Where we had no excuse to be....................

A few days ago, the US-Iraqi war came quietly to an end.  At least it was quiet for about 24 hours and then the predators began pouncing.  We had called for this day for years.  Bush had lied to get us in there and now the Republicans certainly didn't want us out.  Too many pockets were lined, too many fortunes were made and now, of course, it could get their arch enemy re-elected.  One of their excuses was that too many lives were lost for us leave (evidently we had not yet reached our quota!).  Concerning the last item, they are right.  But for the long-time dream of a puppet bureaucrat to be a wartime president no matter what, those lives would not have been lost.  But for a nation which measures patriotism by the sound of marching and the sight of uniforms, the US wouldn't have been there at all.  According to my sources, $800 billion dollars were spent and we face ourselves each day with the knowledge that 48 million of our people are 'food insecure' and that 40 + million of our nation are without medical insurance which can wreck finances and cause home foreclosures if you have the smallest of medical catastrophes.  Even with medical insurance, we are far from safe.  With the high jobless rate, most of our citizens are at risk to become and are becoming the homeless, hungry hordes which seems to be acceptable to the Tea Party and many of the Republican frontrunners.  That party has not once tried to put together a jobs package, and has even gone so far to say that joblessness is the fault of the jobless.
    So now the rest of the world knows our true character.  Our country cares more about waging war than about providing basic necessities including jobs to our people.  Our country cares more about waging wars than to take steps to safegard the planet and more about waging war than to tackle population issues, and food supply issues and water issues and ad infinitum.  As we sow.............................
     Not long ago, I happened to be at a gathering in which a very old man walked through and greeted many community people that he knew.  He was 94 and was a World War II veteran.  One in the group greeted him and then began telling the old man about a book he had recently read on World War II, thinking of course that the old man would reminisce and be grateful for the memories.  Instead, the tall, thin old man looked him straight in the eye, interrupted the gratuitous comments and said 'It was a rich man's war."  The younger man looked shocked and started to talk again about how it was righteous and had to be done and the old man once again repeated, louder this time "It was a rich man's war", and walked on. 
     Enough said.

Gone, but what price?

It's true.  Sarah Palin will never again be considered for political office in any realistic way.  She was and is an embarrassment to all women and now she is also finally an embarrassment to the Republican Party and to the narrow-minded Constitution-waving Tea Party lunatic fragment.  No group will ally itself with her and not because they don't believe the garbage that comes from her lips, but because it won't get votes.  But the way this came about is one of the biggest tragedies of our time.  I have a 10 year old granddaughter and I can hardly fathom the heartache that we would go through if she had been shot like that little girl.  I could blame capitalism, I could blame greed, I could blame racism.  I could blame a populace completely surrounded with education and information who still has no idea of what socialism or any other economic system is.  I could blame irresponsible speeches and complete incomprehensible stupidity.  I could blame a party who actually thought we were so stupid to think that 'any woman on a ticket will do' and chooses to continue to allow focus on a hate-filled person who has no idea what she is talking about.  I do blame all of these things. 

The Oil Slick and Rush

And in the category of 'I thought I had heard it all', the award goes to (you guessed it), Rush Limbaugh. He comments that 'the cap-and-trade bill, was strongly criticized by hardcore environmentalist wackos because it supposedly allowed more offshore drilling and nuclear plants, nuclear plant investment. So, since they're sending SWAT teams down there, folks, since they're sending SWAT teams to inspect the other rigs, what better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants, than by blowing up a rig? I'm just noting the timing here.' Before I end this blog, I have just one question 'What SWAT teams is that bag of crap referring to?"

That guy was right--------RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT!!

The Patriots Strike!

Newt Gingrich only confirmed my view of him and his so called patriotic cronies when his latest declaration was that the Republican Party would see to it that nothing would get done in Washington throughout the Obama administration. I have been told not to 'play that card' but I would bet what little money I have that all of this rhetoric simply hides the white sheets. Now they can use issues to be politically correct while thinly disguising the burning cross. What kind of Americans would expose us to 4 MORE years of refusing to do anything for fear that the issues on the table highlights their failure to address them in the last 8 years? Are these the patriots that would wish failure on their own country? Do the words treason mean anything anymore? Is the punishment still the same? Now the 'tea partiers' are saying that they are attempting to 'save the country's soul'. A country that tolerates rich people attempting to cram both their religion and their politics down everyone's throat has no soul. A country that cares so little about their citizens that they begrudge money used for health care and healthcare reform while gladly throwing money away on war has no soul. Again, as in the last two elections, churches are handing down their views of how the United States should be with Christianity in charge. The situation is already being touted as a battleground, as a war (at least that seems to be honest).


