Bush Waking Up!
RRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNG! Drat! There goes the alarm! I wonder if I should get up today.
Maybe I should call Dick and see what he thinks. No. I shouldn't bother him. He is probably busy. Anyway, I'm not sure where he is today, probably in one of his "undisclosed" locations. I know! I'll call Tony Snow! He will know! Wait! Olberman had a bit on Countdown the other night about the 400 press questions that Tony answered "I don't know"! Tony won't know!
Let's see. I can't call Rumsfeld any more. Besides he would just say he knew when he probably really didn't. Who else would answer my call? Hummmm. Maybe I'll just stay in bed today and see how it looks tommorrow.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
To Be, The Grinch
To Be, The Grinch!
It's Xmas time, that's not so swell!
If you be nice, I'll ring your bell!
Don't give out gifts, or candy bars.
I'll knock your head off, clear to Mars!
Don't sing a song, that I can hear.
I'll slosh you with, a can of beer!
Don't wear some stupid, old red coat.
Pretend you're not an old gray goat!
It's not the time of year I like!
For me no gifts, no trees with light!
No cheers, no wreaths, no wish for me,
A happy new year, not to be!
A Grinch I am, and so I'll stay!
And as a Grinch, I'll have my way!
I'll be so mean, that all will know,
That no one else, could go so low!
And why, you say, I'm such a Grinch?
Why screw my face up, in a pinch?
To add some drama, to the season,
And that's just that, no other reason!
It's Xmas time, that's not so swell!
If you be nice, I'll ring your bell!
Don't give out gifts, or candy bars.
I'll knock your head off, clear to Mars!
Don't sing a song, that I can hear.
I'll slosh you with, a can of beer!
Don't wear some stupid, old red coat.
Pretend you're not an old gray goat!
It's not the time of year I like!
For me no gifts, no trees with light!
No cheers, no wreaths, no wish for me,
A happy new year, not to be!
A Grinch I am, and so I'll stay!
And as a Grinch, I'll have my way!
I'll be so mean, that all will know,
That no one else, could go so low!
And why, you say, I'm such a Grinch?
Why screw my face up, in a pinch?
To add some drama, to the season,
And that's just that, no other reason!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Political Crap--It's Over! GOP booted out!
What a relief! My wife will no longer receive any calls from Robert Redford or Bill Clinton touting California's prop 87 (Gas tax increase supporting alternate energy sources). She was always thrilled when she got one of those calls, and made sure that she let me know who was calling her, "Bob" or "Bill".
The Democrats, of which I am one, think that they scored a coup by sweeping the GOP out of both houses of congress. This change of power came about not because of a perception by voters that one party had a superior agenda than the other, but because the GOP had been so incompetent, corrupt, and destructive that voters would not support them again. It is not so much that the Democrats won, but moreso that the GOP got booted by a disgusted electorate.
Now it is up to Congress to actually do the work that the framers of the Constitution expected, i.e. be a check and balance on the powers of a Presidency that has run amok!
I was playing golf the other day with two other golfers in their late sixties/early seventies, and overheard one of them say something like, "Can you imagine being married to someone like Nancy Pelosi?" With the great division between Conservatives and Liberals that has developed since the Reagan years, I have learned to be "mum" when it comes to talking politics with anyone who has opposite views. But, I thought to myself, I doubted that Nancy would have any strong desire to marry or pay much attention at all to either of them, nor did I think that either of them would be able to match her intellect and accomplishment in any way. I cannot feel comfortable playing golf with either of them again, knowing that they would probably feel the same about me if they knew I was a liberal Democrat.
Are the American people, who are so diverse in their origins, becoming tribal based on their political parties?
It used to be that Conservatives and Liberals had many of the same notions about living in this country. There was disagreement, but also common ground for compromise, and actual accomplishment. Most often, government swung back and forth between the moderate left to the moderate right. The far right and far left wings of each party always were around and usually had their say, but stayed on the fringe of party platform and policy. I voted for George "I" for president because I thought he had the superior experience and ability to lead our country. When I saw how the Republicans in Congress acted when they took over in the mid 1990's, I vowed to myself that I would never vote for a Republican for any office again. I would have voted for Arnold for governor this time around, because I think he has seen the light, and is no longer catering to the right wing of his party, but to the needs of the State of California. I think that Maria probably hit him aside the head a few times after his fiasco with his special election propositions of over a year ago. But, I stuck with my vow. I voted a straight Democatic ticket.
I do not want to support any Republican who might contribute to the ability of the current GOP to control any part of government. That will be the case as long as they are driven by their right wing policies regarding God, gays, and gats!
But, this election is over and nationally the electorate voted with one voice against Bush and the Republican Congress which said, "We don't like it, we don't like it at all"! If we were a parlimentary system like England, Bush would be gone too! We have to live with him for two more years. I hope he got the message and starts acting in concert with the new Congress to respond with positive actions to the message sent!
It is interesting that on the first day after the election, Sec'y Rumsfeld resigned. I would have thought that if he had done that a week before the election, it would have been a positive sign that Bush was changing direction on Iraq. It might have made a difference with some voters and been a plus for the GOP. There is not much doubt that the resignation was in the works prior to election day. Was it another misjudgement as to timing?
I wonder what Bush will accomplish as a result of that move in the next few months. One thing I do know, more people will die every day until we are able to staunch the bleeding wound we opened in Iraq!
