the doctors who treated me was to protect my heart. I'm not Dick Cheney; I just can't buy myself a new heart if this one gives out.  My options for pain management are limited. I do not want to go down the road of narcotic dependency. It's a slippery slope that can potently cause bigger problems that I don't want or need. That leaves only one option left, which is medical marijuana. Whew.

In the meantime, I hope Colorado and Washington's Grand Experiment works. I hope it takes drug dealers out the equation, or better yet, makes it easier for law enforcement to go after the dealers who ride high on selling addictive heroin and cocaine. There is help for heroin addicts and there is help for cocaine addicts.  Most times it is the lack of money or a lack of available merchandise that triggers an addict to seek help. I'm just guessing here, but I think I'm partly right.

In the meantime, to my sibling in Colorado, I may come visit sometime soon. Please save the last toke for me.

Religion and Government.....They Don't Mix Too Well

This past year has been the year of religion in politics, which is the one place religion does not belong. I don't know how the fact that Mitt Romney was a Mormon affected his loss in the Presidential election, but I'm going to a guess and say "not much". Most people do not know anything about the Mormon church, just like most people don't know much about being a Buddha. I find the Mormon religion strange, but you cannot deny the fact that they do help people all over the world.

There was no "war on religion". To find the reasoning behind that term it was like playing a maze game. You hit several dead ends until you finally found your way through. By the time you reached the end, you forgot what you were looking for.

Fox news and their angry staff have no clue about the people in this country. They repeatedly reported on the non-existent war on religion. They made the ride-wing religious Republicans foam at the mouth.  They don't get it that many of us turn them on for entertainment. Their parade of blondes is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Michelle Malkin has an angry puss on her face and as a mother, it makes me want to scream, "stop making faces or your face will freeze that way!" Bill O'Reilly is pathetic and he always has been. I live in Connecticut and I remember just how pathetic he really was. He used to work for a local news station and someone got hold of a taped phone call he made to a prostitute, drunk and whining about how lonely he was. True story.

The frosting that topped the cake was Rick Santorum. He really carried things a bit too far. It's one thing to try and make religion a part of politics, but it got downright creepy when he told the story of bringing home the baby that was aborted to save his wife's life. If his children need therapy later on in life, that experience might be a good place to start.

The first President that actually brought religion into the White House was Jimmy Carter. He was an Evangelical Christian from Georgia and he started his day with praying. He just said that praying was a part of his life. OK. Nothing wrong with that, because it started and ended there. He didn't try to convert the country, his staff, or anyone else. I suspect that President Obama has his moments of asking God for things. He probably did the night the raid on bin Laden compound was happening. He's not an atheist, because coming from an atheist I know one when I see one. If I was President, the first thing I would do is remove the words "In God We Trust" from all US currency. Obama's not going to do that.

Most of our Founding Father's didn't seem to have a glowing respect for religion. Perhaps the idea of the whole reason they were here because their predecessors had fled England for religious freedom and it was still fresh in their minds. They made it very clear that government and religion didn't mix. They created a vague Constitutions  and a vague Bill of Rights, probably hoping both would survive the next hundred years. I wonder what they would think today. We are one of the few nations in this world who respect and use a document written two hundred years ago to guide us. No one throws it out and says "let's write a new one."

Say what you want, but stop throwing Jesus and God at us and saying it's Freedom of Religion. Your religious freedom means you can worship in any church you want; and some us can chose not to practice any religion. It doesn't mean we love this country any less, it just means we love it without piety.

The Election is Over - It's Time to Get to Work

The world is still spinning in the right direction, gravity holds our feet to the ground, and President Obama is our President for the next four years. To all of you who predicted four years ago that America as we know it was supposed to end sometime before November 6, 2012, you were wrong. Get over it.

We are still a Republic, we are still the greatest nation in the world, and we have the potential to be greater than greatest. We will become a nation of people who no longer have to worry about health insurance. All the dire predictions of doctors quitting, hospitals closing, and the government going broke by providing "free health care" (which they already do, by the way, for the poorest families with children) have been proven false. Doctors prefer people with health insurance. There is only so many Medicaid patients they can take before it becomes a negative on their balance sheet. Many patients have no idea what debt doctors carry on their backs, how much it cost them to reach their dream of becoming a doctor. They don't become doctors to get rich, they become doctors because they think they can make a difference in the world. That's it, plain and simple. Having health insurance will save people's lives. Preventative care is the answer to emergency care. Check back in twenty years and see if I am right.

Right wing Republicans are blaming the reelection of Obama on the moochers and the greedy who want free stuff from the government. Keep up that rhetoric and you might as well go jump off the "fiscal cliff." Lemmings do that sort of thing too. It's not just the poor who voted for Obama, it was the young, the old, the sane, the crazy, and everyone who got dizzy trying to keep up with Mitt Romney's changing views. Not to mention those of us who were insulted not only by his "47%" remarks, but every single bold face lie he told with a smirk on his face as if he was the only one in on the joke. It's time to push Romney into the past and face the problems of today.

The highest earners of this country can certainly pay more taxes. Many, many of them have no problem with that. Mitt Romney might, but he's in a class by himself, so he doesn't count. He has more fun hiding his money than actually paying taxes with it. I do too. I put a few bucks in a book for an emergency, keep my change in a leftover margarine container, and every now and then I check under the sofa cushions to see what's hiding in those money sucking pockets of pens, lost remotes and dog hair. It's not like Obama is asking higher earning Americans, himself included, to pay 90% of their earnings to the government, he's just asking them to pay a percentage equal or above a middle class family paying 35% of their $70,000 joint earning to Uncle Sam. I don't quite buy into the whole capital gains lower tax bracket either. The argument is that the capital gains have already been taxed before they were an actual capital gain. But if someone like me buys a new car, I have to pay sales tax with my money that has already been taxed by the Federal and State government. I have to pay federal and state taxes on the gas I put in that car that I have already paid on a Federal and State income tax. It's a tax merry go round. I can't complain, I spent thirty years being a tax collector. While I had to keep my tax gripes to myself, I certainly heard people and their tax gripes. It was generally more unpleasant than pleasant.

