When my mother feels intensely about an issue, she sometimes clenches her right hand into a fist and SMASHES it down upon a hard surface for emphasis. I am always terrified she will break every bone in her hand. Mom and I are usually agreeing on the issues that so disturb her!
About a week ago, during a political discussion with someone else, I slammed my own clenched fist down on the side of my (thankfully upholstered) chair and had an epiphany -- I have turned into MY OWN MOTHER!!
I could do worse. At 95 Mom remains very actively engaged in and well informed about the world around her. The only sign of mellowing in this unrepentant liberal is her reluctant acceptance that some things are unlikely to change during her lifetime.
Here's what I think...
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Democrat or Republican?
Surfing the web, I was trying to figure out Democratic and Republican positions. I decided it did not matter. Candidates from both parties will remain blatantly disingenuous before and after the votes are cast. Before the voting, they will promise the moon, the stars and everything in between. After serving, they will claim that is exactly what they delivered!
It used to be easier - Democrats would not stay out of your wallet and Republicans would not keep out of your bedroom. Not so simple now. Both parties have supported domestic surveillance (The Patriot Act), both like to spend other people's money, both seem to despise the people they supposedly serve. Neither party is willing to pay as it goes, preferring to accumulate debt for future generations.
Truth is both parties are far better at talking the talk than walking the walk.
What's a poor voter to do? As a pro-choice advocate of gay rights who urgently wants financial reform, an energy policy that conserves our resources and bolsters our self-sufficiency, and an economic safety net for folks who work harder and harder at fewer and fewer decent jobs, I suppose I am still a Democrat.
It used to be easier - Democrats would not stay out of your wallet and Republicans would not keep out of your bedroom. Not so simple now. Both parties have supported domestic surveillance (The Patriot Act), both like to spend other people's money, both seem to despise the people they supposedly serve. Neither party is willing to pay as it goes, preferring to accumulate debt for future generations.
Truth is both parties are far better at talking the talk than walking the walk.
What's a poor voter to do? As a pro-choice advocate of gay rights who urgently wants financial reform, an energy policy that conserves our resources and bolsters our self-sufficiency, and an economic safety net for folks who work harder and harder at fewer and fewer decent jobs, I suppose I am still a Democrat.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Write in Governor David Paterson in November?
The only elected official in Albany with spine is Governor David Paterson.
The Gov spent two agonizing days last week exercising his line-item veto 7,000 times, while our state's senators and assemblymen fiddled in the dark, pushing the state budget problems on down the line to local communities by refusing to make the deep cuts the deficit demands. They then pronounced the job done and left town. Meanwhile, the attorney general, Democratic candidate for governor, remained steadfastly on the sidelines except for vaguely-worded generalities that could offend nobody.
Paterson did not do this for the fun of it. It could not have been any fun at all. He did it because no one else in state government is willing to make difficult decisions. They have chosen to let the "lame duck" governor carry the burden and take the blame.
Come November, maybe in addition to voting AGAINST every other Albany incumbent, I will WRITE IN David Paterson's name for governor. In 40-plus years of faithful voting, I have never written in a candidate's name. It may well be time to start.
Albany has become an abomination.
The Gov spent two agonizing days last week exercising his line-item veto 7,000 times, while our state's senators and assemblymen fiddled in the dark, pushing the state budget problems on down the line to local communities by refusing to make the deep cuts the deficit demands. They then pronounced the job done and left town. Meanwhile, the attorney general, Democratic candidate for governor, remained steadfastly on the sidelines except for vaguely-worded generalities that could offend nobody.
Paterson did not do this for the fun of it. It could not have been any fun at all. He did it because no one else in state government is willing to make difficult decisions. They have chosen to let the "lame duck" governor carry the burden and take the blame.
Come November, maybe in addition to voting AGAINST every other Albany incumbent, I will WRITE IN David Paterson's name for governor. In 40-plus years of faithful voting, I have never written in a candidate's name. It may well be time to start.
Albany has become an abomination.
Excerpt from "The People" by Carl Sandburg
The people will live on.
The learning and blundering people will live on.
They will be tricked and sold and again sold
And go back to the nourishing earth for rootholds,
The people so peculiar in renewal and comeback,
You can't laugh off their capacity to take it.
The mammoth rests between his cyclonic dramas.
The people so often sleepy, weary, enigmatic,
Is a vast huddle with many units saying:
"I earn my living
I make enough to get by
And it takes all my time.
If I had more time
I could do more for myself
And maybe for others.
I could read and study
And talk things over
And find out about things.
It takes time.
I wish I had the time."
The learning and blundering people will live on.