The Democrats, of which I am one, think that they scored a coup by sweeping the GOP out of both houses of congress. This change of power came about not because of a perception by voters that one party had a superior agenda than the other, but because the GOP had been so incompetent, corrupt, and destructive that voters would not support them again. It is not so much that the Democrats won, but moreso that the GOP got booted by a disgusted electorate.
Now it is up to Congress to actually do the work that the framers of the Constitution expected, i.e. be a check and balance on the powers of a Presidency that has run amok!
I was playing golf the other day with two other golfers in their late sixties/early seventies, and overheard one of them say something like, "Can you imagine being married to someone like Nancy Pelosi?" With the great division between Conservatives and Liberals that has developed since the Reagan years, I have learned to be "mum" when it comes to talking politics with anyone who has opposite views. But, I thought to myself, I doubted that Nancy would have any strong desire to marry or pay much attention at all to either of them, nor did I think that either of them would be able to match her intellect and accomplishment in any way. I cannot feel comfortable playing golf with either of them again, knowing that they would probably feel the same about me if they knew I was a liberal Democrat.
Are the American people, who are so diverse in their origins, becoming tribal based on their political parties?
It used to be that Conservatives and Liberals had many of the same notions about living in this country. There was disagreement, but also common ground for compromise, and actual accomplishment. Most often, government swung back and forth between the moderate left to the moderate right. The far right and far left wings of each party always were around and usually had their say, but stayed on the fringe of party platform and policy. I voted for George "I" for president because I thought he had the superior experience and ability to lead our country. When I saw how the Republicans in Congress acted when they took over in the mid 1990's, I vowed to myself that I would never vote for a Republican for any office again. I would have voted for Arnold for governor this time around, because I think he has seen the light, and is no longer catering to the right wing of his party, but to the needs of the State of California. I think that Maria probably hit him aside the head a few times after his fiasco with his special election propositions of over a year ago. But, I stuck with my vow. I voted a straight Democatic ticket.
I do not want to support any Republican who might contribute to the ability of the current GOP to control any part of government. That will be the case as long as they are driven by their right wing policies regarding God, gays, and gats!
But, this election is over and nationally the electorate voted with one voice against Bush and the Republican Congress which said, "We don't like it, we don't like it at all"! If we were a parlimentary system like England, Bush would be gone too! We have to live with him for two more years. I hope he got the message and starts acting in concert with the new Congress to respond with positive actions to the message sent!
It is interesting that on the first day after the election, Sec'y Rumsfeld resigned. I would have thought that if he had done that a week before the election, it would have been a positive sign that Bush was changing direction on Iraq. It might have made a difference with some voters and been a plus for the GOP. There is not much doubt that the resignation was in the works prior to election day. Was it another misjudgement as to timing?
I wonder what Bush will accomplish as a result of that move in the next few months. One thing I do know, more people will die every day until we are able to staunch the bleeding wound we opened in Iraq!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Political crap of the week.
1. The latest poll this week showed that Congress's approval rating is down to 16%. Does that mean that only 16% of the members of Congress should be re-elected? It wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe we should oust anyone who supported the Iraq invasion without making the effort to find out the truth! I don't remember the percentage of those who did not vote in support. Maybe it was close to 16%. If everyone agreed to do that we would lose some very prominent Dems too! Shame on them!
2. Who is lying? Is it Dennis Hastlert or all the others who have come forward and given testimony before the House ethics commitee that they advised the House leadership, in some cases the Speaker personally, that gay Rep. Foley was fooling around with the teenage pages with inappropriate sexual communication? How could Dennis not remember those conversations? Expect him to resign as speaker! He should really resign from the House entirely for chosing politics over protection of underage teenagers in his charge from a sexual predator. What kind of people do we elect to represent us? It is outrageous!
3. George Bush, whose approval rating is around 30%, is going around the country appearing with some of the congressmen who are in peril of losing the upcoming election. It seems that he is only appearing with those who are in a fix and desperate. I saw him the other day standing next to a married congressman who had a girl friend who accused him of "choking" her. The congressman's latest campaign video showed him saying that he was sorry for his philandering and denied that he ever "choked" his mistress. He said he and his wife were very much in love and have reconciled, and that he hoped that his constituancy would re-elect him based on his record in congress and his ability to bring good things to his district, which I presumed to mean "pork". Is that the best we can do? Fortunately I think he is a goner.
George' topic in his speech was that voters should return Republicans to Congress so that he could continue the War on Terror, and that if the Democrats took over and "cut and ran", that the American people would be in greater danger and were sure to be attacked! It seems that I have heard that so many times now that it makes my eyes glaze over. What is sad, is that's all GWB has to talk about. He has had no success in his administration that would provide any traction with the voters. He has not yet faced the reality that 70% of the population thinks that he and the Republicans have made us more unsafe by his policies in his "War on Terror". Anyone who supports his supposition is deluded. I wonder if he really believes it himself.
The big question I have is: How long is it going to take us to clean up the huge mess that has been made by the Republican controlled government in the last 6 years?