Let's wait and see what happens. Perhaps the fact that regardless of how much gridlock was caused in Congress buy doing everything in the Republicans power to make Barack Obama a one term president, it didn't work and it is no longer a valid excuse to do nothing. If they continue to do nothing, after 2014 they will have every opportunity to do nothing at all, but it will be on their dime, not ours. I would hope that some people in Congress can see the lesson that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie showed this country last week: He loved and cared about the people of his state more than he hated the President. He did the job he was elected to do and when the President asked what he needed, he told him honestly and thanked him. Yes, Governor Christie is a large man, but it's very clear that he has a larger heart. I dare you to tell me what is wrong with that.

SEX, SEX, SEX.....

The Republican Party wants to regulate abortion and contraception. In other words, they want to regulate sex. This must be the key to Romney's statement that he will create 12 million jobs in the next four years.The majority of those jobs will go to women. In order for this to work, Romney has stated that he will release all binders full of women because they have to get out there and fill those 12 million jobs. In his effort to cut taxes, you won't have to pay a sex tax. Just make sure you have cash. The business will be deregulated. No more driving by corners slowly with the excuse of looking for a pay phone. Women can stand anywhere and hold up a sign stating their services and prices.

If your twelve year old daughter gets raped, and becomes pregnant, don't worry. By the time they figure out whether or not it was a legitimate rape, that little rape baby will be feverishly trying to figure out who their father is. The argument that the child was a "gift from God" will fall on deaf ears. Kids are smarter than adults give them credit for, and that "gift from God" will figure out that the gift bestowed upon their mother was really a gift from hell.

Men will love this. They don't want another mouth to feed, so they will stop having sex with their wives and girlfriends and head out of town to find one of the newly employed women who will have sex with them. Men won't have to worry about whether abortion is legal or not because, hey, it's not their problem anymore. They can leave a tip if they were satisfied with their service. If the service as so-so, leave a plastic coat hanger. If the service was superb leave a metal coat hanger.

The right-wing Christian Conservatives will shout from the tallest building that they won the war on women, but men will have to find a safe place to stash their sex money. The toolbox is a great location because women don't  know how to open a tool box. Women don't know the difference between a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, but they might pick up a few pointers from "This Old House."  Besides, they are too busy doing women things. What men don't know is that their wives are ecstatic that they no longer have to have sex every Saturday night and they can pop open a bottle of champagne every time their husbands or boyfriends go out for a pack of cigarettes and return hours later with the excuse they forgot they quit smoking twenty years ago.

In conclusion, always remember this: be careful what you wish for because it might just bite you in the ass.

Hurricane, Tornadoes and Fires, Oh My!

Hurricane Sandy came blasting in and blasted out. In her wake she left destruction that most of us will only see in our lifetime. She devastated the coasts of Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Millions of people are without power. Unlike a hurricane that usually shows up in August or September when the air is relatively warm, Sandy pulled in cold air making it a frosty hurricane. West Virginia is still digging out from a few feet of snow, dragged in by Sandy.

I live in Connecticut. We had hurricane Irene last year which actually was mild compared to the Halloween snow storm that paralyzed Connecticut and southern parts of Massachusetts. When Sandy was forecasted  we knew what to do. That's not saying the other states didn't. There is only so much you can do when facing a double barrel shotgun.

These freak storms are not seeming so freakish any more. They are becoming what is known as "extreme weather". And extreme weather should no longer surprise anyone. It's been predicted for years, but maybe only a few of us news nerds ever really paid attention. This past summer, the Arctic lost the most ice it has ever lost since record keeping began. Greenland melted. The ocean is warmer. Warmer water breeds gigantic hurricanes. This past year we have witnessed horrible tornadoes. Floods and droughts. Alaska was literally buried in snow. Yeah, they get a lot of snow up there, but what do you do when the snow is higher than your house? There were times in the past few summers where it seemed like half of the country was on  fire. This past summer, hundreds of heat records were broken. We became a shake and bake country.

We, human beings, are to blame. We used to be a nation of one car families. Now it is not uncommon to have not just two cars, but three or four. That's a big difference from the 1960's. In the last fifty years, we had ignored climate scientists and meteorologists who have tried and tried explain to all of humanity that we are on a collision course with nature. To put it bluntly, we deserve all that has been dumped on us.  In the 1970's there was a commercial that had a line we all used to laugh about. I think it was about either shampoo or margarine. The commercial ended with a shot of a lady dressed up in leaves and bark and a headful of flowers (did I mention it was in the 70's?) Her last line in the commercial was "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature." Indeed.

I shudder to think what kind of world we will have in fifty years. I won't be here, but my children and grandchildren will. The world will have to figure out what to do because this problem does not exclusively belong to the United States. Japan is still recovering from the earthquake and Tsunami that hit their northeast coast one and a half years ago.. Hundreds of thousands of people can never go back to their homes because of radiation. They survived what Mother Nature threw at them, but not what mankind blew at them. Western Europe and the Scandinavian countries are far ahead of us by imposing strict standards for carbon emissions and they have been recycling long before we had figured out the term "recycling" had nothing to do with bicycles.

Deregulation is not the answer, it is the problem. Fracking for natural gas causes earthquakes. That is a fact. So far, the fracking earthquakes have been small, but the more fracking that is done at the expense of other problems like water pollution, and air pollution, who knows when the planet will shake in one gigantic fit of anger. Capturing wind for alternative energy is a benign stamp on earth. At first there will be bird casualties, but birds are very smart. They can adapt to their environment so much easier than humans can. Solar power hurts no one and nothing. We have the resources to expand wind and solar energy, but do we have the willpower? It's difficult to do when a few uber wealthy have made their fortune in power plants and will do anything to make sure they will remain wealthy. Americans, the average Joes and Janes, who put their bodies and brains together for the greater good can do anything. It's time to stand together or we will perish alone. I am betting on humans, after all, we now all know what Mars looks like.

