Was the brilliant attempt at freedom and justice for all that we called the United States just another brief flash in the pan of human history? Will our children's children even know there was a time...
When common people earned a better than "living" wage that gave them respite from the constant challenge of housing, clothing and feeding themselves and their offspring?
When regular folk, freed from the restraint of constant hunger and deprivation, created a culture of innovation and self realization until the very sky did not appear to be the limit?
When a day's hard labor earned a fair day's wage?
When people banded together in times of tragedy and catastrophe not to prey upon each other but to bind each other's wounds?
When individuals could influence events and advance policy?
When the humblest citizen could obtain a world-class education?
When those who had worked hard and conscientiously all their lives could rest on the fruits of their labors once advancing years robbed them of the strength to continue laboring?
Perhaps some distant echo of those times will endure in a fragile oral history once the "official" chronicles have erased them, denying their very existence.
Was this ever a perfect society? Far from it. But it strove toward greater goals and might have achieved something far more sublime had it not been short-circuited by the veniality of those it trusted to guide and protect them.
Here's what I think...
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Mad Cow Disease is no big deal? That is just wrong.
Last week a case of Mad Cow Disease was accidentally discovered in the U. S. No big deal, right?
Not according to this Mother Jones article: http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/04/mad-cow-california
U. S. Department of Agriculture claims that the discovery proves the effectiveness of U. S. screening methods appears disingenuous. The discovery, in the face of the absolutely minuscule number of tests administered, was more accidental that fortuitous.
According to the Mother Jones article, not even sick cattle are rigorously tested. And there does not seem to be any intention of increasing the testing in the face of proof Mad Cow Disease is infecting American herds.
Industrial agriculture trumps regulation again. This cannot possibly be a good thing.
Not according to this Mother Jones article: http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/04/mad-cow-california
U. S. Department of Agriculture claims that the discovery proves the effectiveness of U. S. screening methods appears disingenuous. The discovery, in the face of the absolutely minuscule number of tests administered, was more accidental that fortuitous.
According to the Mother Jones article, not even sick cattle are rigorously tested. And there does not seem to be any intention of increasing the testing in the face of proof Mad Cow Disease is infecting American herds.
Industrial agriculture trumps regulation again. This cannot possibly be a good thing.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Paper, plastic or cloth
Lots of suggestions online today on how individuals can do their part to preserve our planet.
Reduce/eliminate consumption of plastic bags. Take shorter showers and don't leave the water running while brushing teeth. Turn the old thermostat down during the winter and up during the summer.
These suggestions are not bad ideas. None of them seem to apply to what our institutions could/should be doing.
Stop mountaintop removal and the conversion of pure mountain springs into gobs of poisonous slurry.
Apply conscientious safety precautions to avoid turning vast swathes of the Gulf of Mexico into a tar pit.
Stop industrial agriculture's poisoning of waterways and acceleration of soil erosion.
Stop polluting the air we breath with toxic emissions.
Beef up enforcement against the slip shod maintenance of aging nuclear power plants.
Apply effective disciplinary measures, including charter suspension or removal, against corporate bad actors.
Abandon corporate welfare for big energy companies and initiate substantive support for the development of green power industries.
Admittedly just a beginning. But hey, we have to start somewhere.
Reduce/eliminate consumption of plastic bags. Take shorter showers and don't leave the water running while brushing teeth. Turn the old thermostat down during the winter and up during the summer.
These suggestions are not bad ideas. None of them seem to apply to what our institutions could/should be doing.
Stop mountaintop removal and the conversion of pure mountain springs into gobs of poisonous slurry.
Apply conscientious safety precautions to avoid turning vast swathes of the Gulf of Mexico into a tar pit.
Stop industrial agriculture's poisoning of waterways and acceleration of soil erosion.
Stop polluting the air we breath with toxic emissions.
Beef up enforcement against the slip shod maintenance of aging nuclear power plants.
Apply effective disciplinary measures, including charter suspension or removal, against corporate bad actors.
Abandon corporate welfare for big energy companies and initiate substantive support for the development of green power industries.
Admittedly just a beginning. But hey, we have to start somewhere.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Blame the Old Folks - Part 2
I recently posted on Facebook that I have been blessed with having many incredible senior citizens in my life.
A grandmother and grandmother-in-law who both lived to be 99. Parents-in-law that lived to 89. A close friend who died at 87. Another dear friend who is 89. An uncle who lived to be 83 against incredible odds and who clung vehemently to his "liberal Democratic" values to the end. An aunt who is 92 and failing now, but whose entire adult life, like her older sister, my Mom who will be 97 in May and is still going strong, was devoted to civil rights, environmental activism and intellectual pursuits.
