| I second this notion |
[Dec. 30th, 2009|09:48 am] |
www.huffingtonpost.com/will-wright/new-years-wish-getting-my_b_405900.html
NEW YEARS WISH: GETTING MY COUNTRY BACK
by Will Wright
"Of all the things I want most in the new year, getting my country back tops everything. No, not the way those who want to turn the clock back to when the president wasn't a black man with foreign lineage and an agenda they see as 'not American.' "
There's been a lot of whining on the internet over the past few weeks. The right is mad because the government went too far; the left is mad because the government didn't go far enough.
Personally, I'm pretty impressed by the job that President Obama has done. He and his administration have walked into a huge mess left by the retiring party, and they are doing everything they can to clean it up, without pulling any stunts out of the old playbook. They aren't worrying about revenge, or running roughshod over the Republicans. They aren't worrying about getting up on the soapbox and shouting "Look how much better we are doing!!" They are just taking the middle road, and working at getting consensus from both sides, even if the R. party seems bound and determined to shoot itself in the foot.
I just hope all those people that voted for Obama, and voted for the Dems along with Obama, realize that if they now vote against the Dems, or even just don't vote in 2010, that all the hard work will be right down the drain. Because as partisan as the Republicans are, they will destroy the improvements made so far, just to say they did. They will throw out the health care bill, and anything else that the big businesses who pay for the big campaigns want. They will push the country into a worse depression than the '30s. And they won't give a damn about the local guy who gets thrown out of his house, or the children who have no food.
That's pretty bad, coming from someone like me, who is a moderate Republican. But the Republican party has changed drastically since I signed up for it, and I'm sick of it. I want the party back that I signed up for.
More and more, that seems to be the Democratic party. Most of them (EXCLUDING THOSE DAMN BLUE DOGS!) seem to be more concerned about their fellow man than their pockets. And they aren't running around taking pot shots at every opposing party member, regardless of the reason, which is what the Republicans are doing ("You lie!', for example). |
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| Debtor's Revolt: One Woman Refuses to Pay Off Bank Of America Credit Card |
[Sep. 14th, 2009|10:50 am] |
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/14/debtors-revolt-woman-refu_n_285394.html
For years, Ann Minch of Red Bluff, Calif., has carried a balance of several thousand dollars on her Bank of America credit card, making minimum monthly payments of about $130, sometimes paying an extra $50 or $100. She says she's never missed a payment. Bank of America rewarded her loyalty this year by repeatedly raising her interest rate, which reached 30 percent in July. Fed up, the 46-year-old stepmother of two turned to YouTube.
One person's comment:
"Plato's attitude towards usury resembles that of the Old Testament in that the condemnation in both cases is based on the ad hoc consideration of its social consequences rather than on any analysis of its nature. But Plato's condemnation differs from the latter in that it is founded not on any personal obligation of fraternal charity or generosity but on the fact that by setting one class (the poor borrowers) against another (the rich lenders), the taking of interest destroys the peace and harmony that must be preserved in the interests of the State." ~ Interest: An Historical & Analytical Study in Economics & Modern Ethics by Thomas F. Divine
Posted by Erdgeist (Emphasis added by me)
Interesting....
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| more politics |
[Sep. 10th, 2009|01:48 pm] |
This is one of the best articles I have read defining the one of the problems with the Republican party today:
www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-creamer/wilson-is-the-poster-chil_b_281918.html
WILSON IS THE POSTER "CHILD" FOR THE NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY
"I definitely mean poster "child." Since President Obama took office, the language of the Republican Party has become more childish and irresponsible by the day."
The Republican party used to be the party of the grownups-the ones who restrained all the people who wanted to vote in what was once known as "bread and circuses." The ones who asked "Where is the money going to come from?"
We got elected into power, and voted down all those expensive programs which ran up tax rates so high. You know-the ones that paid for roads, bridges, levees, school lunches, Pell grants, GSL programs.
We stuck our heads in the sand and said "We built them well-they'll last forever!"
We said (both for lunch, and for tuition help at college) "Those kids can pay their own way at school!"
Now, the only thing we (yes, we-I'm still a Republican, waiting for the pendulum to swing back) seem to be for is higher profits for the rich and for corporate America, and compassion and fair play be damned.
*Sigh*
On the bright side, Mr. Wilson's opponent for the 2010 race has earned over $300,000.00 in campaign contributions since that little fiasco last night!
I have to wonder if his state party chair is going to suggest he (Mr. Wilson, that is) not run for re-election. Because he is a goner-he may as well write his defeat speech now.
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| What is my fascination with stupid criminals? |
[Sep. 3rd, 2009|09:26 am] |
Here's another one:
www.kansas.com/news/story/954505.html
Thieves see stolen rock sink in the ArkansasTwo thieves tried to pilfer landscaping rock from next to the Keeper of the Plains early this morning, but their would-be heist sank — literally.
I heard this on the way to work today, and almost lost it!
And, on an infinitely more serious note:
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2009072702/memo-deficit-hawks-public-plan-option-indisputably-saves-money
Memo To Deficit Hawks: Public Plan Option Indisputably Saves MoneyWhen the CBO scored an early draft of the health care form bill from the Senate HELP committee as costing $1 trillion over 10 years but only covering one-third of the uninsured, obstructionists pounced and proclaimed the public plan option dead. But the CBO had not assessed the cost of the public plan option, nor a mandate on most employers to either provide insurance or contribute to the public plan. Now they have. And as serious reform advocates long claimed, including those two key$400 billion, while achieving near universal coverage (emphasis added). Please, contact your congresspeople about this. Health insurance and medical reform is desperately needed, and our representatives need to hear from the voters, not just the lobbyists who are shelling out the money!