Vote Vote and Vote

I wish people would pay this much attention to local elections, where turnout is usually a dismal 25% - 30%. Local elected officials make decisions that literally affect your wallet. While I am a staunch Democrat, I usually split my vote based on previous voting records of the incumbents and any personal contact I have had with the candidates. Party lines tend to blend together in local elections, but whatever party wins the majority, you can bet your last dollar it will affect you personally.

 That said, this is one election where every vote counts. Look at who you want to represent you in Congress. Congress is local. Whoever represents your Congressional district will be voting in the House on your behalf. The Senate is local too.  You only have two Senators to  represent your State. It matters who you send to the Senate.

 The Presidential race is between two very different men; one that can easily articulate what his vision is for the next four years, and one who has yet to articulate anything. Yesterday, if you closed your eyes and listened, you would swear you heard Obama's plan coming out of his opponent's mouth.  But as a person who watched every single Republican debate, it was clear that some candidates did have a vision, as nutty as some of their ideas were, they could articulate their reasons for running for the highest office in this country. One man could not and did not articulate much of anything. Now he's running for President.

 The men who dropped out early were the only two men who were Republican moderates. One can make the assumption they recognized  the 2012 Republican debates were turning into a real life circus and their messages were drowned in a sea of right winged rhetoric and arguments about who really was the most conservative in a bunch of bananas that were rotting away before our very eyes. I will give credit where credit is due: Rick "oops" Perry didn't bite when Romney bet him $10,000 about a line in Romney's book. Perry just looked at him with an incredulous look on his face. Rick Santorum stuck to his guns, not matter how nutty he sounded. Michelle Bachmann did herself in by relating some far fetched idea that a vaccination caused mental retardation. Herman Caine, who no one took seriously anyway, imploded because one claim of sexual harassment turned into several. Ron Paul, in a league of his own, stood true to the Libertarian point of view. You may not like his ideas, but he never wavered or changed his mind about anything. And Newt Gingrich, carrying enough baggage to fill up three debate halls, called out Romney for what he really is - a liar.   

Before you vote on Tuesday, think hard about who want to represent you in Congress. Do you want women in binders, or do you want women to continue to have the freedom to make their own choices about the most personal aspects of their lives?  Do you want a Congressman who will fight for 100% of Americans or just the few at the top of our economic social structure? Do you want someone who will push away all this noise about rape, abortion and contraceptive issues or one who will embrace it as the Most Important Issues our country faces? Your vote for the Senate could be a vote for more gridlock in Washington, or it could be a vote for someone who actually wants to get back to business.

The President of 2013 will set policy for the next four years. It can be a policy of a steady course guided by a cool head, thoughtful and sustainable goals, or it could be the "trust me" policy. You decide. Me, I'm sticking with the Black man in the White House. 

Racism, the Bible and Jesus

I have been on this earth over a half century. I have had the opportunity to see beautiful places not only here in the US but in other countries too. Traveling and living in other countries changes your perspective of America.. Once you stand outside of a church that is hundreds of centuries old, you understand exactly how young this country is and it awes you.

But I have also lived through some of the darker times of this country. I went to segregated schools when I was a child. I remember first hand the ugliness of racism. I remember my parents wanting to avoid the whole issue, not because they believed it was right, but because it was difficult to explain to a young girl who saw a red light flashing in her head. My parents treated my questions about race about as well as a young girl asking about sex. They avoided it.

It was only because of economic circumstances that we ended up living in a place that was one of the last holdouts in this country to desegregated their schools. When I delve into some of my first memories, they are of Boston, Massachusetts. We lived in a two family in the section of Boston known as Hyde Park. My Dad was a printer. He worked hard and always came home covered in black ink because he ran huge presses that printed newspapers. I remember being happy; no arguments between my parents, no abuse, just being happy. My Dad took our family to his workplace one evening to hear a new, young Democrat who was campaigning for a state government seat. His name was Ted Kennedy. My Dad, holding me so I could see, later waited in line to meet Ted Kennedy. I remember shaking hands with Kennedy and my father telling me to always  remember that moment. I have never forgotten it.

We moved to what was a small town at the time, Stoughton, Massachusetts. My Mom made friends with a young woman next door, but later on her life, she told me it wasn't easy. She made friends with the family across the street. They were Black. She continued her friendship with them long after we moved away. But she paid a price for that friendship when we lived there. No one wanted anything to do with her.

I have to give my parents a lot of credit. As young as my brother and I were, they had already set our moral compass in a direction that would never waver. We were taught that people are people. The color of their skin did not matter. What mattered was how people treated you. Although my parents did not know we would eventually end up in a place that pushed and pulled at our compass, they made damn sure we understood to keep pointing in the right direction.

Living in a world where racism was no farther away than our front door was confusing and hard. Mrs. Romney, you can say your life is hard, but it is complete bullshit. You have lived a privileged life in a White world where I sincerely doubt you have ever dealt with any one's racist attitudes except your own. I walked to and from school with little bullies who would thrown stones at small Black kids. They were walking home from THEIR school.  Other kids called out "nigger", which was absolutely not to be said in my family. My brother and I were promised a belt and a mouth full of soap if we ever uttered that word. As kids, living with our parent's gag order, we didn't have many friends either.

Eventually we moved back north and we left that nightmare behind us. Other lessons popped up about religion and race. We had busing. It didn't always go over very well, but not for lack of trying. Kids bussed in could not immerse themselves in all that our school had to offer. There was no after school activities for them. There was no sense of belonging. They didn't belong here but they didn't belong there either. They gave up their sense of community where they lived only to find there was no way they could have a sense of community in their new school.