Another aunt, 83, who until she finally succumbed to the numbing mental stagnation of Altzeimers two and a half years ago, was the life of every party she ever attended, a source of joy and fun to everyone who crossed her path. And my very special aunt, the baby of her siblings at 81 whose career has included time being a Carmelite Nun, an elementary school teacher, a caretaker for her mother and later her handicapped brother, and who never in her life has left a debt unpaid or an opportunity to help others unchosen.
These wonderful people have NEVER dragged down our society. They have all helped make it great! Hard working as long as they worked (my 89 year old mother-in-law until two days before she died). Voters in every election for candidates they believed WERE BEST FOR THE COUNTRY. That's right. Not for any personal agenda they had - for the good of the country they loved.
Collectors of Social Security and Medicare? Those that qualified, yes. Some, as public servants, did not qualify. Some contributed to the Social Security System from its very beginning. And it enabled some of them to live independent, dignified lives to the end of their lives.
Where did the idea come from that our elderly citizens drag our country down? Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of them played a major role in building it up!
Are the Old Folks I personally know the exceptions? Hard to swallow that when so many of them have given so much so consistently for so long.
Just saying.
A grandmother and grandmother-in-law who both lived to be 99. Parents-in-law that lived to 89. A close friend who died at 87. Another dear friend who is 89. An uncle who lived to be 83 against incredible odds and who clung vehemently to his "liberal Democratic" values to the end. An aunt who is 92 and failing now, but whose entire adult life, like her older sister, my Mom who will be 97 in May and is still going strong, was devoted to civil rights, environmental activism and intellectual pursuits.
Another aunt, 83, who until she finally succumbed to the numbing mental stagnation of Altzeimers two and a half years ago, was the life of every party she ever attended, a source of joy and fun to everyone who crossed her path. And my very special aunt, the baby of her siblings at 81 whose career has included time being a Carmelite Nun, an elementary school teacher, a caretaker for her mother and later her handicapped brother, and who never in her life has left a debt unpaid or an opportunity to help others unchosen.
These wonderful people have NEVER dragged down our society. They have all helped make it great! Hard working as long as they worked (my 89 year old mother-in-law until two days before she died). Voters in every election for candidates they believed WERE BEST FOR THE COUNTRY. That's right. Not for any personal agenda they had - for the good of the country they loved.
Collectors of Social Security and Medicare? Those that qualified, yes. Some, as public servants, did not qualify. Some contributed to the Social Security System from its very beginning. And it enabled some of them to live independent, dignified lives to the end of their lives.
Where did the idea come from that our elderly citizens drag our country down? Nothing could be further from the truth. Most of them played a major role in building it up!
Are the Old Folks I personally know the exceptions? Hard to swallow that when so many of them have given so much so consistently for so long.
Just saying.
Blame the Old Folks - Part 1
As I ramble around the Internet looking for interesting or important news, I frequently run across commentary condemning the United States' aging population for ultra conservatism, dragging down the system with demands it cater to their needs, voting against the interest of the general population.
It occurs to me this is just one more example of an ongoing practice of the "powers that be" to divide and fragment our social fabric. Hate the old people for demanding Social Security and Medicare. Hate the unions for demanding a living wage and decent working conditions. Hate the Democrats for creating a "nanny" state. Hate the Republicans for ravaging civil liberties and creating a welfare state for the one percent. Hate the Blacks for being violent. Hate the Hispanics for being illegal. Hate the Catholics for imposing their morality on the rest of the populace. Hate the atheists for being ungodly. Hate the born-again Christians for being too godly. Hate the tea partiers for being racist. Hate the Occupy Wall Streeters for being noisy and messy. Hate the young for being unruly.
How is this working for me? Not so much.
It occurs to me this is just one more example of an ongoing practice of the "powers that be" to divide and fragment our social fabric. Hate the old people for demanding Social Security and Medicare. Hate the unions for demanding a living wage and decent working conditions. Hate the Democrats for creating a "nanny" state. Hate the Republicans for ravaging civil liberties and creating a welfare state for the one percent. Hate the Blacks for being violent. Hate the Hispanics for being illegal. Hate the Catholics for imposing their morality on the rest of the populace. Hate the atheists for being ungodly. Hate the born-again Christians for being too godly. Hate the tea partiers for being racist. Hate the Occupy Wall Streeters for being noisy and messy. Hate the young for being unruly.
How is this working for me? Not so much.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Health Care at Risk
Will the same Supreme Court that gave us Citizens' United and decided the 2000 Presidential election overthrow the Universal Health Care Act? It is beginning to look like it might.