4. Last week I stated that they should make Bob Ney and Duke Cunnigham roommates in prison,and they could cheat each other at Gin Rummy to pass the time of day. Bob only got about 2 years and the Duke is in for a lot longer. Perhaps Tom Delay may get a term that is more congruent with the Duke's. I guess they could make it a threesome. Then if Foley is clipped for perversion and shipped to the same facility, wouldn't that make a good mix? Just like it was when they all were in the halls of congress. Watch out! That is the making of quite a prison gang!
5. I heard a report today that North Korea told China that they were sorry they exploded an A bomb. Well, all right then!
6. One would think that we could all be doing better by using a bit more common sense, talking over problems, and seeking solutions that are in the best interest of everyone, not just one side or the other. "Either you are with us or you are against us" just doesn't seem to cut it as an effective political philosophy.
2. Who is lying? Is it Dennis Hastlert or all the others who have come forward and given testimony before the House ethics commitee that they advised the House leadership, in some cases the Speaker personally, that gay Rep. Foley was fooling around with the teenage pages with inappropriate sexual communication? How could Dennis not remember those conversations? Expect him to resign as speaker! He should really resign from the House entirely for chosing politics over protection of underage teenagers in his charge from a sexual predator. What kind of people do we elect to represent us? It is outrageous!
3. George Bush, whose approval rating is around 30%, is going around the country appearing with some of the congressmen who are in peril of losing the upcoming election. It seems that he is only appearing with those who are in a fix and desperate. I saw him the other day standing next to a married congressman who had a girl friend who accused him of "choking" her. The congressman's latest campaign video showed him saying that he was sorry for his philandering and denied that he ever "choked" his mistress. He said he and his wife were very much in love and have reconciled, and that he hoped that his constituancy would re-elect him based on his record in congress and his ability to bring good things to his district, which I presumed to mean "pork". Is that the best we can do? Fortunately I think he is a goner.
George' topic in his speech was that voters should return Republicans to Congress so that he could continue the War on Terror, and that if the Democrats took over and "cut and ran", that the American people would be in greater danger and were sure to be attacked! It seems that I have heard that so many times now that it makes my eyes glaze over. What is sad, is that's all GWB has to talk about. He has had no success in his administration that would provide any traction with the voters. He has not yet faced the reality that 70% of the population thinks that he and the Republicans have made us more unsafe by his policies in his "War on Terror". Anyone who supports his supposition is deluded. I wonder if he really believes it himself.
The big question I have is: How long is it going to take us to clean up the huge mess that has been made by the Republican controlled government in the last 6 years?
4. Last week I stated that they should make Bob Ney and Duke Cunnigham roommates in prison,and they could cheat each other at Gin Rummy to pass the time of day. Bob only got about 2 years and the Duke is in for a lot longer. Perhaps Tom Delay may get a term that is more congruent with the Duke's. I guess they could make it a threesome. Then if Foley is clipped for perversion and shipped to the same facility, wouldn't that make a good mix? Just like it was when they all were in the halls of congress. Watch out! That is the making of quite a prison gang!
5. I heard a report today that North Korea told China that they were sorry they exploded an A bomb. Well, all right then!
6. One would think that we could all be doing better by using a bit more common sense, talking over problems, and seeking solutions that are in the best interest of everyone, not just one side or the other. "Either you are with us or you are against us" just doesn't seem to cut it as an effective political philosophy.
Friday, October 13, 2006
A week's worth of political crap!
OK!
1. We have child molesters in Congress. At least one of them was gay and was put in charge of a commitee to provide legislation to "protect children from child molesters". The GOP leadership in the House presumably knew of this guy's inappropriate contacts with the house pages (all young boys under 16) for some time and did nothing to stop it!
When the press found out and reported the activity there were actually House representitives and conservative political pundits who tried to make excuses for the perpetrator, and make light of the issue by comparing it to past Democratic sex scandals, which, by the way, did not usually include dalliance or pursuit of underage children.
And what did those past scandals have to do with the fact that someone in congress was preying or at the least attempting to prey on children who were in the charge of the House of Representitives as "pages".
Anyone who knew about this and did nothing should be punished, either buy the courts, or by the voters!
Can you imagine to depravity and corrupt nature we have allowed to develop in our government, by and for the people of the United States of America!
2. Bob Ney is going to plead guilty to taking bribes and be sentenced to prison for at least one year or more. He will probably join Randy "Duke" Cunningham and together they can cheat each other at gin rummy!
3. Our President keeps telling us that we are making great progress in Iraq and things are getting better. Of course he doesn't read the papers or watch the news on TV. Presumably his daily briefings are on how the Rose Garden is holding up as fall approaches. We have a President who is delusional and does not face reality.
4. North Korea has developed an atomic bomb capability! They are part of Bush's Axis of Evil!North Korea thinks that Bush is going to attack and that the bomb would be a deterrant. They are right! We only attack countries who do not have an atom bomb. Iran better hurry! Bush blames Clinton.
5. Hooray! The Budget deficit this year is only going to be 385 Billion dollars. However, I don't think that includes the separate accounting for paying the bills in Iraq. So maybe it is more like 600 Billion. We shall have to ask China, who is financing the whole thing, and slowly buying up America.
And that's the political crap for this week!
1. We have child molesters in Congress. At least one of them was gay and was put in charge of a commitee to provide legislation to "protect children from child molesters". The GOP leadership in the House presumably knew of this guy's inappropriate contacts with the house pages (all young boys under 16) for some time and did nothing to stop it!
