It's been quite sometime since I last posted. I just thought people might be a little tired of me ranting about the dude in the White House. I know I am obsessing, even though at work I constantly listen to MSNBC and obsess about Robert Mueller and when he will charge the dude with treason. He, that is the dude, has undoubtedly conspired with the Russians to win an election as though he was coveting a new business acquisition. Bad dude he be. But I don't want to rant on about this right now. Perhaps as this new school year has started, and me a newly minted scholar taking a class in linked data (Oh, I know you are very jealous...), it might be time to reflect on this past summer (yes, before the sleeping pills kick in...who can sleep without aid in these time?)
The highlight of the summer was I didn't break anything, though not for want of trying. On May 6th I managed to fall in the street trying to avoid a car. Skinned my knee and having fallen on my hands while carrying shopping bags of now crushed pasta managed to damage the tendons in my social finger, AKA the long finger, which required a brace and physical therapy. Then in August, on a pleasant Sunday walk I managed to trip over my feet, falling on my face, and hitting the pavement like I should have broken every bone in my face. I managed not to break my nose, although I did break my glasses and have lovely shiners and a huge bruise on my nose. I figured I kicked the back of my right heel with my left foot and that's how I fell. How I managed to get up, sans blood, is still amazing to me and how I managed to finish the walk is beyond me. I have since tried to be more sentient about walking, being mindful of my steps lest I fall again, without such favorable outcomes.
My business, such as it is, is flourishing. I have a paying gig teaching senior citizens how to be more computer and technologically competent. I am having a load of fun doing this and getting paid is a great perk.
I put in a small vegetable and herb garden this summer which flourished, due, I suspect, to superior plants that I ordered from Territorial Seeds in Oregon. Tomatoes and a variety of peppers galore and basil up the wazoo. Some of the veggies went to critters who could not resist an heirloom tomato, while leaving the peppers alone. The roses are still blooming and I just put out some rust colored mums out front, along with the hydrangeas and calla lilies. A good friend, my Sophie replacement at work who I have yet to name but am thinking of calling her the Pope, gave me a hanging basket of lovely flowers and a shepherd's hook to hang them upon. Looks great and a very thoughtful birthday present.
I mentioned I am turning back into a scholar. I went to a conference and heard a talk on linked data and I was fascinated. So much so that I asked to be put on a committee at the library dealing with this, part of which is a book "club" discussing a book on linked data. I am also taking an online course in linked data, for which I get some release time at work to do. Very excited and very nervous about all of this. I haven't read my readings yet, saving it for Monday when there is very little I chose to watch on TV on Labor Day. Supposed to be warm and rainy tomorrow, which is fast approaching. I have a work laptop I carry with me now to take notes and is different from my business computer which I do PowerPoint presentations on out in Williamston at the senior center (did I mention I am actually being paid?). This new laptop is facilitating the writing of this blog entry. I wanted a work laptop as taking notes on a tablet is a hassle (I have a number of tablets and none of them seem suitable).
Been playing guitar quite a bit and have been organizing neighborhood music sessions. The first was a great session but the following Sunday a cellist showed up who was blissfully unaware of how bad he was. I am organizing another session for the 10th of September without notifying he who is apparently tone deaf. I have recently meet a few women, one a vet the other a therapist, who just want to sing and let me accompany them, which is very cool for me. Today the Old Duffer came over and we practiced for this coming Friday's Shabbat service at the synagogue. It seems of late I have been so busy that I haven't had time to slow down and take naps. Music is very consuming, as is preparing for classes for the seniors. Also providing tech support for my usual gang of friends and the technologically challenged. In addition to music and computers I went to the MSU football game this past Saturday (managing to get a sunburn on my face). And I am going to the game next Saturday only to tailgate with the president of MSU and sit in the president's box seats in the tower (ain't I special?).
So Monday I have to do my readings for the book group on linked data (which for the uninitiated and perhaps uninterested is basically how a Google search knows your location and what you are searching for). Taking steps to link our data in out online catalog to facilitate access on the web. Cutting edge work and my last stand for the library. I gave my two year notice a few weeks ago and while I am winding down my career at MSU I plan to go out with a better knowledge of linked data and how that will help the community and world at large. Besides...it's really cool stuff and you know how I love cool stuff.
So that's an update I can live with. No rants about the obvious and sleep don't fail me now.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Another one gone
Every day in my email I get an posting from a Jewish funeral home in the Detroit area of funerals that day. One caught my eye this morning, a neighbor from Fairfield Avenue in Detroit. The Rosins. Mrs. Rosin passed, the last of the original people on that block. They had a beautiful home about three houses from the corner. We were several houses to the north. Mrs. Rosin was 99. And so it goes. Shiva will be at the house on Fairfield, which means either the daughter is still in the house, Ilene that is, or she is getting ready to close the house up as I did my grandmother's in 2004. Just seeing that obit made me sad. We had a great neighborhood. beautiful homes, the University District, the University of Detroit being my alma mater was a mere mile from the house. I walked there, weather permitting. Our home at 18975 Fairfield was a Tudor style home with a great back yard and we had a swimming pool in the backyard for a number of years (above ground). We had "maid quarters" on the third floor, bedroom and full bath. We actually had a live in maid, Myrtle. My grandmother, sainted woman that she was, paid her social security so that when Myrtle could retire she had a stream of income. Dorothy, my grandmother, was like that. She did so much for her younger brothers and sisters. Friday nights, the sabbath, was a feast and festival of aunts and uncles for me. The bad mommy was in bed and the family had a great meal and I was the recipient of a great deal of attention. I loved Fridays.
So Mrs. Rosin's passing made me sad in a number of ways. Like the final chapter in a long mortality (mortality) play. I remember summer afternoons, hiking to the end the block where Mischa Mischakoff gave violin lessons in his home and the music coming from his home was intoxicating.
I almost found it odd that Mrs. Rosin still lived on the block. When the riot hit in 1967 we had major white flight the following year. My memory of the first year of high school was a racially mixed class that by the time I graduated was predominately African American. Still we stayed in that house, as Mrs. Rosin did in hers. The last of the last. I thought my dad might have been the last original soul on Fairfield but, no, Mrs. Rosin was.
I don't know where I am going with this. Somewhere down memory lane. Just seeing her address in the email made me nostalgic for the Fridays, the High Holy Days, the family always gathering at our house, until the riots, that is. Then the Aunties didn't like to stay past dark and instead of coming for dinner they dined at a quaint "tea room" Ann Sayles, on 7 Mile Road. Then to our house for a rousing game of Canasta. Soon my grandmother, unable to live in her own home with my demented mother signed the house over to her only daughter and my grandmother moved to be closer to her sisters. My mother was proud of her new house but could only entice the Aunts to come during hte day for a ladies' luncheon and more Canasta. Home before dark. Mother wanted to show off her house, the new touches she and my father added but folks didn't want to come to Detroit. When my dad passed in 2004 the remaining Aunties came and sat Shiva with me one night, delivered by their driver as neither aunt could see well enough to drive. After the funeral we went to their building and had a post game meal in the dining room. Which I ended up paying for and for which my rat bastard cousin Don told me not to tip so much but I just didn't care, and what care he as it wasn't his money and he got a decent meal out of it. So there was some of the Epstein grandstanding, as usual, to contend with.
And so down the rabbit hole of memory I go.
As an aside, the library's west wing, where my office ism is currently sans water due to a water main break yesterday. Only four toilets for each gender in the building. Lots of good fun and lots of foresight needed to plan a bathroom run. My secret: Go to the one on the forth floor. No lines.
Here is something I can write without getting my panties in a bunch over politics. I hope you have enjoyed.
So Mrs. Rosin's passing made me sad in a number of ways. Like the final chapter in a long mortality (mortality) play. I remember summer afternoons, hiking to the end the block where Mischa Mischakoff gave violin lessons in his home and the music coming from his home was intoxicating.
I almost found it odd that Mrs. Rosin still lived on the block. When the riot hit in 1967 we had major white flight the following year. My memory of the first year of high school was a racially mixed class that by the time I graduated was predominately African American. Still we stayed in that house, as Mrs. Rosin did in hers. The last of the last. I thought my dad might have been the last original soul on Fairfield but, no, Mrs. Rosin was.
I don't know where I am going with this. Somewhere down memory lane. Just seeing her address in the email made me nostalgic for the Fridays, the High Holy Days, the family always gathering at our house, until the riots, that is. Then the Aunties didn't like to stay past dark and instead of coming for dinner they dined at a quaint "tea room" Ann Sayles, on 7 Mile Road. Then to our house for a rousing game of Canasta. Soon my grandmother, unable to live in her own home with my demented mother signed the house over to her only daughter and my grandmother moved to be closer to her sisters. My mother was proud of her new house but could only entice the Aunts to come during hte day for a ladies' luncheon and more Canasta. Home before dark. Mother wanted to show off her house, the new touches she and my father added but folks didn't want to come to Detroit. When my dad passed in 2004 the remaining Aunties came and sat Shiva with me one night, delivered by their driver as neither aunt could see well enough to drive. After the funeral we went to their building and had a post game meal in the dining room. Which I ended up paying for and for which my rat bastard cousin Don told me not to tip so much but I just didn't care, and what care he as it wasn't his money and he got a decent meal out of it. So there was some of the Epstein grandstanding, as usual, to contend with.
And so down the rabbit hole of memory I go.
As an aside, the library's west wing, where my office ism is currently sans water due to a water main break yesterday. Only four toilets for each gender in the building. Lots of good fun and lots of foresight needed to plan a bathroom run. My secret: Go to the one on the forth floor. No lines.
Here is something I can write without getting my panties in a bunch over politics. I hope you have enjoyed.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
6 of June
What I have in my inbox from three and a half years ago: Aunt Martha's obit from Kaufman's. Today would have been her birthday. My birthday, this year, is Fathers' Day. The family, as it were, had lots of June and July birthdays. Mine sometimes falls on Fathers' Day. It happens. Aunt Martha's was D-Day before it was D-Day, and, as I was in the shower this morning pondering the guts and glory that was the Normandy Invasion, I thought, fondly, of gentle Aunt, really a great aunt, Martha. The last of the nine children to pass. The passing of a generation for me. I just ponder it for all I am worth. Now families are split and aside from my dad's brother and sister-in-law and their kids, I really am alone in this world. No siblings, no parents, no grands of any sort. One aunt and one uncle, some cousins.
Sometimes it gets lonely and I pick up the phone and think I could call the Aunties or dad, but, no, that's not going to happen. I still remember the old phone number, the old exchange of University (UN-26725 before it was 862-6725). I have fewer and fewer people to call and chat.