They will be tricked and sold and again sold
And go back to the nourishing earth for rootholds,
The people so peculiar in renewal and comeback,
You can't laugh off their capacity to take it.
The mammoth rests between his cyclonic dramas.
The people so often sleepy, weary, enigmatic,
Is a vast huddle with many units saying:
"I earn my living
I make enough to get by
And it takes all my time.
If I had more time
I could do more for myself
And maybe for others.
I could read and study
And talk things over
And find out about things.
It takes time.
I wish I had the time."
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Keeping Independence Alive
"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people."
So said John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, defense attorney for the British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre, second president of the United States of America, strong supporter of public education, husband of Abigail Adams.
So said John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, defense attorney for the British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre, second president of the United States of America, strong supporter of public education, husband of Abigail Adams.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Independence Day
On July 4, 1776 a group of activists from 13 colonies as diverse as Massachusetts and South Carolina, New York and Virginia, managed to agree long enough to sign one of the most radical documents in human history. An excerpt from the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence is reproduced below. Click on today's Title to link with the entire document.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on the principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ..."
Recommended on the subject: Beyond Bells and Bonfires, Philadelphia Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20100702_Beyond_bells_and_bonfires.html
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on the principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. ..."
Recommended on the subject: Beyond Bells and Bonfires, Philadelphia Inquirer:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20100702_Beyond_bells_and_bonfires.html
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wanted: Dumb, Docile and Dependent -- American Self Sufficiency Under Siege
New York City after 9/11. American self sufficiency's finest hour. Everyday folk poured into the World Trade Center neighborhood and created an improvised city within a city. Food services, first aid stations, supply stations, massage units and rest stations appeared for personnel working 12-14 hour days, all done without government help.
Pennsylvania steel workers with the expertise to safety dismantle the remaining, dangerous structures just showed up. People from all walks of life put their lives on hold and headed to lower Manhattan to tremendous, positive effect. Across the country Americans lined up at blood banks. Charitable coffers swelled with donations.
This stellar example of how well Americans could deal with trauma and disaster empowered us as individuals and was good for the country. Apparently it did not sit so well with society's established institutions. Can anyone forget President Bush's suggestion that if people REALLY wanted to help, they should go SHOPPING?
When Katrina struck New Orleans, volunteer doctors, nurses, certified emergency personnel and rescue workers were firmly turned back or hand-tied by bureaucratic red tape that amounted to obstruction. Attempts, not always successful, were made to discourage "unauthorized" independent boat operators from rescue operations. It wasn't until the military arrived under the command of a harsh-spoken, no bull-shit Lieutenant General named Honore that conditions began to improve in the City.
In the disaster's aftermath, rescue and reconstruction was taken out of the hands of the people and placed securely in the hands of huge charities, bloated bureaucratic agencies and lumbering, turf-protective officialdom. The results were not good for America, impeded recovery and effectively put "can do" Americans in their place.
Our corporate and government institutions want the American citizenry dumb, docile and dependent. Are we going to let them get away with it? Or has Brave New World finally and irrevocably arrived?
Hmmm. Maybe the recent Supreme Court decision on the individual right to bear arms makes sense after all.
How does "Liberal and packing" sound?
Pennsylvania steel workers with the expertise to safety dismantle the remaining, dangerous structures just showed up. People from all walks of life put their lives on hold and headed to lower Manhattan to tremendous, positive effect. Across the country Americans lined up at blood banks. Charitable coffers swelled with donations.
This stellar example of how well Americans could deal with trauma and disaster empowered us as individuals and was good for the country. Apparently it did not sit so well with society's established institutions. Can anyone forget President Bush's suggestion that if people REALLY wanted to help, they should go SHOPPING?
When Katrina struck New Orleans, volunteer doctors, nurses, certified emergency personnel and rescue workers were firmly turned back or hand-tied by bureaucratic red tape that amounted to obstruction. Attempts, not always successful, were made to discourage "unauthorized" independent boat operators from rescue operations. It wasn't until the military arrived under the command of a harsh-spoken, no bull-shit Lieutenant General named Honore that conditions began to improve in the City.
In the disaster's aftermath, rescue and reconstruction was taken out of the hands of the people and placed securely in the hands of huge charities, bloated bureaucratic agencies and lumbering, turf-protective officialdom. The results were not good for America, impeded recovery and effectively put "can do" Americans in their place.
Our corporate and government institutions want the American citizenry dumb, docile and dependent. Are we going to let them get away with it? Or has Brave New World finally and irrevocably arrived?
Hmmm. Maybe the recent Supreme Court decision on the individual right to bear arms makes sense after all.
How does "Liberal and packing" sound?
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