When the press found out and reported the activity there were actually House representitives and conservative political pundits who tried to make excuses for the perpetrator, and make light of the issue by comparing it to past Democratic sex scandals, which, by the way, did not usually include dalliance or pursuit of underage children.
And what did those past scandals have to do with the fact that someone in congress was preying or at the least attempting to prey on children who were in the charge of the House of Representitives as "pages".
Anyone who knew about this and did nothing should be punished, either buy the courts, or by the voters!
Can you imagine to depravity and corrupt nature we have allowed to develop in our government, by and for the people of the United States of America!
2. Bob Ney is going to plead guilty to taking bribes and be sentenced to prison for at least one year or more. He will probably join Randy "Duke" Cunningham and together they can cheat each other at gin rummy!
3. Our President keeps telling us that we are making great progress in Iraq and things are getting better. Of course he doesn't read the papers or watch the news on TV. Presumably his daily briefings are on how the Rose Garden is holding up as fall approaches. We have a President who is delusional and does not face reality.
4. North Korea has developed an atomic bomb capability! They are part of Bush's Axis of Evil!North Korea thinks that Bush is going to attack and that the bomb would be a deterrant. They are right! We only attack countries who do not have an atom bomb. Iran better hurry! Bush blames Clinton.
5. Hooray! The Budget deficit this year is only going to be 385 Billion dollars. However, I don't think that includes the separate accounting for paying the bills in Iraq. So maybe it is more like 600 Billion. We shall have to ask China, who is financing the whole thing, and slowly buying up America.
And that's the political crap for this week!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Golfing With an Old Guy
Golfing With An Old Guy
By Mark Worden
He hit it down the middle,
As usual!
But he just had a short cart ride,
To hit it again!
He was on the green
in four,
and made a 15 foot putt
for a bogey.
I said, "Great
net birdie, Bernie".
He said " I get three strokes
on this hole!"
I said, " Great net
eagle, Bernie"!
As I erased the number on
the score card!
Old golfers never die,
Their handicaps just go up,
until no one will bet
with them anymore.
By Mark Worden
He hit it down the middle,
As usual!
But he just had a short cart ride,
To hit it again!
He was on the green
in four,
and made a 15 foot putt
for a bogey.
I said, "Great
net birdie, Bernie".
He said " I get three strokes
on this hole!"
I said, " Great net
eagle, Bernie"!
As I erased the number on
the score card!
Old golfers never die,
Their handicaps just go up,
until no one will bet
with them anymore.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Fridays 5 minute poem
The Golfing God
by Mark Worden
I took four lessons from a pro,
to straighten out my swing.
and tempoed downward fast to slow,
to make my driver zing!
I worked for months and saw no change,
but practiced when I could.
Each week I spent time at the range,
a'pounding on my wood.
Just playing once a week it seemed,
was not much time to groove,
Improving for my game to peak,
and keep my motion smooth.
I never broke an 80 score,
in all my bygone years,
but lately it has happened more,
Three times, to many cheers.
Besides the Golfing God's good will,
Perhaps my putting change,
has caused the ball to roll downhill,
fall in the cup, it's strange.
The putter seems to make the score,
saves strokes on every round,
as much as four, and sometimes more,
and that is just profound!
Oh why, oh why it happened now,
was it for goodness sake?,
Or did the Golfing God think "Wow!",
Let's give the guy a break!
by Mark Worden
I took four lessons from a pro,
to straighten out my swing.
and tempoed downward fast to slow,
to make my driver zing!
I worked for months and saw no change,
but practiced when I could.
Each week I spent time at the range,
a'pounding on my wood.
Just playing once a week it seemed,
was not much time to groove,
Improving for my game to peak,
and keep my motion smooth.
I never broke an 80 score,
in all my bygone years,
but lately it has happened more,
Three times, to many cheers.
Besides the Golfing God's good will,
Perhaps my putting change,
has caused the ball to roll downhill,
fall in the cup, it's strange.
The putter seems to make the score,
saves strokes on every round,
as much as four, and sometimes more,
and that is just profound!
Oh why, oh why it happened now,
was it for goodness sake?,
Or did the Golfing God think "Wow!",
Let's give the guy a break!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Running out of words
It has been months since I have spent some time thinking about writing. To me that is what blogs are for--to satisfy the urge to write--and to take the time to think while doing it.
Why havn't I jumped on the blog lately? I used to be fairly consistant. On Friday of each week I usually made it a point to write a Friday 5 minute poem, or make a log entry of something that happened of interest during the week!
Perhaps I have not been in a mood to do poetry, or in a documentary frame of mind. I know that I have been out of sorts with the goings on around the world. I have been disappointed almost daily by what my country has become under the mis-guidance of the Bush presidency and the lack of sound thinking by the Republican congress. When our President has a news conference to brag about the fact that the budget deficit result is only going to be 300+ billion instead of over 400 billion this year, I wonder what might Bush think of as a failure for his administration. When he vetoes his first legislation in 6 years , a bi-partison bill allowing funding for limited stem cell research, mis-characterizing the process as saving lives of future children, I and everyone else with any common sense understands that his reason for doing so is strictly political to appease a small group of zealots at the expense of the rest of our society, and that his explanation for doing so is a lie, or at best a deception. Everyone knows that sooner or later this bill will get passed.