Religion was this or that. You were either Catholic or Protestant. If you were anything else, no one wanted to hear it. Now, in 2012, it's really about being being a Christian. And it's pushed by people who do not act very Christian like. I suppose I could read the Bible and come up with all kinds of things because the bible contradicts itself all the time. But I put my Bible away years ago. It it is like a newspaper. It was written by people who were not alive when Jesus was alive and the contents were picked out and revised by a bunch of men 500 years after Jesus died. Whatever scroll they didn't like was put back on the shelf. What I cannot understand is how Christians can say it is the true word of God and not acknowledge that Muslims are mentioned in the Bible about a zillion times. The other contradictory theme is about Jesus himself. He was born to an unwed mother, was a baby, and suddenly grew up. What happened in between? His life is explained in an ancient scroll that was left out of the Bible on purpose. The name of that ancient scroll? The Book of Jesus. It was left out because it describes Jesus as being a typical kid. He was lazy at times, did childish things, and got into trouble. Those ancient men did not want anything that put Jesus in a bad light. And the one thing Bible thumping Christians in this country refuse to believe is that Jesus was not white with blue eyes. He was brown, had brown or black hair and brown eyes. He was just a face in the crowd of millions of Jews that hung around Jerusalem back in the day. Did he say profound things? Yes. Was he the Son of God? I don't believe that, but that's my opinion.

All I know is that Jesus, who I believe did live and die, would not approve of the hatred spewed out of the mouths of racist Americans. Jesus would not approved of hatred towards gay people. They lived when Jesus lived. Since he didn't seem to have anything to say about them, one must assume it didn't bother him. Protestant Bibles have a book which Catholic Bibles do not have: The Songs of Solomon. This book is full of sexual yearnings and songs about love. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know people had sex back then. And they probably enjoyed it.

One last thought is this: if the Second Coming of Jesus came, how would you know? Maybe he would be Jewish, or maybe he would look a little like Jesus - dark skin, brown eyes and a profound love for all people, not just his true believers. I have an idea of who might fit that description. For now, I'll keep it to myself.

Obama Turning the US into a Socialist Country? No, it Doesn't Work That Way.

I find it fascinating when people claim Obama is turning the United States into a Socialist country. I frown a little because, well, I passed Western Civ and US History in both high school and college. They seem to believe Obama has a ridiculous amount of power in the Presidency. Yet, they fail to recognize that our country is one of the few in the world that takes our Constitution seriously and has never decided to throw it away and write a new one. Our country has three checks and balances to insure that no one part of our government has too much power. The Constitution was a direct result of the power of the King of England who had, at that time, complete power over all things British.

The founding fathers might be surprised to see how America, 2012 style, still holds the Constitution as the law of the land. Because of that Constitution, no one person holding public office can change the type of government we have. If Obama wanted to change America from a Democracy to a Socialist government, which he does not, he would have to convince Congress, the Supreme Court, and the country that this is what we should do. It's not happening, it's not going to happen, and all the bell ringers should start educating themselves why it can't happen. The only other way to get rid of our democracy would be a revolution or a military coup. Again, that's not going to happen.

The United States is huge, compared to countries that are socialist government. We are so diverse that one can hardly imagine our country running any other way. The Creature Theory works well to keep local and state governments in check, and hold them accountable, in the way that they should be, to the next level of government above them. All towns and counties are a creature of their state; ultimately  they only have rights that are given by the state.  A state is a creature of the US government. Their rights come from the Federal government. That is one reason why voter suppression laws have been tossed around and ultimately shot down in federal courts. Voting is a right granted to Americans by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and by the Voting Rights Act. When voting rights are suppressed by a state government, the Federal Government, in one of the three parts of government spelled out in the Constitution, through the Federal Judicial system, has the power to say to the state, "knock it off."

Every social reform, in the best interest of the American people, has been an uphill battle by the president who introduces such reform. FDR was accused of turning to the US into a socialist government when he pushed through legislation to start Social Security. So was LBJ when he created Medicare. Abraham Lincoln was called a monkey and characterized as one in many political cartoons during his time in the White House. Barack Obama has so much hate thrown at him I sometimes wonder how his wife Michelle and his two daughters manage to get through each day without crying themselves to sleep. If President Obama had never gone down the road to the Affordable Health Care Law, I can guarantee that it would be Mitt Romney's One Big Idea.

So, we are not becoming a Socialist country. There is no way that's going to happen. Obama is not a Socialist nor is a Fascist. As Fascist, such as Hitler was, takes power by force. If you understand history, Hitler was able to take over most of Europe because he sent his armies in to roll over countries who had no defense. He murdered millions of people and then murdered millions more. Obama is not Hitler. Anyone who thinks he is needs a brain transplant.

Our country will survive no matter who becomes President for the next four years. The big question is how will we look in 2016? We have one man hoping to continue what he has started. We have another man who feels he is entitled to be President. One man has a clear vision of what he hopes to accomplish in the next four years. The other has no idea. Yet, the hatred towards the man who truly understands the Constitution is far greater than the millions of people who share his vision. The hatred is not for what he stands for, it is a deep seated hatred that has been dormant in this country for over forty years. It is because he is Black. Our Congress has refused to do anything for the past four years because they hate him THAT much. I ask you, what does that say about our country? 

What Did John McCain Know About Mitt Romney? All you need to know is Here.

This is formation is from the Vetting File put together by John McCain's Campaign in 2008.
The full file is available from BuzzFeed



FOREIGN POLICY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Romney has no foreign policy experience.