The argument is that citizens cannot be forced to buy a product. But we already are forced to buy car insurance if we drive. Businesses must buy unemployment, disability and workers compensation insurance. Businesses and individuals must pay into social security and medicare insurance.
Don't get me wrong. I was not a big fan of the Health Care Act. I wanted a single-payer system and did not believe that control of our access to health care belonged in the private sector. But after roughly a century of attempting to pass health care legislation, Medicaid, Medicare and the Health Care Act were all this country could achieve. Is it really a good idea to discard it and return to the bad old days when insurance companies could pick and choose who they insured and for how long?
Unless hospitals and emergency rooms actually begin denying care to the uninsured, we will continue to pay for that health care. We will pay through higher health care costs to those who can afford it and higher insurance premiums for everyone who is willing to pay for insurance and can manage to afford it.
Are we willing to stand by as accident victims are left at the curb? As the grievously ill are turned away? As those carrying contagious diseases are left untreated? If the Court decides it is every man, woman and child for themselves, we will be faced with bitter costs indeed - costs that will be assessed on our quality of life and the stability of our social conventions and public institutions and our increased victimization by private insurers and big pharma.
Shoot, maybe the Court will declare Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid unconstitutional too while they are at it.
The argument is that citizens cannot be forced to buy a product. But we already are forced to buy car insurance if we drive. Businesses must buy unemployment, disability and workers compensation insurance. Businesses and individuals must pay into social security and medicare insurance.
Don't get me wrong. I was not a big fan of the Health Care Act. I wanted a single-payer system and did not believe that control of our access to health care belonged in the private sector. But after roughly a century of attempting to pass health care legislation, Medicaid, Medicare and the Health Care Act were all this country could achieve. Is it really a good idea to discard it and return to the bad old days when insurance companies could pick and choose who they insured and for how long?
Unless hospitals and emergency rooms actually begin denying care to the uninsured, we will continue to pay for that health care. We will pay through higher health care costs to those who can afford it and higher insurance premiums for everyone who is willing to pay for insurance and can manage to afford it.
Are we willing to stand by as accident victims are left at the curb? As the grievously ill are turned away? As those carrying contagious diseases are left untreated? If the Court decides it is every man, woman and child for themselves, we will be faced with bitter costs indeed - costs that will be assessed on our quality of life and the stability of our social conventions and public institutions and our increased victimization by private insurers and big pharma.
Shoot, maybe the Court will declare Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid unconstitutional too while they are at it.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
IMO Lee - The Playing Field is NOT Even
Lee (1945-2005)
New York State
In the 1980’s he received a lump sum settlement for injuries he sustained in an accident. He used part of the proceeds for a down payment on a house on the street where I live. His house was the second on our 2-block street to be owned by a black family. I first became aware of Lee during my walks. I frequently came across him doing yard work for my neighbors and we started to exchange polite hellos in passing.
One day, I asked him if he was interested in caring for my yard. I wanted to give my husband of a summer free from yard chores as an anniversary gift. From that time, until the winter before he died, he took charge of our yard. Lee loved tending gardens and soon convinced me to plant a couple of trees and put in more flowers. Sometimes he hired someone to work with him. Lee and another (white) neighbor divided the care of about 80 percent of the houses on my block. Since I worked from home in those days, Lee and I gradually became friends through our chats on the days he did my lawn.
I can still hear his voice calling “Hey, Mare…” as he came around the back of the house (where I had my office) to remind me of some task that required doing or to ask if I had any extra jobs. Lee worked constantly at a multitude of different jobs. In the winter he did snow removal, in the spring, summer and fall, yard work, basement and attic cleanup, air conditioner installation and removal. He also regularly worked out at the local gym, where he was something of a legend for his prowess at weight lifting.
In May 2002 he and his crew moved my office from my house to downtown office space. He would sometimes drop by the new office to chat with me and my assistant.
When Lee bought his house, he took out a mortgage with a local bank. The bank sold his mortgage. During the 1990’s after property values in our neighborhood rose sharply, the mortgage company raised his interest rates and began charging heavy fees and penalties. It was only through the help of a good lawyer and the woman who loved him that Lee was able to pay off the mortgage and have the excess charges dropped. He came very close to losing his home. If the strange investment vehicles that have been developed since that time had been in existence, he probably would have lost his home, because the vehicles (like credit default swaps) are virtually impossible to unravel.