In the 6 years we have lived with the Bush administration and the lack of congressional oversight, we have made a big contribution to making the world a very dangerous place, and the reputation and influence of the United States in foreign affairs has plummeted. The credibility of our government has been shattered by the Bush administration's distortions, lies, and actions. To me and most of the rest of the world, based on experience, what our government says has no reliability and does not reflect reality. Action has often had no relation to the words expressing the intention.
It is depressing to think that we spend more on military might than the combined total of the rest of the world, and put people in power who think that the threat of force is the way to solutions of conflict in the world. Does anyone remember what it was like 6 years ago when Bush and the Neocon group that put him in power took over? There was a projected 400 billion budget surplus--with the possibility of continuing surpluses totaling a trillion over the next 10-15 years. That was going to be a positive to ensure the solvency of future baby boomer pay outs for social security and medicare, as well as paying down the national debt and controlling interest rates. Optimism was high for the future!
There was relative peace in the middle east with-on going negotiations making progress towards a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. There was on-going negotiation with North Korea regarding their atomic weapons program. Deals were being made or worked on across tables.
When Bush became President, everything stopped! Anything and anybody associated with the Clinton administration was discarded or ignored. Diplomacy in the middle east stopped. Instead, at the first opportunity we invaded Iraq, and created an "axis of evil" which cemented us into a position of opposition and conflict with countries where patience and diplomacy had been showing progress. We have a self proclaimed War President who thinks that's "cool"! Yes, there was 9/11. There were 19 zealots with boxcutters who pulled off an audacious attack. It opened the door for the Neocon plan for the middle east. Our response to the 19 "nuts" was an army of well over 100,000, an invasion of a country that had nothing to do with the 19 "nuts", and a continuing cost of 10s of thousands of lives, and 100s of billions of dollars. Who are the real "nuts' in this scenario??
So here we are. We are bogged down in a war that Bush started on a lie, and there seems to be no reasonable solution that will be to our advantage. The Israeli's are attacking Lebanon and may invade that soverign country, which has moved to a democratic government, but is unfortunately not strong enough to oppose and purge the terrorist elements within its borders. Hundreds of innocent bystanders are being killed and people are fleeing from a pending invasion. We are now powerless to intervene, but Bush seems to prefer that Israel keep up the bombing in any case. This conflict between Israel and the Arabs has been on-going for 60 years with no solution. By now everyone with any common sense knows there is no military solution. Every innocent civilian who is killed on each side of this conflict just creates a bigger open wound in the conflict.
Where are the wise men and women in our country who can provide world leadership. We must find them and elect them to positions of leadership.
I was born in 1942. I have lived with war my entire life and I am tired of it. None of the wars really solved anything. Oh, WWII may have been necessary, but who is to say that the truth of Hitler would not have caused his own generals and the German people to end his excesses and killing, with less damage than was done by the war.
The wars that have occurred since have all been mistakes by leaders who lead with deception. The Korean War was just a waste of lives which tore a country apart. It is still unresolved today. Vietnam was a great mis-judgement and built on lies just as the Iraqi invasion has been.
I wonder what it is like in a world without war. I don't suppose I will ever find out during my lifetime! Maybe I have just ran out of the words to complain or comment any more. Maybe it just feels that whatever is said just falls on deaf ears. It seems so plain to see!
Why havn't I jumped on the blog lately? I used to be fairly consistant. On Friday of each week I usually made it a point to write a Friday 5 minute poem, or make a log entry of something that happened of interest during the week!
Perhaps I have not been in a mood to do poetry, or in a documentary frame of mind. I know that I have been out of sorts with the goings on around the world. I have been disappointed almost daily by what my country has become under the mis-guidance of the Bush presidency and the lack of sound thinking by the Republican congress. When our President has a news conference to brag about the fact that the budget deficit result is only going to be 300+ billion instead of over 400 billion this year, I wonder what might Bush think of as a failure for his administration. When he vetoes his first legislation in 6 years , a bi-partison bill allowing funding for limited stem cell research, mis-characterizing the process as saving lives of future children, I and everyone else with any common sense understands that his reason for doing so is strictly political to appease a small group of zealots at the expense of the rest of our society, and that his explanation for doing so is a lie, or at best a deception. Everyone knows that sooner or later this bill will get passed.
In the 6 years we have lived with the Bush administration and the lack of congressional oversight, we have made a big contribution to making the world a very dangerous place, and the reputation and influence of the United States in foreign affairs has plummeted. The credibility of our government has been shattered by the Bush administration's distortions, lies, and actions. To me and most of the rest of the world, based on experience, what our government says has no reliability and does not reflect reality. Action has often had no relation to the words expressing the intention.
It is depressing to think that we spend more on military might than the combined total of the rest of the world, and put people in power who think that the threat of force is the way to solutions of conflict in the world. Does anyone remember what it was like 6 years ago when Bush and the Neocon group that put him in power took over? There was a projected 400 billion budget surplus--with the possibility of continuing surpluses totaling a trillion over the next 10-15 years. That was going to be a positive to ensure the solvency of future baby boomer pay outs for social security and medicare, as well as paying down the national debt and controlling interest rates. Optimism was high for the future!
There was relative peace in the middle east with-on going negotiations making progress towards a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. There was on-going negotiation with North Korea regarding their atomic weapons program. Deals were being made or worked on across tables.