And it doesn't seem like almost four years since the Toxic Avenger split from Sophie and me, over what I still am unsure. And she truly was toxic: a racist hypocrite and wouldn't say shit if she had a mouthful. Ah, Sophie, we knew her, and knew her not. For all our foibles, dear reader, at least we, or at least I, are genuine. Honest, sincere, you name it. I am still waiting for Jack, I think it was Jack, to rear his or her ugly head and call me names again. Mayhap it was Cousin Lena, an ass who fancies herself a politician now after serving as co-chair of the president's campaign committee in Michigan. Ah, the cult of the amateur.
And speaking of which...I am truly afraid to watch the news now that we have the American Idiot in charge...afraid of his not understanding that he is supposed to be a responsible adult no longer a CEO but the biggest CEO of them all and that words matter. My heart sank listening to MSNBC last night as Michael Beschloss, the presidential historian, said he was afraid. The jerk in charge is quick to point fingers, but he is the one who hasn't filled over 79% of the appointments he has to make. It has nothing to do with the Dems being obstructionists. No, that is on him. And his "managerial" style of pitting one against another doesn't work well when trying to run a country. Yes, he is an ass. And so is Lena, the amateur. Running business is nothing like running a country. You can't tweet out of your asshole and not expect it to land you in a stinking pile of shit.
Alright, let's enjoy the beautiful day and not think about our country going down the crapper.
Sometimes it gets lonely and I pick up the phone and think I could call the Aunties or dad, but, no, that's not going to happen. I still remember the old phone number, the old exchange of University (UN-26725 before it was 862-6725). I have fewer and fewer people to call and chat.
And it doesn't seem like almost four years since the Toxic Avenger split from Sophie and me, over what I still am unsure. And she truly was toxic: a racist hypocrite and wouldn't say shit if she had a mouthful. Ah, Sophie, we knew her, and knew her not. For all our foibles, dear reader, at least we, or at least I, are genuine. Honest, sincere, you name it. I am still waiting for Jack, I think it was Jack, to rear his or her ugly head and call me names again. Mayhap it was Cousin Lena, an ass who fancies herself a politician now after serving as co-chair of the president's campaign committee in Michigan. Ah, the cult of the amateur.
And speaking of which...I am truly afraid to watch the news now that we have the American Idiot in charge...afraid of his not understanding that he is supposed to be a responsible adult no longer a CEO but the biggest CEO of them all and that words matter. My heart sank listening to MSNBC last night as Michael Beschloss, the presidential historian, said he was afraid. The jerk in charge is quick to point fingers, but he is the one who hasn't filled over 79% of the appointments he has to make. It has nothing to do with the Dems being obstructionists. No, that is on him. And his "managerial" style of pitting one against another doesn't work well when trying to run a country. Yes, he is an ass. And so is Lena, the amateur. Running business is nothing like running a country. You can't tweet out of your asshole and not expect it to land you in a stinking pile of shit.
Alright, let's enjoy the beautiful day and not think about our country going down the crapper.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
I am back
And I an still embarrassed. But life goes on, hopefully it does. The house is beautiful and I am basically happy save for our current pretender in chief. My garden is lovely, my credit score is soaring and my Luminosity scores are also on the rise. Capitol City Informatics has a permanent gig at the Williamston Area Senior Center and I must prepare a PowerPoint presentation for the 29th of the month, which is now June. If April is the cruelest month then June is busting out all over. Another thing I am embarrassed by is that the American Idiot's b-day is also flag day which makes him a schizophrenic Gemini (but I don't believe in horoscopes...that another Gemini trait).
I keep going back to he who shall not be named. He stole an election with the aid of an enemy state and no one seems truly upset with this treasonous behavior, least of all the Republicans, who place winning ahead of country. They are so drunk with power that they can't see the world is laughing at us and are a little more fearful of us now that a madman is at the helm of state. There used to be more good Republicans other than McCain and Graham. Bill Milliken of Michigan and George Romney, both good men. I can add Susan Collins of Maine to the list of good Republicans but they have and must start opposing more vociferously the madman in chief. This is just all crazy.
The deal with Kathy Griffin and the head of state should outrage you, but outrage you as much as you should have been when there were Obama effigies being hanged in the street. If you weren't outraged then, you don't get to be outraged now.
So, where does this leave me? Outraged and tired. Watch too much MSNBC yet every time I turn it one, between innings as it were, there are more and deeper scandals. And what the hell is a covfefe?
And on it goes. I keep waiting for the merry-go-round to stop but it keeps spinning out of control. Where will it end. 132 days in and I am still waiting for the other shoe to fall. And wait I will
Okay, onward. Tonight the Old Duffer is coming over, along with the very pregnant cantor, to rehearse for Friday services this week. Since I joined KI, my synagogue, I find myself playing guitar once a month at Friday services. Dinner is included. And the food is usually terrible. Tonight, however, I will make a Greek pasta salad for tomorrow night and that I know will be edible. Seems the people that cook have never heard of seasonings like, oh, I don't know, SALT and PEPPER. I will use a light hand but the salad will be good. Manicotti will be served so it will be a basta-pasta festival. My garden had produced an abundant crop of lettuce so the pregnant cantor will take some of it home to make a salad that I hope her partner will not overseason with fresh garlic and yes there is such a thing as too much garlic. Also, my herbs are herbacious. I can add Greek oregano to my salad as I have multiple kinds of oregano, basil and chives. Fresh, fresh, fresh. Lots to pick from. In spite of not a great weather in May the garden is thriving and my roses are in bloom a full two weeks ahead of schedule, like they pay attention to that sort of thing. My hand is finally doing better since I took the header on Grand River and Coolidge on May 6th. Still swollen and bent but I can play the guitar well enough for services and to teach.
The front porch has been upgraded and I sit out there while Simcha Cat complains that I told the boys that they could sit on the porch with me when we moved to Sans Souci. Simcha sits in the window overlooking the porch and yells at me. But I don't give in. I don't want them flying out the door when I leave the house in the morning just because it suits them. I thought about getting harnesses for them but again I don't want them flying out of the house without protection. And then there is Bernice, a lovely neighborhood kitty that likes to hide in my low bushes and watch the birds. She is very friendly. I see her across the street with Mrs, Shankland helping her plant flowers. A very helpful cat.
I am doing a great deal these days and still have two full years before retiring. Dan is taking me to lunch today, I hope because I am already looking forward to it, and we will get around to paying off the last of the credit cards. Then shred, shred, shred. I went to a BNI as Dan's guest and I have new contacts for my business, which is doing nicely thank you.
As for Sophie she is well. And Ethel is too, Phyllis, their mother, just returned home from a stint in rehab and is doing fine.
Alright, enough with this nonsense. Time for more outrage.
I keep going back to he who shall not be named. He stole an election with the aid of an enemy state and no one seems truly upset with this treasonous behavior, least of all the Republicans, who place winning ahead of country. They are so drunk with power that they can't see the world is laughing at us and are a little more fearful of us now that a madman is at the helm of state. There used to be more good Republicans other than McCain and Graham. Bill Milliken of Michigan and George Romney, both good men. I can add Susan Collins of Maine to the list of good Republicans but they have and must start opposing more vociferously the madman in chief. This is just all crazy.
The deal with Kathy Griffin and the head of state should outrage you, but outrage you as much as you should have been when there were Obama effigies being hanged in the street. If you weren't outraged then, you don't get to be outraged now.
So, where does this leave me? Outraged and tired. Watch too much MSNBC yet every time I turn it one, between innings as it were, there are more and deeper scandals. And what the hell is a covfefe?
And on it goes. I keep waiting for the merry-go-round to stop but it keeps spinning out of control. Where will it end. 132 days in and I am still waiting for the other shoe to fall. And wait I will
Okay, onward. Tonight the Old Duffer is coming over, along with the very pregnant cantor, to rehearse for Friday services this week. Since I joined KI, my synagogue, I find myself playing guitar once a month at Friday services. Dinner is included. And the food is usually terrible. Tonight, however, I will make a Greek pasta salad for tomorrow night and that I know will be edible. Seems the people that cook have never heard of seasonings like, oh, I don't know, SALT and PEPPER. I will use a light hand but the salad will be good. Manicotti will be served so it will be a basta-pasta festival. My garden had produced an abundant crop of lettuce so the pregnant cantor will take some of it home to make a salad that I hope her partner will not overseason with fresh garlic and yes there is such a thing as too much garlic. Also, my herbs are herbacious. I can add Greek oregano to my salad as I have multiple kinds of oregano, basil and chives. Fresh, fresh, fresh. Lots to pick from. In spite of not a great weather in May the garden is thriving and my roses are in bloom a full two weeks ahead of schedule, like they pay attention to that sort of thing. My hand is finally doing better since I took the header on Grand River and Coolidge on May 6th. Still swollen and bent but I can play the guitar well enough for services and to teach.
The front porch has been upgraded and I sit out there while Simcha Cat complains that I told the boys that they could sit on the porch with me when we moved to Sans Souci. Simcha sits in the window overlooking the porch and yells at me. But I don't give in. I don't want them flying out the door when I leave the house in the morning just because it suits them. I thought about getting harnesses for them but again I don't want them flying out of the house without protection. And then there is Bernice, a lovely neighborhood kitty that likes to hide in my low bushes and watch the birds. She is very friendly. I see her across the street with Mrs, Shankland helping her plant flowers. A very helpful cat.
I am doing a great deal these days and still have two full years before retiring. Dan is taking me to lunch today, I hope because I am already looking forward to it, and we will get around to paying off the last of the credit cards. Then shred, shred, shred. I went to a BNI as Dan's guest and I have new contacts for my business, which is doing nicely thank you.
As for Sophie she is well. And Ethel is too, Phyllis, their mother, just returned home from a stint in rehab and is doing fine.
Alright, enough with this nonsense. Time for more outrage.
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
I am so embarrassed
And so I am. I am embarrassed by what this country is turning into: a stupid, hate mongering, isolationist turd ball. I am further embarrassed by the so-called president and the Republicans that are putting party ahead of country and its people. I see hate everywhere I go. I am embarrassed by the number of Jews involved in the growing Russia scandal, dare I say treason? A shanda, pure and simple.
I can't really put into words the shame I am feeling. Our lame president rode in a golf cart yards behind the walking leaders of the free world. What a massage that sends. Our poor, dilapidated old man, wife, slapping away his hand, American idiot. I am embarrassed. Every time he opens his mouth I am embarrassed. Every day brings new revelations. I thought I couldn't get more embarrassed by a president than George W. Bush. I was wrong, wrong, I tell you.