     

ANALYSTS ON ROMNEY’S SHIFTING VALUES

BBC’s Katty Kay: “[T]his issue of authenticity, he’s falling down on that. And if people are looking for something that’s authentic, and he has already flip-flopped on his social conservative values, then that’s going to be a problem for him.” (NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show,” 2/11/07)

WFXT-TV’s Joe Battenfeld: “[B]efore you see the new Mitt Romney unveil himself here tomorrow, we want to give you a look at the old Mitt Romney.” (WFXT’s “Fox 25 News At 10,” 2/12/07)
Battenfeld: “[W]atch Romney squirm. It’s the most revealing look yet at Romney way before his
transformation into a pro-life Ronald Reagan wanna-be.” (WFXT’s “Fox 25 News At 10,” 2/12/07)

The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan: “Romney makes John Kerry look immovable.” (Andrew Sullivan, “The Latest Romney Switcheroo II,” TheAtlantic.com’s The Daily Dish, 2/8/07)

Sullivan: “[Romney] makes Bill Clinton look like a rock of principle. (Andrew Sullivan, “Romney’s Draft-Deferment,” The Atlantic’s The Daily Dish Blog, 5/11/07)

Democratic Strategist Susan Estrich: “Mitt Romney makes [John] Kerry look like a model of consistency.”
(Susan Estrich, Op-Ed, “Rudy’s Game,” Creators Syndicate, 2/16/07)

Boston Globe’s Scot Lehigh: “Certainly Massachusetts’ former governor would present a broad target for the
sort of flip-flop attacks that bedeviled John Kerry in 2004.” (Scot Lehigh, “United In Ambivalence,” The Boston Globe, 5/25/07)

Boston Herald’s Howie Carr: “Mitt’s a lot more adept at doing the old soft shoe around his flip-flops than [John] Kerry.” (Howie Carr, Op-Ed, “Mitt’s Game Plan Looking Like Flip Side Of Kerry’s,” Boston Herald, 2/9/07)

Carr: “[Romney] was privately against George W. Bush’s early tax cuts before he was publicly for them. He
was also for gay rights before he was against them, and he supported campaign finance reform before he
denounced it. Not to mention he was pro-choice before he was pro-life. He wouldn't sign the local no-new taxes pledge in 2002 before he signed Grover Norquist’s national one in 2007.” (Howie Carr, Op-Ed, Mitt’s Game Plan Looking Like Flip Side Of Kerry’s,” Boston Herald, 2/9/07)

National Review’s Mark Hemingway: “Romney now claims to be pro-life … but many find his conversion story far from convincing.” (Mark Hemingway, “Mitt Romney’s Endurance Race,” National Review Online, 2/13/07)

American Spectator’s “Washington Prowler”: “[Romney] appears willing to sell out his core convictions to
win.” (“Romney’s Abortion Positions,” American Spectator’s AmSpec Blog, 2/19/07)

WorldNetDaily.com’s Bruce Wilson: “Romney arrived at his pro-life decision in such a backwards manner that it’s difficult to take his explanation seriously.” (Bruce Wilson, “Mitt Romney’s Flip-Flop: Like Father, Like Son?” WorldNetDaily.com, 2/13/07)

Political Consultant Paul Begala: “[H]e’s not ready for prime time. … [O]nce again, Mitt stepped in it.” (MSNBC’s “Imus In The Morning,” 3/21/07)

Amb. Richard Blankenship, Former Romney Supporter: “The changes in [Romney’s] core beliefs gave rise to
some concerns. You have to have an anchor in life.” (Adam Smith, “GOP Fundraiser Jumps From Romney To Giuliani,” St. Petersburg [FL] Times, 3/22/07)

Salt Lake City Mayor and Bush Impeachment Advocate Rocky Anderson (D): “I would fully expect Mitt
Romney to distance himself from me, especially now that he’s changing his position on so many issues.” (Thomas Burr, “Candidate Mitt: Rocky Who?” Salt Lake Tribune, 3/23/07)

National Review Online’s Yuval Levin: “Flip flops on abortion are a fairly common feature of political resumes in the past few decades. But Romney’s flip flops are both more recent and apparently more frequent than most.” (Yuval Levin, “Will The Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up?” National Review’s The Corner, 2/19/07)

The New Republic’s Michelle Cottle: “In modern U.S. politics, it takes work to distinguish oneself as an
exceptional opportunist. Romney has met that challenge.” (Michelle Cottle, “The Press Makes Too Much Of McCain’s Temperament,” The New Republic Website, 5/25/07)

Human Events’ Matt Naugle: “[K]eeping track of Romney’s blunders is an overwhelming task.” (Matt Naugle, “Romney Bungles Castro Quote In Miami,” Human Events Website, 3/19/07)

Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes: “[I] don’t think [Christian conservatives are] going to be a problem. He has
other problems – being from Massachusetts and flip-flopping on issues, those are problems for him.” (Fox News’ “Special Report,” 2/8/07)

The Hill’s Dick Morris: “Should the right seek a real alternative to Giuliani, Romney’s flip-flops will likely
disqualify him.” (Dick Morris, Op-Ed, “Hillary And Rudy Could Wrap It Up This Year,” The Hill, 2/7/07)

Boston Herald’s Shelly Cohen: “[Romney] has a spotty record as a fiscal conservative. He has an even spottier record of flip-flopping on social issues.” (Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” 2/13/07)

Boston Globe’s Joan Vennochi: “How much trust can Republican primary voters reasonably invest in a
politician who changed so many positions? How good is Romney’s word today?” (Joan Vennochi, Op-Ed, “Mitt Romney’s Skeletons In The Closet,” The Boston Globe, 5/27/07)

Roll Call’s Mort Kondracke: “[F]lip-flopping is a big issue. [Romney], at one point, refused to sign the no-tax
pledge, the Grover Norquist no-tax pledge, now he’s signed it. You know, there’s just all kinds of changes from Massachusetts to running for national office as a conservative.” (Fox News’ “Special Report,” 2/8/07)

Des Moines Register’s David Yepsen: “He’s got to shake the implication he’s flip-flopped to make himself more appealing to the religious conservatives.” (David Yepsen, “Romney Faces Meaty Questions On Social Issues,” Des Moines Register, 2/13/07)

National Review’s Rich Lowry: “For all the trouble the flip-flops have given him, let’s face it, we wouldn't even be talking about him if he were a one-term pro-choice former governor of Massachusetts.” (Rich Lowry, “Romney And The State Of The Race,” National Review’s The Corner, 2/15/07)

 Lowry: “[R]omney doesn't yet have what a top-tier candidates needs, which is a compelling narrative for his
candidacy (I didn't hear it in his announcement speech yesterday). Instead, his critics are writing that narrative
for him as an opportunist and every time Romney continues to do what he did to get here – move right on
everything – it only plays into the negative narrative.” (Rich Lowry, “Romney And The State Of The Race,” National Review’s The Corner, 2/15/07)