When Bush became President, everything stopped! Anything and anybody associated with the Clinton administration was discarded or ignored. Diplomacy in the middle east stopped. Instead, at the first opportunity we invaded Iraq, and created an "axis of evil" which cemented us into a position of opposition and conflict with countries where patience and diplomacy had been showing progress. We have a self proclaimed War President who thinks that's "cool"! Yes, there was 9/11. There were 19 zealots with boxcutters who pulled off an audacious attack. It opened the door for the Neocon plan for the middle east. Our response to the 19 "nuts" was an army of well over 100,000, an invasion of a country that had nothing to do with the 19 "nuts", and a continuing cost of 10s of thousands of lives, and 100s of billions of dollars. Who are the real "nuts' in this scenario??
So here we are. We are bogged down in a war that Bush started on a lie, and there seems to be no reasonable solution that will be to our advantage. The Israeli's are attacking Lebanon and may invade that soverign country, which has moved to a democratic government, but is unfortunately not strong enough to oppose and purge the terrorist elements within its borders. Hundreds of innocent bystanders are being killed and people are fleeing from a pending invasion. We are now powerless to intervene, but Bush seems to prefer that Israel keep up the bombing in any case. This conflict between Israel and the Arabs has been on-going for 60 years with no solution. By now everyone with any common sense knows there is no military solution. Every innocent civilian who is killed on each side of this conflict just creates a bigger open wound in the conflict.
Where are the wise men and women in our country who can provide world leadership. We must find them and elect them to positions of leadership.
I was born in 1942. I have lived with war my entire life and I am tired of it. None of the wars really solved anything. Oh, WWII may have been necessary, but who is to say that the truth of Hitler would not have caused his own generals and the German people to end his excesses and killing, with less damage than was done by the war.
The wars that have occurred since have all been mistakes by leaders who lead with deception. The Korean War was just a waste of lives which tore a country apart. It is still unresolved today. Vietnam was a great mis-judgement and built on lies just as the Iraqi invasion has been.
I wonder what it is like in a world without war. I don't suppose I will ever find out during my lifetime! Maybe I have just ran out of the words to complain or comment any more. Maybe it just feels that whatever is said just falls on deaf ears. It seems so plain to see!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By Myself
I am by myself for a week. I helped her pack her old Volvo station wagon this morning and she took off for Santa Cruz to spend time baby sitting our daughter's rabbit "Pip" while our daughter is on a trip to the wilds of Wahington state.
She left me with a refridgerator filled with leftovers neatly done up in "plates" that I can pop in the microwave each evening for dinner. The rest I will scrounge for! As usual, she left me notes to ensure that the cat gets proper care, feeding times, litter box cleanup, and warnings about leaving the door open so she will not escape. (It would be a scar on my life if the cat somehow disappeared on my watch!)
There is direction for plant watering, both inside and out.
Her schedule will take her to some of her favorite coffee houses in Santa Cruz, with a stop in Santa Barbara coming and going for a shot at the Santa Barbara Brewing Company to fortify her on her journey.
Saturday she will visit our son at school in San Francisco and take him to lunch and shopping to stock his cupboard. We don't want any real "starving student" in the family! She has a family connection with San Francisco. Her great, great grandparents were there at the time of the great fire after the big One. The flames stopped just down the hill from their home which is still standing to this day. We tried to find it once!
My schedule will be the same as usual, work and the stuff I usually do. Only it will be done by myself.
She left me with a refridgerator filled with leftovers neatly done up in "plates" that I can pop in the microwave each evening for dinner. The rest I will scrounge for! As usual, she left me notes to ensure that the cat gets proper care, feeding times, litter box cleanup, and warnings about leaving the door open so she will not escape. (It would be a scar on my life if the cat somehow disappeared on my watch!)
There is direction for plant watering, both inside and out.
Her schedule will take her to some of her favorite coffee houses in Santa Cruz, with a stop in Santa Barbara coming and going for a shot at the Santa Barbara Brewing Company to fortify her on her journey.
Saturday she will visit our son at school in San Francisco and take him to lunch and shopping to stock his cupboard. We don't want any real "starving student" in the family! She has a family connection with San Francisco. Her great, great grandparents were there at the time of the great fire after the big One. The flames stopped just down the hill from their home which is still standing to this day. We tried to find it once!
My schedule will be the same as usual, work and the stuff I usually do. Only it will be done by myself.
Friday, January 20, 2006
AM/FM Dreaming
It's weird!
During the last couple of years I have taken to the habit of listening to the radio when I go to bed at night. I have earphones plugged in and generally listen to talk shows on AM radio, the late night news on PBS/BBC, sportstalk repeats, or now "Free" FM which is 24 hour talk during the week. I used to try to turn off the radio before I went to sleep, but it became the norm that I fell asleep with the headphones on with the talk show host murmuring in my ear about one of the hot topics of the day, with someone on the phone who had nothing better to do in the late evening. I think it was probably boring enough to have me just drift off!
Being a member of an age group that wakes in the middle of the night due to bladder pressure, and not being able to immediately fall back asleep, I became introduced to the middle of the night callers on the radio and found them to be a small but dedicated group of insomniacs, truck drivers, late night shift workers, and and a whole bunch of people who seem to be just too worried about the state of the world to get any sleep.