I am watching with horror that we are not making America great again, but hate again. It is like the Republicans and their ilk are trying to blot out the history that was Obama. Civil rights, reproductive rights, equal opportunities, safety from police violence, all being rolled back, blotting out the last eight years. No, it wasn't enough for him to question his birth, we now have to undo all he did. And I am embarrassed.
My congressman, Mike Bishop, stands by this ass. And dare I say he doesn't stand a ghost of a chance of re-election. What an ass. He has disabled his website so you can't send him emails anymore. Classy. Fake news? Double Speak, 1984...all being realized in a third world country that we have become. I can't stand this.
Every day I turn to MSNBC hoping that this American Idiot (thanks Green Day) will see the light and step down. It really is too much for him. Every day another scandal, deeper intrigue, more subpoenas. Every day...and I grow weary. #Resist
People who voted for this idiot, having been sold a bill of goods by him, stand by their man. He is gutting the social safety net. Dr. Carson says Poverty is a state of mind. Wonderful. A brain surgeon came up with this. I am outraged. We are becoming not the best and brightest, but the worse and dumbest. A shanda.
And everyday I am made angrier. There is hate in the street. The white middle class may feel newly invigorated and less marginalized but hens will come home to roost. And when there is no longer a middle class, much less a white middle class, will blood run in the streets?
Wake up. You've been conned by the King of Cons. His behavior towards Russia is treasonous. Can no one see this. If the Democrats had pulled half of this bullshit would they still have a place to hang their hats? The party in power has grown so intoxicated by the power that they can't stand themselves. When the Republicans, the good ones, put country ahead of party we might see some light at the end of this tunnel.
I'll tell ya...an ass of a cousin, Lena Epstein, is planning to run against Debbie Stabenow for senate. She, Lena, has no political experience, but, like her mentor, she doesn't see this as hindering her chances. I will do everything in my power to see that Lena is defeated. Her father is a bad man, grown senile from what I have heard. They have money up the butt, then denied an inheritance to another cousin and they took that money, money, money and ran. These are the people we now choose for public service? Greedy robber barons.
And so I go on everyday with a faint hope that this 132 day nightmare will end soon. And not with a bang but with a whimper.
I can't really put into words the shame I am feeling. Our lame president rode in a golf cart yards behind the walking leaders of the free world. What a massage that sends. Our poor, dilapidated old man, wife, slapping away his hand, American idiot. I am embarrassed. Every time he opens his mouth I am embarrassed. Every day brings new revelations. I thought I couldn't get more embarrassed by a president than George W. Bush. I was wrong, wrong, I tell you.
I am watching with horror that we are not making America great again, but hate again. It is like the Republicans and their ilk are trying to blot out the history that was Obama. Civil rights, reproductive rights, equal opportunities, safety from police violence, all being rolled back, blotting out the last eight years. No, it wasn't enough for him to question his birth, we now have to undo all he did. And I am embarrassed.
My congressman, Mike Bishop, stands by this ass. And dare I say he doesn't stand a ghost of a chance of re-election. What an ass. He has disabled his website so you can't send him emails anymore. Classy. Fake news? Double Speak, 1984...all being realized in a third world country that we have become. I can't stand this.
Every day I turn to MSNBC hoping that this American Idiot (thanks Green Day) will see the light and step down. It really is too much for him. Every day another scandal, deeper intrigue, more subpoenas. Every day...and I grow weary. #Resist
People who voted for this idiot, having been sold a bill of goods by him, stand by their man. He is gutting the social safety net. Dr. Carson says Poverty is a state of mind. Wonderful. A brain surgeon came up with this. I am outraged. We are becoming not the best and brightest, but the worse and dumbest. A shanda.
And everyday I am made angrier. There is hate in the street. The white middle class may feel newly invigorated and less marginalized but hens will come home to roost. And when there is no longer a middle class, much less a white middle class, will blood run in the streets?
Wake up. You've been conned by the King of Cons. His behavior towards Russia is treasonous. Can no one see this. If the Democrats had pulled half of this bullshit would they still have a place to hang their hats? The party in power has grown so intoxicated by the power that they can't stand themselves. When the Republicans, the good ones, put country ahead of party we might see some light at the end of this tunnel.
I'll tell ya...an ass of a cousin, Lena Epstein, is planning to run against Debbie Stabenow for senate. She, Lena, has no political experience, but, like her mentor, she doesn't see this as hindering her chances. I will do everything in my power to see that Lena is defeated. Her father is a bad man, grown senile from what I have heard. They have money up the butt, then denied an inheritance to another cousin and they took that money, money, money and ran. These are the people we now choose for public service? Greedy robber barons.
And so I go on everyday with a faint hope that this 132 day nightmare will end soon. And not with a bang but with a whimper.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
It's been a while, dear friends
Since last I posted. Much has transpired since of a more personal nature than waiting for the inevitable collapse of our civilization. Passover transpired, which, as matzo is want to do, ripped my guts to shreds and has necessitated a colonoscopy on the 2nd of May. So until then Prednisone is my friend and companion and I hope this does not offset the effects of the Forteo injections I have been taking since October to strengthen my weak old bones. So, of course, I immediately imagine my ankle is in the process of breaking bad.
On a more positive note Capitol City Informatics is doing splendidly. I am giving computer literacy courses out at the Williamston Area Senior Center (WASC) (and getting paid). This has necessitated hiring Sophie as my chauffeur. She is now on my payroll. Basically she gets a per diem for the ride to and from the WASC and mileage. I opened a business account with the bank but right now my cash outlay is greater than my income. But I am just getting started. Teaching computer literacy to seniors is enjoyable and a market that I think is very vibrant. I go to my office in my home (which also doubles as the cats' room and music studio...go figure that the cats would have a band) and work out PowerPoint presentations, which I have uploaded to my website. So if you want to learn computer basics or how to do research in the internet these presentations are on the website. Among other things I am learning by doing and then teaching others. I am getting input from the seniors on what they want to learn and and working out classes for them. I hope to have a drop in session where folks can bring their laptops, tablets and smartphones in and we can work with them on a one to one basis. The WASC also has five desktop computers and they are already being used regularly. I teach safe computing as well.
So, whilst all of this is ongoing spring has sprung in a spectacular fashion. The campus, which was submerged under water just three weeks ago, making a lake out of the baseball field, is now alive with flowering trees, flowering flowers and the crack of the bat hitting the ball. My front yard looks spectacular with all the daffs and miniature tulips blooming that my Aunt Marilyn had sent me since I have moved to Sans Souci in 2015. The back yard needs some work yet but the patio furniture is out, the garage is relatively clean and, touch wood, the basement hasn't seen fit to flood this year. Aside from the revenge of the Seder ulcerative colitis (UC) attack things are pretty good. I may need to change my UC meds to a biologic (Humira) which is an injection as well but as long as I am poking myself nightly for the Forteo, what's another poke? Speaking of pokes, I lost four rose bushes over the winter as I couldn't take care of the yard last autumn due to the fractures of the femurs, so, but of course, I am getting two more bushes and two climbing roses to replace them. And then there is the contract to redo the front porch. The windstorm we had in March blew my screens out and the door is no more. Brad to the rescue, sooner rather than later to effect the repairs.
So, no politics today. I am tired and depressed by the worldly goings on. But spring is springing and mayhaps the UC will resolve itself without going on a biologic. I was doing pretty good on one medication but the insurer wouldn't cover it any more so I am on something apparently not as good as the Asacol was so I suffered with the UC and all its unattractive feces, er, features. And on that note...
On a more positive note Capitol City Informatics is doing splendidly. I am giving computer literacy courses out at the Williamston Area Senior Center (WASC) (and getting paid). This has necessitated hiring Sophie as my chauffeur. She is now on my payroll. Basically she gets a per diem for the ride to and from the WASC and mileage. I opened a business account with the bank but right now my cash outlay is greater than my income. But I am just getting started. Teaching computer literacy to seniors is enjoyable and a market that I think is very vibrant. I go to my office in my home (which also doubles as the cats' room and music studio...go figure that the cats would have a band) and work out PowerPoint presentations, which I have uploaded to my website. So if you want to learn computer basics or how to do research in the internet these presentations are on the website. Among other things I am learning by doing and then teaching others. I am getting input from the seniors on what they want to learn and and working out classes for them. I hope to have a drop in session where folks can bring their laptops, tablets and smartphones in and we can work with them on a one to one basis. The WASC also has five desktop computers and they are already being used regularly. I teach safe computing as well.
So, whilst all of this is ongoing spring has sprung in a spectacular fashion. The campus, which was submerged under water just three weeks ago, making a lake out of the baseball field, is now alive with flowering trees, flowering flowers and the crack of the bat hitting the ball. My front yard looks spectacular with all the daffs and miniature tulips blooming that my Aunt Marilyn had sent me since I have moved to Sans Souci in 2015. The back yard needs some work yet but the patio furniture is out, the garage is relatively clean and, touch wood, the basement hasn't seen fit to flood this year. Aside from the revenge of the Seder ulcerative colitis (UC) attack things are pretty good. I may need to change my UC meds to a biologic (Humira) which is an injection as well but as long as I am poking myself nightly for the Forteo, what's another poke? Speaking of pokes, I lost four rose bushes over the winter as I couldn't take care of the yard last autumn due to the fractures of the femurs, so, but of course, I am getting two more bushes and two climbing roses to replace them. And then there is the contract to redo the front porch. The windstorm we had in March blew my screens out and the door is no more. Brad to the rescue, sooner rather than later to effect the repairs.
So, no politics today. I am tired and depressed by the worldly goings on. But spring is springing and mayhaps the UC will resolve itself without going on a biologic. I was doing pretty good on one medication but the insurer wouldn't cover it any more so I am on something apparently not as good as the Asacol was so I suffered with the UC and all its unattractive feces, er, features. And on that note...
Monday, March 27, 2017
The mystery that is history
George Santayana once said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This is basically a plug for knowing history. And as I watch the whole world unravel, due to some Bannonian edict to deconstruct the administrative state, watch the dismantling of the social safety net put in place by those progressive dreamers following the "Great Depression", I am reminded of Santayana's words. I is a history major as an undergraduate (minors in religious studies and English) and in my distant past done work towards a doctorate which I managed to destroy with a little too much graduate school libations. Not that I have any special insight to the debacle we are witnessing but maybe I do. Who know? But then I am the Authority Czarina and maybe I can be of assistance. I cite Percy Bysshe Shelley's Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Yes, we are in the desert of Trumplandia. And when our history is writ large we shall see what we allowed to be created and how it tumbled and decayed.