Washington Post: “This posturing [on hunting] became a particular problem for Mr. Romney in large part
because it reinforced the existing narrative of the governor as a politician willing to change his ideological stripes to fit the political environment of the moment.” (Editorial, “Killer Rabbits,” The Washington Post, 4/10/07)

Politico’s Elizabeth Wilner: “[Romney] might just be smooth enough to survive this clumsy mess of inconvenient residency and conveniently timed changes of heart.” (Elizabeth Wilner, “Romney Ducks And Dodges Over Mass.,” The Politico, (5/29/07)

Wilner: “Abortion. Stem cell research. Immigration. The drip-drip of Romney’s timely conversions to
conservative positions goes on.” (Elizabeth Wilner, “Romney Ducks And Dodges Over Mass.,” The Politico, 5/29/07)

Syndicated Columnist Deroy Murdock: “With his angular jaw and slicked-back, dark hair, Romney is the GOP’s George Clooney. Who needs the White House? Romney should become a movie star. He already is a skilled actor.” (Deroy Murdock, “Mitt May Only Act Part Of Reagan,” Boston Herald, 2/16/07)

Murdock: “Romney is either a rock-ribbed conservative who played a Rockefeller Republican to get elected
in Massachusetts, or a limousine liberal portraying a conservative to win the 2008 GOP nomination. This fine
thespian has so lost himself in both these roles that no one really knows where the performer ends and the
characters begin.” (Deroy Murdock, “Mitt May Only Act Part Of Reagan,” Boston Herald, 2/16/07)

Murdock: “Romney should warm up to Reagan. After all, Reagan made it big by moving from acting into
politics. Romney’s best bet may be to make that same journey – in reverse.” (Deroy Murdock, “Mitt May Only Act Part Of Reagan,” Boston Herald, 2/16/07)

New York Daily News: “Tough to beat GOP presidential aspirant Mitt Romney on sheer opportunism. After
flipping his positions on abortion (he had a conversion after looking into stem-cell research), gun control (he’s
been a life-long National Rifle Association member since August) and gay marriage (he liked gay Republicans
fine when he was running for Massachusetts governor), now he’s flipped on immigration.” (Editorial, “The Many Faces Of Mitt,” [New York] Daily News, 5/22/07)

Newsweek’s Evan Thomas and Jonathan Darman: “…Romney’s turnaround on the burning social issues of
gay rights, stem-cell research and abortion has raised questions about the candidate’s sincerity – a dangerous
doubt at a time when voters seem to crave authenticity.” (Jonathan Darman and Evan Thomas, “Mitt Romney: Too Good To Be True?” Newsweek, 2/26/07)

Washington Post’s Richard Cohen: “I have been following the zigs and zags of Mitt Romney, the former
Massachusetts governor and now Republican presidential candidate, watching him grow progressively less
progressive, sort of making himself up as he goes along.” (Richard Cohen, Op-Ed, “The Talented Mr. Romney,” The Washington Post, 2/20/07)

Cohen: “[A] total flip from always legal to always illegal (the clear message he’s sending abortion foes) can
have only one explanation: Potomac fever.” (Richard Cohen, Op-Ed, “The Talented Mr. Romney,” The Washington Post, (2/20/07)

Cohen: “In fact, to watch Romney … was to see a thoroughly counterfeit man. If he were a coin, a vending
machine would spit him out.” (Richard Cohen, Op-Ed, “The Talented Mr. Romney,” The Washington Post, 2/20/07)

National Review’s John Podhoretz: “Romney comes out of nowhere to rise into the first tier of candidates,
raises $6 million in a night, gives a bad speech in his maiden appearance in the right-wing big leagues, chickens
out on spelling out a firm position on Iraq, gets tagged as a flip-flopper, loses steam, goes up on the air with an ad to shore up his declining support, and starts frontally attacking other candidates to bring up their negatives.” (John Podhoretz, “Mitt Snit,” National Review’s The Corner, 2/21/07)

Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus: “[I]t was also hard to see how a man with deeply held convictions on abortion rights – either for or against – could take a position so calibrated and inconclusive.” (Ruth Marcus, “Mitt Romney’s Extreme Makeover, The Washington Post, 2/21/07)

Marcus: “Listening to Romney that day was like watching a chameleon in the fleeting moment that its color
changes to suit its environment.” (Ruth Marcus, “Mitt Romney’s Extreme Makeover, The Washington Post, 2/21/07)

Newsweek: “[Romney] seems to lack good fingertips for the subtleties of politics.” (Evan Thomas et al, “Is Mitt Romney Ready For Prime-Time Politics?” Newsweek, 4/16/07)

Associated Press’s Liz Sidoti: “Republican Mitt Romney titled his book on how he saved the scandal-ridden
2002 Olympics ‘Turnaround.’ Now, as he runs for president, he’s trying to fight the perception that he’s committed a few too many turnarounds.” (Liz Sidoti, “Romney Tries To Overcome Inconsistencies,” The Associated Press, 2/27/07)

Sidoti: “The former Massachusetts governor’s equivocations on major issues – and outright position changes
on others – threaten to derail his nascent 2008 campaign.” (Liz Sidoti, “Romney Tries To Overcome Inconsistencies,” The Associated Press, 2/27/07)

Sidoti: “As previous White House hopefuls have learned, once a candidate is perceived to have a pattern of
inconsistency, labels like flip-flopper and waffler are extremely difficult to shake.” (Liz Sidoti, “Romney Tries To Overcome Inconsistencies,” The Associated Press, 2/27/07)

Slate’s Daniel Gross: “For Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the transition from moderate, gay friendly, abortion-tolerating Massachusetts governor to a certified social conservative isn’t going smoothly.
YouTube and Google have exposed Romney’s shifting policy positions and relatively recent history of liberal
behavior.” (Daniel Gross, Op-Ed, “The CEO Candidate,” Slate.com, 2/27/07)