Larry King was once the real "King" of late night talk. I remember hearing his show on occasion perhaps 20 years ago. He seemed to know a little about everything and always had an answer for any question posed by a caller. As I moved up and down the dial, he seemed to be syndicated on every major station which had 50000 watts to boom out over the airwaves. What a great radio voice. He smoked alot which kept his voice deeeeep and mellow. It also gave him a triple by-pass. When he left for CNN it created a void, and after some shuffling about with a number of potential new "Kings of latenight", Art Bell changed late night radio into the world of the surreal with his guests posing the probability of lost civilizations on Mars, Bigfoot sightings, and aliens in UFOs snatching people for experiments, and then returning them to Earth with nothing except vague feelings and memories of their experience. Art Bell made his broadcast from his home in Parumph (sp?)in the high desert near Las Vegas, not too far from Area 51. Area 51 is best known as the place where aliens supposedly landed and were captured back in the early 1950's. It a super secret Air Force base where supposedly all the UFO's and mummified aliens are secreted by the government. It is an appropriate spot for Art to send out his radio waves. He was a star of the night that people who slept all night never knew. He created his own world populated by people who believed in weird ideas and beings who could not be proven to exist. But on the other hand no one could prove that they didn't exist either! That seemed to keep fantasy and superstition alive in the night! And what a great radio voice! It's a match for Larry.
I was fascinated with Art Bell for a while simply because of the novelty of listening to people who took seriously subjects which were completely outside reality. His show, Coast to Coast, is still on every night, but he hosts only on the weekend. George ?? is the host the rest of the week.
George carries on with the same subject matter, and with many of the same "expert" guests, but it is not the same without Art. I sometimes tune in on the weekend to hear Art's voice. His sound on the radio never failed to cause me to drift off to sleep quickly. I slept plugged into his show for most of the night. I have felt no unusual effects from it, as far as I know. But then all those callers who were whisked away for lab tests by aliens had nothing but vague feelings about their experiences either! Who knows what has been planted in my Psyche as I slept.
Now when I tune in I have problems staying with the topics. Somtimes there is a "real" topic being discussed, but most often the topic is absurd, and I wonder how anyone could seriously discuss it. I consider both George and Art as actors on the radio. I can't believe that they really believe the people they have on their show, and have to think that their support for the caller's claims and topics is just part of "show business". I wonder?
Last night my bedside radio went on the fritz. I think I wore out the AM/FM switch, and as much as I jiggled the switch, it failed to consistantly hold the volume and the frequency. It was just not an acceptable situation that I could live with for another night! I went to Fry's today and bought a new radio. It's digital and has presets for six AM and six PM stations. It has a special antenna that tunes into the AM frequency that broadcasts the atomic clock time from somewhere in Colorado. I plugged it in, and lo and behold, it picked up the frequency and set the time all by itself right to the second! I am on ATOMIC time! I set all the presets to the stations I usually shuffle between during the night. I plugged in the earphones and tested it all out. It seems a great improvement! Tonight's inauguration of my new radio will be exciting! I wonder if I will get any sleep!
I will start the evening as usual with KGO AM, then maybe pop over to KABC and see what Mr. KABC is up to, Then spend a few minutes to see what George's subject is on Coast to Coast on KFI or KOGO, and maybe end up back on KGO with my favorite lefty Bernie to see if his political rant of the night is palatable. Failing to find anything soothing at any of those spots, I may go to FM and 103.7 and check in on "free" FM talk, which at night is generally about sex and personal problems. That ought to get me to sleep. If the sandman is successful on that station, I will probably wake up to Adam Carrola (sp?) who took over for Howard Stern on the west coast this month. He is mildly amusing. Howard used to come on at 3 am here since his show started at 6 am in the Eastern time zone. The local station would run the first 3 hours live, then start it over at 6 am and run the full 4 hours to 10 am. If I woke up around 3 am, I usually tuned in. Howard had some interesting shows, but also was pretty good at drifting me off for another couple hours sleep too! I could catch some of what I missed on theway to work at 7-8 am. Adam's new show is out of LA and doesn't start live until 6 am. It comes on at 5 am with a repeat of the last hour of the show from the day before.
Talk radio has changed alot since Larry was the King. His show was sports, show business, or something about the news of the day. It was kind of like his show on CNN. He could have a Democrat on one night, and a Republican the next. Frank Sinatra could drop in. Most of late night now is either far to the right or way out on the left. There is alot of ranting going on! Listeners and callers tend to listen to the ranters they agree with. If someone calls in and disagrees with the rant, they usually get insulted and called names by the "Host". Most of the "Host's" are not polite to those who disagree with them. While I might be more prone to find the left side more palatable, I still look for a more moderate voice. There are also alot of sports talk stations I could listen to, but how many times can one rehash the last football game, or complain about some coach's inability to call the right play. I just can't get into it! I change stations alot before I fall asleep!
I think a digital tuner should last longer!
Weird, Huh!
During the last couple of years I have taken to the habit of listening to the radio when I go to bed at night. I have earphones plugged in and generally listen to talk shows on AM radio, the late night news on PBS/BBC, sportstalk repeats, or now "Free" FM which is 24 hour talk during the week. I used to try to turn off the radio before I went to sleep, but it became the norm that I fell asleep with the headphones on with the talk show host murmuring in my ear about one of the hot topics of the day, with someone on the phone who had nothing better to do in the late evening. I think it was probably boring enough to have me just drift off!