If we have learned nothing from the last week is that the party in dominance is feckless. Eight years they had to repeal and replace (or just repeal) the ACA and the came up empty. Seems given time to acclimate to the concept of health care as a "entitlement" most people seem to have cozied up to the notion. Now try to take it away and the hue and cry has gone up. Sure the ACA could be better, like a single payer option, but most people, many of the Trumpets, have warmed to the idea. Now don't you dare take their Kodachrome away.
And that the Republicans who salivated like a junk yard dog over a contested bone tried to eviscerate the ACA the people fought back. Still the fact that they really had no plan at all and that it was rushed through the process without a hearing, well, I am sure that had something to do with it as well.
So Ryan looks like a loser, and Trump, ever the narcissist, tries to blame the Dems for the failure and refuses to take any personal responsibility The fact is this country cannot be run on a business model and the president's lack of political acumen and his thin skinned self demonstrates this all too well. He has not drained the swamp, only made it swampier. He is a puppet of the Republicans who thought he was malleable and could bend to their will.
And speaking of puppets, the Russian connection through this whole ugly ordeal...why are we all not shouting TREASON. The Republicans wanted power so much they compromised the democracy to attain it. TREASON. Call it what is it. . The whole rat pack of them GUILTY. They are traitors to this country and owe allegiance only to power and whomever can put them there.
This is the history we are living.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Yes, we are in the desert of Trumplandia. And when our history is writ large we shall see what we allowed to be created and how it tumbled and decayed.
If we have learned nothing from the last week is that the party in dominance is feckless. Eight years they had to repeal and replace (or just repeal) the ACA and the came up empty. Seems given time to acclimate to the concept of health care as a "entitlement" most people seem to have cozied up to the notion. Now try to take it away and the hue and cry has gone up. Sure the ACA could be better, like a single payer option, but most people, many of the Trumpets, have warmed to the idea. Now don't you dare take their Kodachrome away.
And that the Republicans who salivated like a junk yard dog over a contested bone tried to eviscerate the ACA the people fought back. Still the fact that they really had no plan at all and that it was rushed through the process without a hearing, well, I am sure that had something to do with it as well.
So Ryan looks like a loser, and Trump, ever the narcissist, tries to blame the Dems for the failure and refuses to take any personal responsibility The fact is this country cannot be run on a business model and the president's lack of political acumen and his thin skinned self demonstrates this all too well. He has not drained the swamp, only made it swampier. He is a puppet of the Republicans who thought he was malleable and could bend to their will.
And speaking of puppets, the Russian connection through this whole ugly ordeal...why are we all not shouting TREASON. The Republicans wanted power so much they compromised the democracy to attain it. TREASON. Call it what is it. . The whole rat pack of them GUILTY. They are traitors to this country and owe allegiance only to power and whomever can put them there.
This is the history we are living.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Have we have lost the ability to be outraged?
I am shocked, well, not too shocked, at the latest revelations about the president's administration and its ties to Russia. Why aren't more people not outraged that a foreign entity interrupted our democratic processes and handed the president a victory lap around the country. The fact that the AG is now splitting hairs as to what role he was in when he spoke to the Russian ambassador during the campaign speaks volumes about the lack of integrity of this White House. And the Trumpets are not in the least concerned that their hero is riding on Putin's back in the bromance of the century.
People: Russia interfered with our electoral process. That is real. Be outraged. People: the president has tremendous ties to the Russian oligarchs and that is the reason he won't release his tax returns. The enemy of the people is not the free press it is this rogue presidency. And no one seems truly upset. PEOPLE: WE WERE HACKED BY RUSSIA, OUR COLD WAR NEMESIS. Be outraged. If the shoe had been on the other foot and the hack had favored the Democrats, the Right would be all over it like flies in shit. But, no, with his MAGA campaign his supporters don't seem to care. Where is the moral outrage?
Yes, right now it looks like partisan politics. The intelligence community, which is historically to the right of center, says the hack is real. We should sit up and pay attention. Seventeen national intelligence agencies have said the hack is real. I no longer say the outcome doesn't matter. It does. While there may be no "do over" we do need to have an investigation into this Russian cyber-attack. We do need to investigate why the administration is playing bait and switch and bright shiny objects to distract from the noise this cyber-attack should be creating. The enemy of the people isn't the free press, which is pushing the investigation envelope and leading the charge, it is the current administration.
The Administration needs to realize that America isn't a business you can walk away from in a bankruptcy court. No, it follows you around like a puppy wanting to be loved and cared for. It is not something that can be bought and sold to the highest bidder. If it is we better cash in our chips right now and move to Canada, if they will have us. America is not something that should operate on a business model. Yes, let's be efficient, but let us be compassionate as well. The people who felt left behind by the Democrats, the people that still cling to MAGA, these people should be throwing in the towel right about now. Yes, the economy is robust, but how much of that had to do with the previous administration? Coal jobs aren't coming back. Coal is a lost industry. Move on. Automation has taken away more jobs that immigrants. Move on. The xenophobia is unreal, the anti-Semitic rhetoric and bomb threats to JCCs are unreal, the four mosques that have been torched in the last seven weeks, this is unreal. Look about you people...all hell is breaking loose and you are telling me this is making America great again (MAGA)? It is if you are talking about the reemergence of a robust free press, the robust attendance at town halls across this country, the hue and cry being raised about the ACA. Some people have said that this movement isn't as organic as the Tea Party. Looks pretty organic to me. Not paid protesters. I have yet to receive my check from attending the women's march in Lansing on the 21st of January. Dang, that was organic!
The enemy of the people are the people who have been elected that try to hold a bright, shiny object in our face and tell us the press is the problem. If the press would just let things settle, let the Trumpets be Trumpets, then all would be right and the head Trumpets would act more presidential. The bright, shiny object that is blaming the left for perpetuating attacks on JCCs and mosques, that the Democrats are doing this just to undermine the administration...this nonsense has to stop right now.
I am sure Mike Bishop (810-227-8600), my illustrious congressman, is sick of hearing from me at least once a week. I don't care.
My point is we need to be, if not outraged, then upset that a foreign entity hacked our democratic processes. We need a thorough investigation like the 9/11 commission. Jeff Sessions should stop splitting hairs and recuse himself from this investigation, if not resign. The swamp has not been drained but flooded as if spring showers have overwhelmed the levees. I am scared for this democracy. And don't get me started on Steve Bannon and his "deconstruction of the administrative state". This isn't about rolling back regulations, it is about ending the state as we know it. Be scared. Be very scared.
People: Russia interfered with our electoral process. That is real. Be outraged. People: the president has tremendous ties to the Russian oligarchs and that is the reason he won't release his tax returns. The enemy of the people is not the free press it is this rogue presidency. And no one seems truly upset. PEOPLE: WE WERE HACKED BY RUSSIA, OUR COLD WAR NEMESIS. Be outraged. If the shoe had been on the other foot and the hack had favored the Democrats, the Right would be all over it like flies in shit. But, no, with his MAGA campaign his supporters don't seem to care. Where is the moral outrage?
Yes, right now it looks like partisan politics. The intelligence community, which is historically to the right of center, says the hack is real. We should sit up and pay attention. Seventeen national intelligence agencies have said the hack is real. I no longer say the outcome doesn't matter. It does. While there may be no "do over" we do need to have an investigation into this Russian cyber-attack. We do need to investigate why the administration is playing bait and switch and bright shiny objects to distract from the noise this cyber-attack should be creating. The enemy of the people isn't the free press, which is pushing the investigation envelope and leading the charge, it is the current administration.
The Administration needs to realize that America isn't a business you can walk away from in a bankruptcy court. No, it follows you around like a puppy wanting to be loved and cared for. It is not something that can be bought and sold to the highest bidder. If it is we better cash in our chips right now and move to Canada, if they will have us. America is not something that should operate on a business model. Yes, let's be efficient, but let us be compassionate as well. The people who felt left behind by the Democrats, the people that still cling to MAGA, these people should be throwing in the towel right about now. Yes, the economy is robust, but how much of that had to do with the previous administration? Coal jobs aren't coming back. Coal is a lost industry. Move on. Automation has taken away more jobs that immigrants. Move on. The xenophobia is unreal, the anti-Semitic rhetoric and bomb threats to JCCs are unreal, the four mosques that have been torched in the last seven weeks, this is unreal. Look about you people...all hell is breaking loose and you are telling me this is making America great again (MAGA)? It is if you are talking about the reemergence of a robust free press, the robust attendance at town halls across this country, the hue and cry being raised about the ACA. Some people have said that this movement isn't as organic as the Tea Party. Looks pretty organic to me. Not paid protesters. I have yet to receive my check from attending the women's march in Lansing on the 21st of January. Dang, that was organic!
The enemy of the people are the people who have been elected that try to hold a bright, shiny object in our face and tell us the press is the problem. If the press would just let things settle, let the Trumpets be Trumpets, then all would be right and the head Trumpets would act more presidential. The bright, shiny object that is blaming the left for perpetuating attacks on JCCs and mosques, that the Democrats are doing this just to undermine the administration...this nonsense has to stop right now.
I am sure Mike Bishop (810-227-8600), my illustrious congressman, is sick of hearing from me at least once a week. I don't care.
My point is we need to be, if not outraged, then upset that a foreign entity hacked our democratic processes. We need a thorough investigation like the 9/11 commission. Jeff Sessions should stop splitting hairs and recuse himself from this investigation, if not resign. The swamp has not been drained but flooded as if spring showers have overwhelmed the levees. I am scared for this democracy. And don't get me started on Steve Bannon and his "deconstruction of the administrative state". This isn't about rolling back regulations, it is about ending the state as we know it. Be scared. Be very scared.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
I have decided
Donald Trump doesn't know what the hell he is doing. Either that or he's more malicious than we thought and incapable of speaking in complete sentences that are longer than 140 characters. And to all you Trumpians who believe he is making America great...now it's time for you to get over it. He's will destroy the working and middle classes with his "make one regulation, remove two" edict. Ending the fiduciary responsibility of financial advisers, compromising the health of the economy and the safety of its citizens through brazen stupidity, and lordy I could go on and on. Signing executive orders without reading them, trying to marginalize the free press. Throwing tantrum after tantrum in a manner not befitting a leading of our democracy. All this and more. And President Bannon, who is probably of Irish decent (whose name in Gaelic means white or fair...how apropos) and who's hand is so far up The Donald's ass that it actually looks like Trump might be in charge. Trump declaring that if the president does it, it is by definition legal and constitutional, all the while violating the emolument clause of the constitution and creating a mess of our economy (in due time, children, you wait and see). All he knows how to do is brand and declare bankruptcy and that isn't really an option for our country now is it. And he is a loose cannon who is putting our democracy at risk.