Gross: “Romney’s flip-flops have been aggravated by his clumsy responses.” (Daniel Gross, Op-Ed, “The CEO Candidate,” Slate.com, 2/27/07)

Gross: “Disavowing his remarks in the 1994 Kennedy debate, [Romney] said: ‘Of course, I was wrong on
some issues back then. I think most of us learn with experience.’ Yes, as an unformed man of 47, this CEO,
father, and multimillionaire was in the thrall of foolish, immature ideas.” (Daniel Gross, Op-Ed, “The CEO Candidate,” Slate.com, 2/27/07)

Gross: “It’s not surprising that Romney has fled from his public record and is running to the right. What’s
surprising is that the man who has usually been so competent is proving to be rather poor at execution, and
timing.” (Daniel Gross, Op-Ed, “The CEO Candidate,” Slate.com, 2/27/07)

New York Sun’s Ryan Sager: “Mr. Romney, however, somehow got pegged by the national press as ‘the
smooth one.’ They dubbed him Matinee Mitt. Clearly, it’s the hair that fooled them. In fact, a study of the
campaign so far shows that Mr. Romney is the most gaffe-prone of all the Republican candidates.” (Ryan Sager, “Romney’s Energy Gaffe,” The New York Sun, 4/20/07)

The Hill’s A.B. Stoddard: “Romney thinks he has found a winner in campaign finance reform. … Unfortunately, one can readily access enough contradictory statements from Romney’s pre-conversion period of his career to find that campaign finance reform is indeed another one of Mitt’s Murky Issues.” (A.B. Stoddard, “No Momentum For Mitt,” The Hill’s Pundits Blog, 4/26/07)

Democrat Consultant Bruce Reed: “Mitt Romney is the Jay Gatsby of American politics – a fiction within a
fiction who was born in the Midwest, made his fortune in the East, and never stops reinventing himself to impress those he meets along the way.” (Bruce Reed, “Announcing The Mitt Romney Look-Alike Contest,” Slate’s “The Has Been” Blog, www.slate.com, 5/29/07)

Gentlemen, Choose Your Weapons

Tonight is another Presidential debate. As the whole world knows by now, the last one did go that well for President Obama. I have a few suggestions for President Obama.

• Don't be a gentleman. WE already know that you are one classy guy. Mitt Romney has already shown that he not only lacks class, but he does not act like a gentlemen during a debate. 
• Take a club with you. Those of us that love you will not object if you hit him over the head a few times.
• When he brings up China, ask him why Sensata, in Freeport, Illinois is being sold to China by Bain Capital. He'll say he has nothing to do with. Remind him that his money in the Cayman Islands does.
• Tell the world you are proud of Obamacare as opposed to RomneyDon't care. Those are your words, use them.
• Ask him why he did not take his full deduction for charitable donations, especially because he has stated if he paid more in taxes than was legally due, he should be disqualified for running for President.
• Be obnoxious. I know this is not your nature, but I'm sure Joe could give you a few pointers. Romney certainly is.
• Interrupt him. Who cares what Fox news says.The people that will vote for you don't watch Fox news anyways.
• The very first time he says a lie, reply, "There you go again." Quoting Ronald Reagan is not a cardinal sin. After all, before Ronald Reagan became Romney's hero, Romney did everything he could to distance himself from Reagan.
• Call him on out every single lie.As stated before, interrupt him. Be funny. Mitt Romney has no sense of humor, or what sense of humor he thinks he has is odd, to say the least.
• If Romney uses words like "trickle down government", "middle income taxpayers", and other muddy words, correct him. 
• Remind him that it is not the words stated in public that matter the most, it is the words stated behind closed doors, when one thinks no one matters will hear you. No matter how Romney tries to spin it, he loathes 47% of this country.
• Remind Mitt Romney that Emergency rooms are not heath care. And yes, people die because they don't go to the emergency room. Better to die penniless that live in debt for the rest of your life.
• Ask him about Turkey. I know that you know what is going on in Turkey, but Romney does not have foreign policy experience. 
• You deserve a second term; you deserve a Congress that will work for the people who elected them. They showed their true colors when they voted down the Veterans Job Act. Ask Mitt Romney about that. Ask him what he would do if the Senate and Congress change to a Democrat majority and then refuse to do anything for the next four years. "Say, it's not about the color of your skin Mitt, it's about the size of your heart. I hear people say they don't think you have a heart, and They certainly don't think you have any soul."  WINK WINK.

Good Luck President Obama. Too bad there isn't time for a First Ladies Debate. Give Michele a kiss and tell her it's from all your supporters, because we love her to.

Mitt the Hypocrite

I don't know how I ended up with it, but I have a copy of the vetting file that the McCain campaign put together on Mitt Romney. Now many people scratched their heads when John McCain stated that Sarah Palin was a better candidate, but after going through this extensive file, I have to admit that John McCain was right. Maybe Sarah Palin wasn't the brightest bulb in the room, but she was consistent, consistently dumb, but consistent. Her
admiration of John McCain was sincere and as much as I am not nor ever was a fan of her hers, I think at the time her political ambitions were simply to serve as John McCain's Vice President.

Mitt Romney was never in the same league as Sarah Palin. Not by a long shot. His ambitions would have overshadowed John McCain much in the same way Paul Ryan's admiring fans have overshadowed Mitt Romney. As we saw last week, Mitt Romney is not happy when people prefer to see his running mate and not him. In sharp contrast, President Obama loves to see people who love Joe Biden. It validates President Obama's choice for the Vice President.

The latest sound bite from Mitt Romney is he's going to crack down on China. Because they have stolen our jobs. Oh.

Those missing tax returns are getting clearer and clearer every day. It's almost at the point where we don't need to see them because we already know what's in there. Mitt Romney has investments in China. He has investments in Iran. I'm willing to bet my last cent he has investments in Russia.

Right now, there is a company called Sensata in Freeport, Illinois and their employees are fighting to save their company. It is owned by Bain Capital and Bain Capital is closing it and sending their jobs to China. They have camped out across the street in a tent city called Bainport. These are good, middle class jobs. The same middle class jobs Romney claims China has stolen. Well, China didn't actually steal Sensata's jobs. Bain Capital sold them to China. I guess Mitt would say he's off the hook on that one.