Being a member of an age group that wakes in the middle of the night due to bladder pressure, and not being able to immediately fall back asleep, I became introduced to the middle of the night callers on the radio and found them to be a small but dedicated group of insomniacs, truck drivers, late night shift workers, and and a whole bunch of people who seem to be just too worried about the state of the world to get any sleep.
Larry King was once the real "King" of late night talk. I remember hearing his show on occasion perhaps 20 years ago. He seemed to know a little about everything and always had an answer for any question posed by a caller. As I moved up and down the dial, he seemed to be syndicated on every major station which had 50000 watts to boom out over the airwaves. What a great radio voice. He smoked alot which kept his voice deeeeep and mellow. It also gave him a triple by-pass. When he left for CNN it created a void, and after some shuffling about with a number of potential new "Kings of latenight", Art Bell changed late night radio into the world of the surreal with his guests posing the probability of lost civilizations on Mars, Bigfoot sightings, and aliens in UFOs snatching people for experiments, and then returning them to Earth with nothing except vague feelings and memories of their experience. Art Bell made his broadcast from his home in Parumph (sp?)in the high desert near Las Vegas, not too far from Area 51. Area 51 is best known as the place where aliens supposedly landed and were captured back in the early 1950's. It a super secret Air Force base where supposedly all the UFO's and mummified aliens are secreted by the government. It is an appropriate spot for Art to send out his radio waves. He was a star of the night that people who slept all night never knew. He created his own world populated by people who believed in weird ideas and beings who could not be proven to exist. But on the other hand no one could prove that they didn't exist either! That seemed to keep fantasy and superstition alive in the night! And what a great radio voice! It's a match for Larry.
I was fascinated with Art Bell for a while simply because of the novelty of listening to people who took seriously subjects which were completely outside reality. His show, Coast to Coast, is still on every night, but he hosts only on the weekend. George ?? is the host the rest of the week.
George carries on with the same subject matter, and with many of the same "expert" guests, but it is not the same without Art. I sometimes tune in on the weekend to hear Art's voice. His sound on the radio never failed to cause me to drift off to sleep quickly. I slept plugged into his show for most of the night. I have felt no unusual effects from it, as far as I know. But then all those callers who were whisked away for lab tests by aliens had nothing but vague feelings about their experiences either! Who knows what has been planted in my Psyche as I slept.
Now when I tune in I have problems staying with the topics. Somtimes there is a "real" topic being discussed, but most often the topic is absurd, and I wonder how anyone could seriously discuss it. I consider both George and Art as actors on the radio. I can't believe that they really believe the people they have on their show, and have to think that their support for the caller's claims and topics is just part of "show business". I wonder?
Last night my bedside radio went on the fritz. I think I wore out the AM/FM switch, and as much as I jiggled the switch, it failed to consistantly hold the volume and the frequency. It was just not an acceptable situation that I could live with for another night! I went to Fry's today and bought a new radio. It's digital and has presets for six AM and six PM stations. It has a special antenna that tunes into the AM frequency that broadcasts the atomic clock time from somewhere in Colorado. I plugged it in, and lo and behold, it picked up the frequency and set the time all by itself right to the second! I am on ATOMIC time! I set all the presets to the stations I usually shuffle between during the night. I plugged in the earphones and tested it all out. It seems a great improvement! Tonight's inauguration of my new radio will be exciting! I wonder if I will get any sleep!
I will start the evening as usual with KGO AM, then maybe pop over to KABC and see what Mr. KABC is up to, Then spend a few minutes to see what George's subject is on Coast to Coast on KFI or KOGO, and maybe end up back on KGO with my favorite lefty Bernie to see if his political rant of the night is palatable. Failing to find anything soothing at any of those spots, I may go to FM and 103.7 and check in on "free" FM talk, which at night is generally about sex and personal problems. That ought to get me to sleep. If the sandman is successful on that station, I will probably wake up to Adam Carrola (sp?) who took over for Howard Stern on the west coast this month. He is mildly amusing. Howard used to come on at 3 am here since his show started at 6 am in the Eastern time zone. The local station would run the first 3 hours live, then start it over at 6 am and run the full 4 hours to 10 am. If I woke up around 3 am, I usually tuned in. Howard had some interesting shows, but also was pretty good at drifting me off for another couple hours sleep too! I could catch some of what I missed on theway to work at 7-8 am. Adam's new show is out of LA and doesn't start live until 6 am. It comes on at 5 am with a repeat of the last hour of the show from the day before.
Talk radio has changed alot since Larry was the King. His show was sports, show business, or something about the news of the day. It was kind of like his show on CNN. He could have a Democrat on one night, and a Republican the next. Frank Sinatra could drop in. Most of late night now is either far to the right or way out on the left. There is alot of ranting going on! Listeners and callers tend to listen to the ranters they agree with. If someone calls in and disagrees with the rant, they usually get insulted and called names by the "Host". Most of the "Host's" are not polite to those who disagree with them. While I might be more prone to find the left side more palatable, I still look for a more moderate voice. There are also alot of sports talk stations I could listen to, but how many times can one rehash the last football game, or complain about some coach's inability to call the right play. I just can't get into it! I change stations alot before I fall asleep!
I think a digital tuner should last longer!
Weird, Huh!
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