I have an African American friend who I believe is so conservative as to make Bannon look like a sissy. He is thoughtful and articulate and we have enjoyed some back and forth discussing politics. I have news for him...In Bannon's America he will be so marginalized as to not have a voice. I have no problems with thoughtful conservatives, and even those conservatives who have joined the dark side of opposing Trump, as long as there is a rational basis for dialogue (beyond the "You lost, we won" variety) and a free exchange of ideas. Mr. Bannon is a white nationalist, a would be Leninist intent on destroying the current status quo and making America great in his image. A white European national identity, far more dangerous than the KKK, but giving voice to them as well. I wonder how my friend feels about the conflation of white nationalism and the KKK. All the hate that is bubbling to the surface. This nationalistic movement rooted in populism gone awry is not healthy for our diverse culture and is putting all its citizens at risk. He is antisemitic, a racist, a misogynist, etc., etc., etc. He is not the America I want to believe in and be part of. No, I am not leaving the country, although some may wish I would, but I intend to stand strong through this constitutional crisis and emerge on the other side a better, freer and diverse, not divisive, America.
And so it goes.
I have an African American friend who I believe is so conservative as to make Bannon look like a sissy. He is thoughtful and articulate and we have enjoyed some back and forth discussing politics. I have news for him...In Bannon's America he will be so marginalized as to not have a voice. I have no problems with thoughtful conservatives, and even those conservatives who have joined the dark side of opposing Trump, as long as there is a rational basis for dialogue (beyond the "You lost, we won" variety) and a free exchange of ideas. Mr. Bannon is a white nationalist, a would be Leninist intent on destroying the current status quo and making America great in his image. A white European national identity, far more dangerous than the KKK, but giving voice to them as well. I wonder how my friend feels about the conflation of white nationalism and the KKK. All the hate that is bubbling to the surface. This nationalistic movement rooted in populism gone awry is not healthy for our diverse culture and is putting all its citizens at risk. He is antisemitic, a racist, a misogynist, etc., etc., etc. He is not the America I want to believe in and be part of. No, I am not leaving the country, although some may wish I would, but I intend to stand strong through this constitutional crisis and emerge on the other side a better, freer and diverse, not divisive, America.
And so it goes.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Just when you think...
This clusterfux of a shitstorm can't get any worse somehow it does. My friend, Sister Our Lady of Perpetual Motion, who has nightmares about mushrooms clouds. those clouds are starting to almost look inevitable. The Neo-Cons of a bygone happier time of George W. Bush are starting to look like absolute boys scouts. Our president of perpetual puppet and his puppet master are heading us towards a war in Iran or China or Mexico, dammit we gotta have a war somewhere or what's a military and nuclear weaponry for. Bring on the tanks, bring on the war planes, oh, it's one-two-three what are we fighting for, don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is...
As I approach my thirty-third year at the MSU Library I reflect on times gone by. Used to be I was the youngest at the table of my friends, but now all those friends have retired and I am the old lady of the crew. I recall being horrified at the prospect of war in 1990, which materialized. I recall the doctrine of "shock and awe", which apparently this president also believes in. I think what this president believes in, really, is nothing but himself. But Bannon, there's the danger. They would like it if all of our peaceful demonstrations turned ugly, like the riot at UC Berkeley. But there is some suspicion, like the Nazis of old, those in power might send agitators to our demonstrations in hopes of starting violence and,thus, making it alright to send in the troops. Well, if it worked for the Nazis and then the Soviets why not for the Trumpets.
So, now that the collective "We" have antagonized Australia, cosied up to Russia, threatened Iran and Mexico all in two weeks, and my we have been a busy boy, just when I think it can't possibly get worse it does. It matters how we are perceived in the world community. Our alliances, especially with NATO and honoring the Geneva Convention, should be recognized and honored. I just can't believe that an ignorant, narcissistic, egomaniacal, man-child sociopath is in charge of the strongest military in the world, with Bannon's hand up his ass, or pulling his strings, or both.
Let us keep our protests peaceful...keep the pressure on Congress. Trumpeezee had to cancel a visit to Milwaukee over fears that there would be protests and his fragile ego would have none of that. Keep the pressure on. Keep it peaceful. There is a General Strike being organized for February 17th. No work, no commerce, a shutdown. Keep that a peaceful resolution. Keep the pressure on. Rise Up, as I am wont to say. Let's keep the media free and let them hold our leaders responsible for their alternative fact universe they have created, The KellyAnne Con-Job statement about the Bowling Green Massacre is made up. They need to make up stories to keep the masses afraid of foreigners and the truth. There was no Bowling Green Massacre and that's why there was no media coverage. She, the Minister of Propaganda, only wants news that follows the agenda. She can wonder all she wants why the media isn't giving Trump a "fair chance"; he has proven himself unworthy of a second chance. His transition team foreshadowed all that is now happening. So let's be vigilant, not vigilantes. Let's "go high" when they "go low".
I have written my congressman, the spineless Mike Bishop, at least once a week. I have called our AG Bill Schuette, who hopes to be our next fearful leader, numerous times as he supports what I prefer to call the "Muslim Ban". My city, bless our tax dollars at work, has decided to oppose the ban. My university is deeply concerned about the ban and along with UofM has chosen to not turn over immigration records of students. Peaceful we are and peaceful we shall be. Rise Up!
As I approach my thirty-third year at the MSU Library I reflect on times gone by. Used to be I was the youngest at the table of my friends, but now all those friends have retired and I am the old lady of the crew. I recall being horrified at the prospect of war in 1990, which materialized. I recall the doctrine of "shock and awe", which apparently this president also believes in. I think what this president believes in, really, is nothing but himself. But Bannon, there's the danger. They would like it if all of our peaceful demonstrations turned ugly, like the riot at UC Berkeley. But there is some suspicion, like the Nazis of old, those in power might send agitators to our demonstrations in hopes of starting violence and,thus, making it alright to send in the troops. Well, if it worked for the Nazis and then the Soviets why not for the Trumpets.
So, now that the collective "We" have antagonized Australia, cosied up to Russia, threatened Iran and Mexico all in two weeks, and my we have been a busy boy, just when I think it can't possibly get worse it does. It matters how we are perceived in the world community. Our alliances, especially with NATO and honoring the Geneva Convention, should be recognized and honored. I just can't believe that an ignorant, narcissistic, egomaniacal, man-child sociopath is in charge of the strongest military in the world, with Bannon's hand up his ass, or pulling his strings, or both.
Let us keep our protests peaceful...keep the pressure on Congress. Trumpeezee had to cancel a visit to Milwaukee over fears that there would be protests and his fragile ego would have none of that. Keep the pressure on. Keep it peaceful. There is a General Strike being organized for February 17th. No work, no commerce, a shutdown. Keep that a peaceful resolution. Keep the pressure on. Rise Up, as I am wont to say. Let's keep the media free and let them hold our leaders responsible for their alternative fact universe they have created, The KellyAnne Con-Job statement about the Bowling Green Massacre is made up. They need to make up stories to keep the masses afraid of foreigners and the truth. There was no Bowling Green Massacre and that's why there was no media coverage. She, the Minister of Propaganda, only wants news that follows the agenda. She can wonder all she wants why the media isn't giving Trump a "fair chance"; he has proven himself unworthy of a second chance. His transition team foreshadowed all that is now happening. So let's be vigilant, not vigilantes. Let's "go high" when they "go low".
I have written my congressman, the spineless Mike Bishop, at least once a week. I have called our AG Bill Schuette, who hopes to be our next fearful leader, numerous times as he supports what I prefer to call the "Muslim Ban". My city, bless our tax dollars at work, has decided to oppose the ban. My university is deeply concerned about the ban and along with UofM has chosen to not turn over immigration records of students. Peaceful we are and peaceful we shall be. Rise Up!
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
mas vale que nunca
Well, it has been a long journey since last I wrote. The Mango Mussolini is now our puppet commander in chief and puppet master Bannon's hand is up the Mango's ass. Get the feeling I am unhappy? As Stephen Colbert said last night, and I am paraphrasing, it is like being on a roller coaster every day and still having to puke anew. And I am dizzy enough as it is with my latest malady. But enough about me. I have a friend, yes I do, at the library who has a dream about Trump pushing the nuclear button and she sees a mushroom cloud and ... that's all folks...she wakes up screaming. It is sad that it has come so far so soon.
I am having a running dialogue with a Trump supporter. I am assuming this because he has spoken nary a word against Trumpo. We have been discussing the Muslim ban and he is arguing that it is precautionary and I have been arguing it is hatred in the guise of keeping us safe. It does nothing to enhance our standing in the world, which right now is laughable if it weren't so bad, and only serves to make more jihadists who see us as hating Muslims. This will keep ISIS and Al Qaeda in business for quite sometime to come. And yesterday seventeen bomb threats were called into Jewish community centers across the country. So the hate is right now bubbling forth. The Mosque shooting in Quebec, the Mosque burning in Texas, the seventeen bomb threats to Jewish centers, all bespeak of a level of hate in this country we haven't seen in a good long time. Is this what he meant by making America great again?
Steve Bannon is the one who truly scares me as while Trumpo may not know what he is coloring day to day Bannon knows exactly what buttons to push.
Now, all this said, I don't despise the Republicans. There are good, honest men and women who do not support the Trumpet vision of the world, like John McCain and Lindsey Graham. When Bush won/stole the election in 2000 I didn't fret about the world situation as I do now with certain fingers on the nu-clear button, as Bush II would say. But this somehow all feels very different and threatening to my safety and the safety of my fellow citizens. With a madman at the helm and a strong White Nationalist pulling the strings I do fear for my safety. When such casual conversations come to me with the phrase "...and I Jewed them down." I feel angry and when I explain how hateful that expression is that say "No. I mean it as a compliment."
Okay, so I am conflating hatred of Muslims with hatred of the Jews, and essentially all religious, ethnic and racial minorities. And I believe the connection is the white christian nationalist who yearns for the good old days when they could walk down the street with their white privilege in their pockets and brush off any offending persons with a flick of their finger. That is what scares me most.