Found a great quote that I must include here since the accusation of Fascism is being bandied about by those who don't know the meaning of the word. Quite appropriate for now..........
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross"...........Sinclair Lewis

Alphabet Soup

Spitting fire today! If one more person uses the word recession to me, I will scream from the rooftops! We are not in a recession. We are in a depression -- yes, we can use the D word now. It may not be the perfectly defined D word with all the required criteria, but it is a depression. This is becoming more profound than the Great Depression because many people today have no idea of how to survive or the wherewithal to do it. We are lucky. As long as my husband and I can keep our jobs (not in peril as yet), we have a home and 7 acres upon which we can raise food (we actually do that for ourselves and the local farmer's market), but most people have no clue of how to survive or property to do it on. Remember, we have a lot of people who have been busy taking vacations, buying cars, hiring their yard work done and finding doggie-daycare and trying really hard to pretend not to see the problems we have (sarcasm). But, we mostly have those who have simply worked so very hard and expected the dream that their parents told them about, so that their survival knowledge base is just as lacking as Mr. and Mrs. McMansion's. I have two daughters out of work. One has already exhausted her unemployment and has a 3 day a week job. Luckily, she is getting food stamps and medicaid for her and our granddaughter. Also, luckily, my husband and I can tighten our belts and help her with her mortgage, but think of the number of people who aren't that lucky! My middle daughter's last day at her employment is Christmas day. The large pharmaceutical company that she works for sold out to another company and she and 23 others who had 3 year contracts have been let go. Of course, the company will take back their share of the 401K and allow the employees to keep what they put in. I find their generosity touching. She will begin collecting her unemployment. I asked the other day if she could get food stamps and medicaid and she told me that the rule is that 'if you are drawing unemployment so that you can possibly keep your home, (no food to eat in it), you can't get food stamps. When you get to the end of your unemployment and can get food stamps, you will have food (no home to eat it in, though). And someone said to me the other day that they could see no problem with Capitalism (the C word)! And we have a President that if I were a religious person I would pray for daily. This man is brilliant with the best of intentions and he has inherited a 2 front war and an economy on the skids like never before. Former President Bush and the puppet masters left our nation little hope, but left their cronies and themselves with lots of money. The President's own party is so afraid of the word 'socialism' (the S word) that they are willing to let pass the opportunity for us to join the rest of the industrialized world who has long known that it is imperative that people must have affordable (even free!) health care. Yes, dare I say, even a gov't ran program. This chance may never come again. The insurance companies will not run out of money to fight this because they are the richest entities in the country (that in itself should tell us something). Not a very uplifting posting today............Happy Holidays!

Our True Colors

Before we began our journey to establish affordable and available healthcare reform, I must have lived a very sheltered life. I had no idea that so many American people were selfish, hoarding, non-caring, lying, gullible, and plain didn't know anything about the difference between an economic system and a governmental system. Besides the fact that to support no healthcare reform must also mean they are fantastically wealthy and do not know anyone who has lost their home, their jobs and their health insurance (if they had health insurance which is as good as not having any) due to one catastrophic illness. Or they are not acquainted with any of the 45,000 per year in this country who die because they have no health insurance and so were not treated or were not treated to the fullest potential if they chose to be. The rest of the industrialized nations have seen the light and at least PRETEND to care about their people. Yes, it costs them a bit more in taxes, but not as much as health insurance premiums that protect very little. The world is watching and we are failing miserably. Our true colors are showing and I am very ashamed.

Evil on a Saturday

Yesterday, on two separate occasions, I came in contact with what I perceived to be evil. The first was when I opened my computer to news that Mike Huckabee believes that if we had had the 'Obamaplan' for our health care system, that Senator Ted Kennedy would have been encouraged to end his life earlier. What rude garbage--and this from a Baptist minister! Only proves the saying that the Lord (his lord, I presume--not mine) moves in mysterious ways! The second occasion was very close to home. Sitting in a lawn chair watching a soccer match (granddaughter is 9 and on the team) with my husband, two daughters, one of my daughter's best friends and husband and the father and mother of the best friend's husband. Stay with me here. The opposing team has a little boy named Victor on the team. Victor is about 9 and knows his soccer. He plays his heart out and he is a joy to watch. I noticed that the father of the best friend's husband is upset and keeps saying that the boy is doing something wrong (amazingly, the ref's just don't see it like this guy does). Then he gets up and walks around to my husband and I and says 'That's all those people know how to do, you know--just sports. I work with them and they don't work. They are lazy. I am not prejudice (this statement always brings up red flags!), but I work with them.' I am simply staring at him, aghast, but find my voice to say, Yes, I can tell you aren't prejudiced (sarcasm dripping). He is talking about Victor whose family is Hispanic (and, by the way, sitting close enough to hear). Victor is a beautiful little boy with a very supportive family (who, by the way, speaks perfect English). His mother was cheering the way all mothers do, but she happened to be cheering in Spanish and that really ticked the bastard off! Anyway, when he did not get the required agreement from my husband and I (or anyone else within earshot), he stomped off only to return a few minutes later to say to his wife (who either must be used to the ass or has kow-towed all of her life) and said gruffly 'Are you ready to go? Let's go' and stomped away. I guess we didn't join his little hate group and he was mad. Probably thinks we are some of those bleeding heart liberals who think he is upset because his poor, little white male world is crumbling and he has to have someone to take the blame. Yup!