To this day I believe (1) the bank sold his mortgage because he was an uneducated black man; (2) the new mortgage company deliberately tried to foreclose on him and thought he was an easy target. My mortgage was with the same bank and until the day I paid it off, I was able to make my payments directly to the bank. Once Lee’s mortgage was sold, the place where he was supposed to send payments was changed several times and he confided to me that he received notice of the changes late and was given very little time in which to get his payments to them. Since credit card companies frequently use the tactic of shortening the grace period in order to collect exorbitant late fees and higher interest rates, I believed him. Additionally, time and again I saw evidence of his honesty.
When I hear of the obstacles people face trying to get their mortgages refinanced; paying escalating interest rates; balloon payments on loans they did not understand; inability to locate the current holder of the mortgage note, I think of what happened to Lee. This is part of the reason what has transpired in the financial industry over the past several years angers me. Money does not buy happiness. I know that. But I have yet to figure a way that folks can put a roof over their heads, food on their table, light and heat in their houses and clothes on their backs without it. And for the unwary, indebtedness is a form of involuntary servitude.
Every spring when the hyacinth and tulips bloom in my front yard, I see his face and believe that somewhere he is tending a beautiful flower garden under a bright but gentle sun. Lee was a friend of mine.
July 30, 2009
Lee was one of 19 children born to couple of sharecroppers in the Deep South. Twice as a young man he ran away. Twice the landowner had the sheriff bring him back in chains. Lee told me this story, informing me that into the 1960’s slavery still effectively existed in this country, but it had a different name – debt. The sharecroppers were tied to the land they worked by debts owed to the landowners for the shelter, food and seed they were forced to purchase from them.
Lee’s third attempt to escape was successful. He made his way to In the 1980’s he received a lump sum settlement for injuries he sustained in an accident. He used part of the proceeds for a down payment on a house on the street where I live. His house was the second on our 2-block street to be owned by a black family. I first became aware of Lee during my walks. I frequently came across him doing yard work for my neighbors and we started to exchange polite hellos in passing.
One day, I asked him if he was interested in caring for my yard. I wanted to give my husband of a summer free from yard chores as an anniversary gift. From that time, until the winter before he died, he took charge of our yard. Lee loved tending gardens and soon convinced me to plant a couple of trees and put in more flowers. Sometimes he hired someone to work with him. Lee and another (white) neighbor divided the care of about 80 percent of the houses on my block. Since I worked from home in those days, Lee and I gradually became friends through our chats on the days he did my lawn.
I can still hear his voice calling “Hey, Mare…” as he came around the back of the house (where I had my office) to remind me of some task that required doing or to ask if I had any extra jobs. Lee worked constantly at a multitude of different jobs. In the winter he did snow removal, in the spring, summer and fall, yard work, basement and attic cleanup, air conditioner installation and removal. He also regularly worked out at the local gym, where he was something of a legend for his prowess at weight lifting.
In May 2002 he and his crew moved my office from my house to downtown office space. He would sometimes drop by the new office to chat with me and my assistant.
When Lee bought his house, he took out a mortgage with a local bank. The bank sold his mortgage. During the 1990’s after property values in our neighborhood rose sharply, the mortgage company raised his interest rates and began charging heavy fees and penalties. It was only through the help of a good lawyer and the woman who loved him that Lee was able to pay off the mortgage and have the excess charges dropped. He came very close to losing his home. If the strange investment vehicles that have been developed since that time had been in existence, he probably would have lost his home, because the vehicles (like credit default swaps) are virtually impossible to unravel.
To this day I believe (1) the bank sold his mortgage because he was an uneducated black man; (2) the new mortgage company deliberately tried to foreclose on him and thought he was an easy target. My mortgage was with the same bank and until the day I paid it off, I was able to make my payments directly to the bank. Once Lee’s mortgage was sold, the place where he was supposed to send payments was changed several times and he confided to me that he received notice of the changes late and was given very little time in which to get his payments to them. Since credit card companies frequently use the tactic of shortening the grace period in order to collect exorbitant late fees and higher interest rates, I believed him. Additionally, time and again I saw evidence of his honesty.
When I hear of the obstacles people face trying to get their mortgages refinanced; paying escalating interest rates; balloon payments on loans they did not understand; inability to locate the current holder of the mortgage note, I think of what happened to Lee. This is part of the reason what has transpired in the financial industry over the past several years angers me. Money does not buy happiness. I know that. But I have yet to figure a way that folks can put a roof over their heads, food on their table, light and heat in their houses and clothes on their backs without it. And for the unwary, indebtedness is a form of involuntary servitude.
Every spring when the hyacinth and tulips bloom in my front yard, I see his face and believe that somewhere he is tending a beautiful flower garden under a bright but gentle sun. Lee was a friend of mine.
July 30, 2009
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