While the Muslim ban (and I am calling what it truly is) excludes peoples from seven predominately Muslim countries (but none where actual terrorists have come from since the turn of the century and none where Trumpeezee has business dealings) and he says the Obama administration is the one who first started this freeze on these seven nations, including war ravaged Syria. And while he who shall not be named says this isn't a Muslim ban, that minority Christians from the Mideast will be giving priority and special treatment, how can it not be perceived as such?
All of this brings me back to what can I do. Like the song "Draft Dodger Rag" I have a laundry list of things I can proactively do. Such as: joining the ACLU, ADL, Southern Poverty Law Center, B'nai Brith, Hadassah, Emily's List, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc, etc, etc. Therapy is helping as well as I am taking care of myself. That is another safe place to pitch a hissy. I walked in the Women's march in Lansing, I will march again on April 15th, which is the next scheduled demonstration in case you are interested, which will be another call for the Mango to release his taxes (Yes we are really interested in seeing what a great businessman he truly is).
Alrighty then, deep breath and let go. Here is a list, in no particular order, of my fears in the new Trumpian world order: Hate on the rise and being openly expressed as if somehow the election has made it normal to burn mosques and phone in bomb threats to Jewish community centers. The next holocaust, which might be nuclear. The only thing worse than dying in a nuclear blast is surviving it. Economic collapse because all the Donald is really good at is declaring bankruptcy and starting all over again. That most Republicans will continue to be spineless and power hungry enough to not oppose what they know in their small hearts is wrongheaded. The Wall and the prospect of paying for it in terms of higher prices due to price gouging by companies producing goods in Mexico and paying a 20% tariff on products, the cost of which will be passed on to consumers. Yes, that is what a smart man, and he keeps telling us "bigly" how smart he is, does to put another brick in the wall. That a man with small hands, and indeed they are small, will be so testicularly crazed that he will play with his war toys as if it were a game. Etc, etc, etc.
There now, I am feeling better. I likes me a good deep breath and letting go. I know people who voted for Mango say give the man a chance, it has only been ten days, but what a roller coaster ride it has been these ten days. And now, if you will excuse me, I shall puke...
I am having a running dialogue with a Trump supporter. I am assuming this because he has spoken nary a word against Trumpo. We have been discussing the Muslim ban and he is arguing that it is precautionary and I have been arguing it is hatred in the guise of keeping us safe. It does nothing to enhance our standing in the world, which right now is laughable if it weren't so bad, and only serves to make more jihadists who see us as hating Muslims. This will keep ISIS and Al Qaeda in business for quite sometime to come. And yesterday seventeen bomb threats were called into Jewish community centers across the country. So the hate is right now bubbling forth. The Mosque shooting in Quebec, the Mosque burning in Texas, the seventeen bomb threats to Jewish centers, all bespeak of a level of hate in this country we haven't seen in a good long time. Is this what he meant by making America great again?
Steve Bannon is the one who truly scares me as while Trumpo may not know what he is coloring day to day Bannon knows exactly what buttons to push.
Now, all this said, I don't despise the Republicans. There are good, honest men and women who do not support the Trumpet vision of the world, like John McCain and Lindsey Graham. When Bush won/stole the election in 2000 I didn't fret about the world situation as I do now with certain fingers on the nu-clear button, as Bush II would say. But this somehow all feels very different and threatening to my safety and the safety of my fellow citizens. With a madman at the helm and a strong White Nationalist pulling the strings I do fear for my safety. When such casual conversations come to me with the phrase "...and I Jewed them down." I feel angry and when I explain how hateful that expression is that say "No. I mean it as a compliment."
Okay, so I am conflating hatred of Muslims with hatred of the Jews, and essentially all religious, ethnic and racial minorities. And I believe the connection is the white christian nationalist who yearns for the good old days when they could walk down the street with their white privilege in their pockets and brush off any offending persons with a flick of their finger. That is what scares me most.
While the Muslim ban (and I am calling what it truly is) excludes peoples from seven predominately Muslim countries (but none where actual terrorists have come from since the turn of the century and none where Trumpeezee has business dealings) and he says the Obama administration is the one who first started this freeze on these seven nations, including war ravaged Syria. And while he who shall not be named says this isn't a Muslim ban, that minority Christians from the Mideast will be giving priority and special treatment, how can it not be perceived as such?
All of this brings me back to what can I do. Like the song "Draft Dodger Rag" I have a laundry list of things I can proactively do. Such as: joining the ACLU, ADL, Southern Poverty Law Center, B'nai Brith, Hadassah, Emily's List, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, etc, etc, etc. Therapy is helping as well as I am taking care of myself. That is another safe place to pitch a hissy. I walked in the Women's march in Lansing, I will march again on April 15th, which is the next scheduled demonstration in case you are interested, which will be another call for the Mango to release his taxes (Yes we are really interested in seeing what a great businessman he truly is).
Alrighty then, deep breath and let go. Here is a list, in no particular order, of my fears in the new Trumpian world order: Hate on the rise and being openly expressed as if somehow the election has made it normal to burn mosques and phone in bomb threats to Jewish community centers. The next holocaust, which might be nuclear. The only thing worse than dying in a nuclear blast is surviving it. Economic collapse because all the Donald is really good at is declaring bankruptcy and starting all over again. That most Republicans will continue to be spineless and power hungry enough to not oppose what they know in their small hearts is wrongheaded. The Wall and the prospect of paying for it in terms of higher prices due to price gouging by companies producing goods in Mexico and paying a 20% tariff on products, the cost of which will be passed on to consumers. Yes, that is what a smart man, and he keeps telling us "bigly" how smart he is, does to put another brick in the wall. That a man with small hands, and indeed they are small, will be so testicularly crazed that he will play with his war toys as if it were a game. Etc, etc, etc.
There now, I am feeling better. I likes me a good deep breath and letting go. I know people who voted for Mango say give the man a chance, it has only been ten days, but what a roller coaster ride it has been these ten days. And now, if you will excuse me, I shall puke...
Friday, January 6, 2017
Once more into the breach
Well, our computer system is slower than molasses in January, which is pretty damn slow giving the outside temperature today. So here goes once again.
My third cousin (I really can't distance myself far enough away from that side of the family) was the Michigan co-chair for the Trump campaign. Now this won't be a political rant...hopefully. She and her family have money up the butt and other orifices so it is not surprising she and her ilk supported Trump. However, when she announced her support and commitment (and she should have been) she used the expression "coming out as a Republican", which, by implication she must have meant it is as hard to come out as a lesbian, which she isn't (as far as I know but then her father is a pervert and is on my shit list for a variety of reason, none of which has to do with his party affiliation). But I digress. If her idea of a hard life is coming out as a wealthy Republican I will have to rethink this whole business of coming out (as in gay). She, poor baby, has had a rough life of privilege and wealth. She is almost a white person, but she is, after all a Jew, but she can pass for white.
You know I am on a women's Seder committee for my synagogue and we are supposed to share stories of our family Seders from our past. My most memorable recollection is the year that Passover was later in the spring and daylight savings time had sprung forward. Dinner was very late and the Seder service was running long. People were quite in their cups come the Plagues and my aunt said to my cousin Sid, who was leading the Seder, to hurry up and Sid uttered that traditional Seder prayer "Suck it up your ass, Elsie". The rest of the meal was a debacle. Now how can I tastefully share this with my Seder Sisters?
So I take what I can and leave the rest. That side of the family is dead to me...mostly dead. A cousin sent me the newspaper clipping of the Trump supporter saying she was coming out as a Republican, which I promptly smushed into a ball and let the cats play with it and it ended up, appropriately, in their litter box. She may be wealthy but she is now bathroom reading for the cats.
My third cousin (I really can't distance myself far enough away from that side of the family) was the Michigan co-chair for the Trump campaign. Now this won't be a political rant...hopefully. She and her family have money up the butt and other orifices so it is not surprising she and her ilk supported Trump. However, when she announced her support and commitment (and she should have been) she used the expression "coming out as a Republican", which, by implication she must have meant it is as hard to come out as a lesbian, which she isn't (as far as I know but then her father is a pervert and is on my shit list for a variety of reason, none of which has to do with his party affiliation). But I digress. If her idea of a hard life is coming out as a wealthy Republican I will have to rethink this whole business of coming out (as in gay). She, poor baby, has had a rough life of privilege and wealth. She is almost a white person, but she is, after all a Jew, but she can pass for white.
You know I am on a women's Seder committee for my synagogue and we are supposed to share stories of our family Seders from our past. My most memorable recollection is the year that Passover was later in the spring and daylight savings time had sprung forward. Dinner was very late and the Seder service was running long. People were quite in their cups come the Plagues and my aunt said to my cousin Sid, who was leading the Seder, to hurry up and Sid uttered that traditional Seder prayer "Suck it up your ass, Elsie". The rest of the meal was a debacle. Now how can I tastefully share this with my Seder Sisters?
So I take what I can and leave the rest. That side of the family is dead to me...mostly dead. A cousin sent me the newspaper clipping of the Trump supporter saying she was coming out as a Republican, which I promptly smushed into a ball and let the cats play with it and it ended up, appropriately, in their litter box. She may be wealthy but she is now bathroom reading for the cats.
More in the way of blogs
I am endeavoring to blog more in an effort to wean myself from spending money shopping online whilst I multitask. In lieu of money I offer words. I made a resolution to not spend money this year in an austerity move to rein in my worse habits. Not that words are not habits of sorts but I need to spend less and enjoy all that I do indeed have. And after of year of literal bad breaks and ten weeks off without pay the austerity move is needed. So you may expect more in the way my blog.
Slowly I am also going to endeavor not to blog so much about the election, Whew! I am sure you all may have had enough of those rants. So it is with a light heart I reintroduce Sophie and her clan soon. Sophie recently purchased a home at the ripe age of 71 (and a 30 year mortgage...may she live long enough to pay it off). Phyllis and Percy recently tied the knot (twice I hasten to add, once out east and once in Michigan). The annoying personage of the Magic Plastic Tuna (not to be confused with the Green Tuna) is still an annoyance. She came in like a hurricane, a bully, and continues to be the same bully she was, unaware that she is as annoying as she is. It is entirely too loud here. No one seems to speak in a stage whisper. I must listen to my music to exclude the extraneous noises and keep my peaceful demeanor. She came in today for a three hour cruise and has done nothing to merit her salary as she is not even doing the five books a day she purports to catalog.
I am doing my best to refrain from spending money I don't have and trying to keep my sanity in a crazy, loud world. Best, however, to attempt one thing at a time, even though I am expert at multitasking. My side business is booming, that is providing tech support to a sea of soon to be experts. I have a breakfast meeting next week which may turn into into a grant to teach senior citizens, of which I may be one, how to use email, the internet, Face Book and maybe to blog.