Romney may argue that he is longer involved in Bain Capital, but that's not the point. He profits from situations like this. He profits greatly. Not to mention that as a man running for President, one would assume that he still wields a great deal of influence at Bain Capital. What has he done? Nothing. What has he said about Sensata? Nothing. Will the people in Freeport, Illinois vote for him? Not likely.

He does not sense his own disconnect. Is something wrong with him? I am beginning to think so. I have never known anyone who is uber wealthy. I have met people who are wealthy and I have to say that the few I have known are very, very aware of the world they live in. They are people who quietly contribute money to causes they believe in, help out individuals in dire straights and never ask for anything in return. They see a wrong and fix it. They have a heart and they have a soul. There are millions of these individuals in this world, but Mitt Romney is not one of them. We all know of people who are uber wealthy. Generally they are celebrities. They make a mark in the world two ways - they entertain us but often they do incredible work which we only know about because they are always surrounded by the press. Think about Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Sean Penn, and the late Princess Diana. Mitt Romney? Nah.

In another few weeks the election will be over. I sincerely hope President Barack Obama gets reelected. The world will not blow up if he is not, but then again, I'm not sure quite sure I trust Mitt Romney with the key to the end of the world. That's one scary thought.

Shame on Paul Ryan, That Good Catholic Boy

We have a moral obligation, for the sake of families struggling today, and for the sake of future generations to balance the budget and prevent a debt crisis. - Paul Ryan's Facebook Page

Dear Paul Ryan,

What happened to your moral obligation to tell the truth? Do you have a moral obligation to teach your children to tell the truth?

The whole country knows your family is not struggling financially. You have a trust fund - that one you forget to mention to the IRS until you were tapped to run as Vice President. You got through college on social security payments. Why don't you pay Social Security back, now that you are wealthy? Because Social Security is redistribution.  If you don't understand that concept, maybe president Obama can explain it to you. The truth is Paul, you would not be where you are today without the help of social security.

There's just one thing nagging at my heart tonight. You USED a Catholic soup kitchen who didn't want you there for a staged photo opt. And you USED your children in stated photo opt. Have you no shame?

One more thing, that story you told about looking at your daughter's ultrasound, it is very much like the story Kurt Cobain told about seeing his daughter's ultrasound. It's a nice story, Paul. Too bad it isn't yours.  When you finally get your moral compass pointing in the right direction, then you can talk about moral obligations. Until then, shut the fuck up. 

Educasion.....No, EDUCATION

I always amazed at the lack of civility from some Tea Party members. I know I shouldn't be, but I guess it was the way I was brought up. Yes, I use profanity all the time. I learned it from my mother....well, sort of. She very seldom swore at all. Occasionally I would here a "damn it" and as I got a little older I would hear the word "shit" muttered under her breath. It was not until one of her last years, as she was losing her mind to Alzheimer's Disease, did I hear all the words my mother never taught me. She even managed to sound classy when she yelled "Get this fucking thing off me!"  In spite of the fact that I learned how to swear like a lady from her, I think  she would always want me to be civil about it. If someone beside me called President Obama a Muslim, in my head I would hear my mother say, Suzanne, watch your language.....because chances are I would blurt out "you are a fucking asshole". My mother would say "Sir, you are an asshole, and a fucking one, too."

So, now that that's out of the way, being civil has a lot to do with education. The more educated you are, the more manners you have. I don't have a quote any study to prove this is true. It just is. And another fact that is simply true, is the more education you have, the better you can spell. Tea Party members who like to make signs, please reread the last sentence, if you are able. I'm going to make an assumption here, and I think I might be right.....the smart members of the Tea Party don't make signs. They don't have to. They are bright, articulate, and can state their position without having to write it down. The one exception to this rule is Michelle Bachmann. She is scariest elected official in this country. Batshit crazy scary.

If I was in a march, any march, and I had a sign I made with me, I would triple check it for spelling and vocabulary. When I read a book, if I don't know what a word means, and I can't figure it out by the end of the paragraph, I look it up. It's much easier now than it has ever been since Daniel Webster wrote his first dictionary. Just look it up on your smart phone. If you are going to march around with hand made sign at Tea Party rally, understand this: not everyone there is as illiterate as you are. If you cannot spell, have someone help you, because by showing up with misspelled signs, you are making everyone else around you look stupid.

Another fact, which I don't have to back up, is public education is the best most of us will get. If you are smart and on the ball, you might have the opportunity to go to a private school or university. And if you really have connections, maybe your books, which cost about the amount to heat your home for a year, will be paid for too. But most of us have no choice about where we go to school, but we have a choice to take advantage of what ours schools teach us. From a very young age we are taught to take turns, listen when spoken to, and not to lie. In first and second grade it's time to learn reading and spelling. Understandably, some kids learn faster than others. Some kids find out they have learning disabilities. But most kids learn to read and spell, and are taught what a dictionary is. They also learn you do not make fun of kids that can't read as fast or don't know what a word is. The lesson in front of the lessons in reading and spelling is how to be civil. Kids don't know they are learning that, and we all understand that often civility gets absorbed by hate, but the last I knew, good manners are expected and hate is not a subject taught in school.

Whenever I see these Tea Party signs, misspelled, misinformed, and hateful, I want to bang my head on the table. I want to take a permanent marker to the TV screen and fix the mistakes. And then I want to cry. I am already past the halfway point of my life, but I fear for the future, not because of who is or might be the leader of our nation, but because education and good manners don't seem to matter much anymore. Everyone does not grow up to be a rocket scientist, but you can't fill out a job application and expect to be taken seriously if you can't spell. You can't show up on national TV with a misspelled sign and wonder why people are laughing at you. And, if show up with a sign stating that the President of the United States is a "Niggar" , well, you deserve whatever you get, but I can guarantee this, it won't be for the best speller - best citizen of the century award.