I continue in therapy, still missing the at-large and still injured Hyphen. My current therapist is adequate although I wish I had either Hyphen One or Two. I was recently allocated fifty additional visits this year to see my therapist so there is still the need, or so the insurance company seems to think.
This is the first of a number of non-topical blogs I am hoping to write this year, all the whilst resisting that which needs to be resisted.
Watch this space.
Slowly I am also going to endeavor not to blog so much about the election, Whew! I am sure you all may have had enough of those rants. So it is with a light heart I reintroduce Sophie and her clan soon. Sophie recently purchased a home at the ripe age of 71 (and a 30 year mortgage...may she live long enough to pay it off). Phyllis and Percy recently tied the knot (twice I hasten to add, once out east and once in Michigan). The annoying personage of the Magic Plastic Tuna (not to be confused with the Green Tuna) is still an annoyance. She came in like a hurricane, a bully, and continues to be the same bully she was, unaware that she is as annoying as she is. It is entirely too loud here. No one seems to speak in a stage whisper. I must listen to my music to exclude the extraneous noises and keep my peaceful demeanor. She came in today for a three hour cruise and has done nothing to merit her salary as she is not even doing the five books a day she purports to catalog.
I am doing my best to refrain from spending money I don't have and trying to keep my sanity in a crazy, loud world. Best, however, to attempt one thing at a time, even though I am expert at multitasking. My side business is booming, that is providing tech support to a sea of soon to be experts. I have a breakfast meeting next week which may turn into into a grant to teach senior citizens, of which I may be one, how to use email, the internet, Face Book and maybe to blog.
I continue in therapy, still missing the at-large and still injured Hyphen. My current therapist is adequate although I wish I had either Hyphen One or Two. I was recently allocated fifty additional visits this year to see my therapist so there is still the need, or so the insurance company seems to think.
This is the first of a number of non-topical blogs I am hoping to write this year, all the whilst resisting that which needs to be resisted.
Watch this space.
Gladly not
I will shamelessly admit that I do not suffer fools gladly. And to wit, I think that is my current problem. Surrounded by fools, the Dunning Kruger effect in slow motion, I am besieged by assholes who consider themselves my intellectual peers, although they are ill-read, if read at all, an besotted by the thought that they know as much as a expert or an educated person because what's a democracy for if not that all opinions are equal. Except, as we know from experience, opinions are like assholes for various and sundry reasons. I don't buy into the argument that in a democracy everyone gets a trophy for merely showing up. No, I put my faith in people of intellect; after all I am an effete intellectual snob, listening as I am to Beethoven's violin concerto, knowing that I know how to spell Beethoven correctly and know that this piece of music is played allegro ma non troppo (and what that means). So, yes, Orwell was right: All animals are created equal but some are more equal than others.
And so I rant on.
I am expert at my work. I know my stuff and it takes a great deal of intellect to perform at my level. I don't say that smugly. I am damn good at what I do, quality control for a large database; expertise in metadata and know what all that means and entails. A high school diploma ain't gonna cut it here. I had an acquaintance at the library who with a questionable high school diploma, was given a position she was not intellectually suited for. She relied on me to fix her mistakes, which were numerous, and, in fact, at one point told me that was my job...to fix what she did not understand. And she did not have the intellect to know that she needed help in the form of additional training. She would not ask her supervisor for help with additional training (and I suspect that alone would not have made a difference). The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask. Like I said I am a snob. She used to "do" crossword puzzles at work but did them the following day so she could copy the correct answers from that day's paper. It is to laugh if it weren't so bad. There is not much point in an intellectual exercise if you are going to at least make an attempt.
More to come.
And so I rant on.
I am expert at my work. I know my stuff and it takes a great deal of intellect to perform at my level. I don't say that smugly. I am damn good at what I do, quality control for a large database; expertise in metadata and know what all that means and entails. A high school diploma ain't gonna cut it here. I had an acquaintance at the library who with a questionable high school diploma, was given a position she was not intellectually suited for. She relied on me to fix her mistakes, which were numerous, and, in fact, at one point told me that was my job...to fix what she did not understand. And she did not have the intellect to know that she needed help in the form of additional training. She would not ask her supervisor for help with additional training (and I suspect that alone would not have made a difference). The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask. Like I said I am a snob. She used to "do" crossword puzzles at work but did them the following day so she could copy the correct answers from that day's paper. It is to laugh if it weren't so bad. There is not much point in an intellectual exercise if you are going to at least make an attempt.
More to come.
Thoreau it all away
Henry David Thoreau's supposed last words were "Moose...Indians" hardly a
fit ending to a well lived life. Still, with all the election hoo ha,
and there has been some, I felt compelled to re-read both Walden and
Civil Disobedience. As Socrates opined, according to Plato, "an
unexamined life is not worth living" and Thoreau cannot be accused of that
faux pas. Nor can I. I am re-reading Thoreau. I am, in fact,
re-reading a number of tomes I read when first I was in college and
perhaps too youthful to understand its true importance. I quote from his essay Civil Disobedience "This American government- what is it but a tradition, though a
recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity,
but each instant losing some of its integrity?"
We have lost our integrity with the world. But lo, that is not the end of end of the story. We can do something to restore our integrity by holding the elected officials accountable for their actions.
Oft I have traveled in realms of gold and this is not one of them. I am angry not so much that Secretary Clinton lost but that Trump won. And all of his actions since the election has been to undermine his own campaign promises to drain the swamp, which is now his private privy.
As for the integrity of the election, it could be that the Republicans were so giddy to reclaim power from President Blackenstein that they can overlook the fact, and that is a fact, that our election was hacked by the Russians or that the the Electoral College vote was compromised by any number of irregularities by the Electors, e.g., holding an elected office in addition to being an Elector or living in a district other than the one they were representing. All this, in my mind, delegitimizes the election.
Other than a few Trolls, I have yet to meet someone who will say that they voted for Trump. So, either I know nobody who has or that they can't admit that they did. The Trolls speak in simplistic terms like "We won, you lost, get over it". That is a heady argument indeed. Smacks of sophistry. Still they overlook the fact, those pesky facts, that they did not win the popular vote and that the Electoral vote was compromised. The last two Democrats who lost the White House did so by winning the popular vote. Mayhap it is time to review the Electoral College process and the debacle that they have handed us twice since 2000.
Many of my friends are so distraught with the election that they are politically paralyzed and don't know what to do. I am doing my best to mobilize them to contact their representatives and senators, locally and on the national level, to voice their concerns. One of the most popular Google searches of late is "Who is my representative?". Indeed, you should Google that if you don't know. Write and call your own representative; it does no good to email Senator McConnell if he is not your senator. He will not listen. He will not listen even if you are his constituent if he doesn't like what you have to say.
Three times this year I have blogged and it is all the same. We lost, they won and I won't get over it. In fact, we won, they won, but we all lose. We have a Twitterer in Chief who can compromise the integrity of our alliances with a 140 character tweet. The Swamp of his Cabinet, mostly rich donors, is giving us a gentleman who was deemed to be too racially insensitive years ago to be a federal judge is now deemed to be a good fit for Attorney General. A gentleman who received a generous payout from Mobil/Exxon or Exxon/Mobil to assume the post of Sycophant of State. Climate change deniers to posts for the environment and interior. An energy secretary who wants to abolish the department. And while it doesn't take a brain surgeon to be secretary of housing and urban development apparently that is what we have...an under-qualified brain surgeon, who is so sleep addled that he appears to be dead. An Secretary of Education who basically wants to de-fund public education and institute a system of vouchers, virtually assuring that schools in the inner city falter and fail. I give you your Swamp.
And so it goes.
We have lost our integrity with the world. But lo, that is not the end of end of the story. We can do something to restore our integrity by holding the elected officials accountable for their actions.
Oft I have traveled in realms of gold and this is not one of them. I am angry not so much that Secretary Clinton lost but that Trump won. And all of his actions since the election has been to undermine his own campaign promises to drain the swamp, which is now his private privy.
As for the integrity of the election, it could be that the Republicans were so giddy to reclaim power from President Blackenstein that they can overlook the fact, and that is a fact, that our election was hacked by the Russians or that the the Electoral College vote was compromised by any number of irregularities by the Electors, e.g., holding an elected office in addition to being an Elector or living in a district other than the one they were representing. All this, in my mind, delegitimizes the election.
Other than a few Trolls, I have yet to meet someone who will say that they voted for Trump. So, either I know nobody who has or that they can't admit that they did. The Trolls speak in simplistic terms like "We won, you lost, get over it". That is a heady argument indeed. Smacks of sophistry. Still they overlook the fact, those pesky facts, that they did not win the popular vote and that the Electoral vote was compromised. The last two Democrats who lost the White House did so by winning the popular vote. Mayhap it is time to review the Electoral College process and the debacle that they have handed us twice since 2000.
Many of my friends are so distraught with the election that they are politically paralyzed and don't know what to do. I am doing my best to mobilize them to contact their representatives and senators, locally and on the national level, to voice their concerns. One of the most popular Google searches of late is "Who is my representative?". Indeed, you should Google that if you don't know. Write and call your own representative; it does no good to email Senator McConnell if he is not your senator. He will not listen. He will not listen even if you are his constituent if he doesn't like what you have to say.
Three times this year I have blogged and it is all the same. We lost, they won and I won't get over it. In fact, we won, they won, but we all lose. We have a Twitterer in Chief who can compromise the integrity of our alliances with a 140 character tweet. The Swamp of his Cabinet, mostly rich donors, is giving us a gentleman who was deemed to be too racially insensitive years ago to be a federal judge is now deemed to be a good fit for Attorney General. A gentleman who received a generous payout from Mobil/Exxon or Exxon/Mobil to assume the post of Sycophant of State. Climate change deniers to posts for the environment and interior. An energy secretary who wants to abolish the department. And while it doesn't take a brain surgeon to be secretary of housing and urban development apparently that is what we have...an under-qualified brain surgeon, who is so sleep addled that he appears to be dead. An Secretary of Education who basically wants to de-fund public education and institute a system of vouchers, virtually assuring that schools in the inner city falter and fail. I give you your Swamp.
And so it goes.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
Upset
I was talking, or rather ranting, this morning to a friend about the election. My first vote I ever did cast was for George McGovern. When Nixon won I was disappointed but I did not fear for the Republic. When Bush, both 41 and 43, won I did not fear for the Republic. This time, however, there is a whiff of grapeshot in the air as I do fear for our Republic. I recall as a teenager not wanting to stand for the national anthem as I was embarrassed by our role in the Vietnam War. I feel the same embarrassment now. Here's what I don't understand. How can so many people vote against their own self interests. Trump won on a platform of bringing jobs back but the truth of the matter is there is no longer a manufacturing sector that depends solely on the strong backs of laborers without a college degree. Robotics and automation have taken the jobs, not NAFTA, We live in a global economy now. We live together on a planet and we are all in this together. Anymore a college degree is the equivalent of a high school diploma. Service sector jobs exist but the pay is crap and many studies has shown that men don't like and don't apply for these types of job. Sure, if we can get a comprehensive infrastructure plan in place there will be jobs that are strictly speaking manual labor, but that is short term solution. Just as we had universal free public education. Now we need to expand that to Colleges and Universities. Twelve years of school might be a lifetime to some but to get better jobs a college degree is needed. And whereas a BA or BS was sufficient before now you really need an advanced degree to achieve any economic security beyond the minimum wage.
Trump is a con man and a liar. He promised jobs but what he is taking credit for, like the SoftBank/Sprint deal was in the works long before he on the scene. The same is true of the Carrier deal and Ford Motor deal. And his followers are gullible enough to belief him. When he is called out on the deceptions and outright lies he like a lizard coated in Vaseline; it just slides off without any effect. He promised to "drain the swamp" and outlaw pay for play but he has done just the opposite. The swamp is now a cesspool and his major donors have prominent positions in his cabinet.
During the election I was being trolled on Face Book by Trump supporters, most notable Sophie's estranged grandson Tim. Not so much now. The trolling is getting less and less and I can only hope some folks are waking up to the fact that Trump is all smoke and mirrors. If you are interested there is a pamphlet put together by former congressional aides entitled Indivisible. Get your copy here by clicking this link.
The big thing now is the Republicans trying to repeal the ACA, without putting anything in its place. OMG, wait until the shit hits the fan when 20,000,000 are once again without insurance and the emergency rooms deal less with emergencies and more with people without insurance, which will really drive up the cost of health care and that we will all pay for. Talk about reviving the Death Panels of years gone by. Eliminate the clause for preexisting conditions and you doom a whole class of people to the scrapheap. Single payer is the way to go, like the Medicare model. Let's work on that!
The second big Republican agenda item is to reduce the debt by slashing Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. What the dummies don't realize, maybe because they get free health care and a lovely pension, is that you and I paid into these funds. The monies are there for us to use...in fact it is my money. It's not, strictly speaking, an entitlement. The real welfare queens are in the House and Senate, working less that 150 days a year for a lovely salary, health benefits and retirement exclusive of what is available to you or I.
What I will propose to you is that we need a flat tax, say 10%. EVERYBODY PAYS. No loopholes, no excuses. This is an idea that dates back to the 19th century, Henry George. But it is a sound plan. This would pay for infrastructure, pay down the national debt, have universal college and health care. 10% isn't a great deal to me and I would be willing to pay a bigger share as long as The Donald pays his share, without pleading that he is being audited probably because he hasn't paid any taxes in year. This great patriot who wants to make America great (and regressive) can't seem to pony up his fair share while we, the great unwashed, pay year in and out and get less bang for our buck.
Some days I am upset about the hatred that is Trump and his cesspool has unleashed, like a Pandora's box of hate. Some days the stupidity of it all weighs the heaviest upon me. It is time for my self-imposed mourning to end and to begin resisting with all I am worth the agenda being put forward by the Republicans. Please get a copy of Indivisible. Resistance is not futile. I am getting my sea legs back. MSNBC here I come.
Trump is a con man and a liar. He promised jobs but what he is taking credit for, like the SoftBank/Sprint deal was in the works long before he on the scene. The same is true of the Carrier deal and Ford Motor deal. And his followers are gullible enough to belief him. When he is called out on the deceptions and outright lies he like a lizard coated in Vaseline; it just slides off without any effect. He promised to "drain the swamp" and outlaw pay for play but he has done just the opposite. The swamp is now a cesspool and his major donors have prominent positions in his cabinet.
During the election I was being trolled on Face Book by Trump supporters, most notable Sophie's estranged grandson Tim. Not so much now. The trolling is getting less and less and I can only hope some folks are waking up to the fact that Trump is all smoke and mirrors. If you are interested there is a pamphlet put together by former congressional aides entitled Indivisible. Get your copy here by clicking this link.
The big thing now is the Republicans trying to repeal the ACA, without putting anything in its place. OMG, wait until the shit hits the fan when 20,000,000 are once again without insurance and the emergency rooms deal less with emergencies and more with people without insurance, which will really drive up the cost of health care and that we will all pay for. Talk about reviving the Death Panels of years gone by. Eliminate the clause for preexisting conditions and you doom a whole class of people to the scrapheap. Single payer is the way to go, like the Medicare model. Let's work on that!
The second big Republican agenda item is to reduce the debt by slashing Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. What the dummies don't realize, maybe because they get free health care and a lovely pension, is that you and I paid into these funds. The monies are there for us to use...in fact it is my money. It's not, strictly speaking, an entitlement. The real welfare queens are in the House and Senate, working less that 150 days a year for a lovely salary, health benefits and retirement exclusive of what is available to you or I.
What I will propose to you is that we need a flat tax, say 10%. EVERYBODY PAYS. No loopholes, no excuses. This is an idea that dates back to the 19th century, Henry George. But it is a sound plan. This would pay for infrastructure, pay down the national debt, have universal college and health care. 10% isn't a great deal to me and I would be willing to pay a bigger share as long as The Donald pays his share, without pleading that he is being audited probably because he hasn't paid any taxes in year. This great patriot who wants to make America great (and regressive) can't seem to pony up his fair share while we, the great unwashed, pay year in and out and get less bang for our buck.
Some days I am upset about the hatred that is Trump and his cesspool has unleashed, like a Pandora's box of hate. Some days the stupidity of it all weighs the heaviest upon me. It is time for my self-imposed mourning to end and to begin resisting with all I am worth the agenda being put forward by the Republicans. Please get a copy of Indivisible. Resistance is not futile. I am getting my sea legs back. MSNBC here I come.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
The thing is...
I just don't understand all this hate that has been bubbling to the surface in the last fifteen months or so. The Anti-Semitic rhetoric, the gay bashing, Islamophobia, outright racial animus. All bad. I just just don't understand this. I have often said, as many before me have said, your rights end at my nose and my end at yours. That said I think people should be free to go about their business without fear of getting beat up, harassed or otherwise enraged. I don't understand homophobia. So what if someone is gay; really, what's it to you and what business do you have legislating against it? So what if someone is a Jew, a Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Taoist and I can go on and on. What's it you? Why does Ted Cruz (a man who looks like he is taking a perpetual leak (alright, not a nice thing to say in a rant about accepting people but I digress)) wants to push for a law called the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which would basically permit discrimination based on your religious beliefs. In other works if I am a baker and you are gay and want a wedding cake I can refuse, legally, to make one for you. It's all discrimination whatever you cloak it in. I use the gay example as I can think of no better example of irrational hatred. What is it to you if I am gay? What I am doing so evil that you must legislate me away? You can force your heterosexual agenda on me, but if I try to assert my rights, and I do have them still, then I am make out to be the bane of your existence, as if you can't abide seeing someone else happy in their relationship. And Jews, we don't proselytize, we are not in your face, yet we are hated for our beliefs and really, WHAT'S IT TO YOU? People of color...WHAT'S IT TO YOU? Why is it that some are not allowed to go about their business in peace.
So, what if the shoe is on the other foot. What if you are a white nationalist? Fine and dandy, just remember your right to hate me stops at my threshold. Hate all you want but leave me be. When hate takes action that is where I have issues. Take Whitefish, Montana, aptly named apparently. The "Alt-Right" man of distinction, Richard Spencer, of the National Policy Institute, wants a Neo-Nazi sponsored armed march against Jews in Whitefish (who knew there were even Jews in Montana) because of some slight he perceived that his mother received at the hands of the Jewish Cabal in Whitefish. Armed march with Skinheads bused in from the Bay Area. (Yes, this is factual and not Face Book fake news). The hate is real.
So, what if the shoe is on the other foot. What if you are a white nationalist? Fine and dandy, just remember your right to hate me stops at my threshold. Hate all you want but leave me be. When hate takes action that is where I have issues. Take Whitefish, Montana, aptly named apparently. The "Alt-Right" man of distinction, Richard Spencer, of the National Policy Institute, wants a Neo-Nazi sponsored armed march against Jews in Whitefish (who knew there were even Jews in Montana) because of some slight he perceived that his mother received at the hands of the Jewish Cabal in Whitefish. Armed march with Skinheads bused in from the Bay Area. (Yes, this is factual and not Face Book fake news). The hate is real.
Have your hate and eat it, too. March and show your white pride. But an armed march meant to intimidate a
community should not be tolerated. I am a
card carrying member of the ACLU and they once protected the rights of
Neo-Nazis to march in the predominately Jewish city of Skokie, Illinois. That is their right...in a free society
(didn't we used to be free?) everyone is entitled to their own brand of love
and/or hate. But stop inflicting your
views on me. Stop with the hate. Stop with the guns. Also, while you are at it, stop legislating
moralities and ideologies. Hands off my body and my mind. The FADA (oh, we are back to that are we?) is nothing more than legalized hate. I see the bands of white nationalists seething with hate at all these groups and I wonder what kind of world they want their children to inherit. Hate is a destructive thing, a corrosive thing. Hope is a thing with feathers...according to Emily Dickinson. Hope is optimism and hate is the essence of a pessimistic soul, a soul full of darkness.
So, since the election (oh, God, is that what this is all about?) I have seen so much hate stream out of the body politic. Why aren't more people upset that Steve Bannon, of the Pepe meme fame, has the ear of the president-elect? Why aren't more people outraged about what is happening in Whitefish, Montana? Why? And, more importantly, why haven't I mentioned Sophie and her ilk since the election? Well, since I have this platform and I obviously think some will even read this, I am putting my outrage out there.
On January 21st there is a march on Washington, D.C. and if you can't make that there is one here is Lansing, Michigan. Lansing March details.
Make a positive difference. In other words, you thought I was a nasty woman before...better buckle up, buttercup!!!
On January 21st there is a march on Washington, D.C. and if you can't make that there is one here is Lansing, Michigan. Lansing March details.
Make a positive difference. In other words, you thought I was a nasty woman before...better buckle up, buttercup!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)