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| Is anyone surprised? |
[Aug. 14th, 2009|09:37 am] |
Income Inequality Is At An All-Time High-Huffington Post
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/14/income-inequality-is-at-a_n_259516.html
"Income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression, according to a recently updated paper by University of California, Berkeley Professor Emmanuel Saez."
And on another front:
For 'Death Panels' Before She Was Against Them? Palin Endorsed End Of Life Counseling As Governor -Think Progress
thinkprogress.org/2009/08/13/palin-deathpanel-flipflop/
"However, on April 16th 2008, then Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed some of the same end of life counseling she now decries as a form of euthanasia. In a proclamation announcing “Healthcare Decisions Day,” Palin urged public facilities to provide better information about advance directives, and made it clear that it is critical for seniors to be informed of such options:"
I'm feeling a bit cynical today....
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| Here's your sign |
[Apr. 8th, 2009|09:08 am] |
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A teenage star of the Harry Potter films has been arrested after cops found a cannabis farm worth more than $2,900 in his bedroom. Drug squad officers swooped on 19-year-old Jamie Waylett — famed as bullying Hogwarts School pupil Vincent Crabbe in the wizard movies — after a tip-off.
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513175,00.html
What-there are at least two more films due out, which I would have guessed he already has a contract for, and possibly money for, and he has to go & think that starting a drug farm is a good idea??
Well, there goes his royalty money for a few years....
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| Fire update |
[Mar. 31st, 2009|10:40 am] |
My sis-in-law's shop was unburned, but heavily damaged due to smoke and water. Everything that could absorb fumes is a total loss. The spa area on the second floor* was entirely water soaked, and all of it will be ripped out & repaired or replaced. Couches, chairs, treatment beds-everything.
I never realized just how much smoke can get into/on stuff. I took a picture of an area of carpet where a throw rug had been. The carpet under it was the original pale sage color. The area around it was dark gray, just from the smoke damage.
We thought we could step back and take a breath after the fire was out, but the next day the Fire Department told us that the two story wall of the building that burned might fall down on the single story roof of our structure and collapse it if the expected snowfall occurred (which it did-in spades). So, SIL & Brother called everyone and their brother, aunts, uncles, etc., and we conducted a total count of all the ruined inventory, and then boxed it up and moved it to a safe part of the building. We then moved all the various display items (mostly antique chests of drawers, desks, tables, etc.) either to safe areas or to everyone's homes/sheds/barns. I'm not sure when they started on in, but we finished it by 8:00 that evening.
So the front area is entirely cleared out and all the upstairs furniture and other stuff is cleared from the spa area.
I haven't heard from anyone about the ceiling falling in from the blizzard, so I am operating under the "no news is good news" doctrine, and guessing that the building is still ok.
*This is an odd building. The front half is a single story. The back half is two story. I don't know if it was built this way in the first place, or if the second story was added later. |
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| I survived the GREAT 2008 SPRING BLIZZARD |
[Mar. 30th, 2009|09:46 am] |
We got around 15 inches of very wet snow, topped off by sleet during the night. There's just no other sound like sleet hitting your window when you wake up in the middle of the night. We had a 2 foot drift locking us in outside our kitchen door. Our carport over our boat partially collapsed. Other than that, no wreckage.
We scooped, shoveled, and snow-blowered most of the day Saturday. We also swore a great deal at the not-too-bright city workers who very kindly blocked half our driveway, rather than leaving a huge bank of snow in front of the vacant lot next door.
We scooped & shoveled some more Sunday morning, in order to have DH's van ready for Monday.
Then we drove to town, bought a whole bunch of metal conduit, and proceeded to rebuild the carport, so the tarp on it wouldn't end up in the next town. Then, satisfied with our accomplishments for the day, we stumbled inside, groaned, and, eventually, slept the sleep of the very sore.
My face is so sunburned, it is glowing, as is my part line in my hair (as usual). I feel like I could put a piece of bread up by my face and toast it.
I didn't even notice it burning till we came in last night. |
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| FIRE |
[Mar. 25th, 2009|10:13 am] |
I woke up to the news that a fire had started overnight in the shop next door to my sister in law's shop here in Hutchinson.
Much smoke & water damage-the fire department had to break out the glass in the front door in order to get in, so they could get access for themselves and for hoses to the roof, in order to work on the adjacent structure.
Mom just called & said that SIL is taking the happenings well, which made me happily surprised. She is a bit high-strung, so I expected her to be a bit more--excited about it. |
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| An odd question/meme |
[Nov. 19th, 2008|04:16 pm] |
What completely ordinary, not even close to a tear-jerker song makes you choke up?
Mine?
The Royal Guardsmen-Snoopy v. The Red Baron/Snoopy's Christmas
I don't know what it is about that song, but it does it to me every time. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 29th, 2008|06:22 pm] |
Copy this sentence into your LiveJournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.
I am in a heterosexual marriage, and I don't want/need/desire any "protection" from the bigots.
In fact, I think that any marriage borne of love for another person is ok, and should be considered valid. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 16th, 2008|11:42 am] |
So, on US_Election2008, I mentioned that I was (or at least considered myself to be) a right-of-center Republican, but that Obama's hipster/arty supporters hadn't scared me off.
Another LJ'er called me on it, saying "Then how are you a Republican? And how are you right-of-center? Which of Obama's policies do you consider to be right-of-center like yours?"
My answer follows below:
I am a registered Republican. I favor the (once upon a time)hands-off style of government that the Republican party used to support.
I also favor the hands off style of economics they used to support, up until I found out (after the wonderful sub-prime fiasco)the idiots repealed most of the rules put into place to stop another stock market crash. Those rules were put in place for a reason, and they should not have been repealed.
I don't like what the religious right has done to the R party; I don't like their anti-abortion stance, I don't like their attempts to push their religion in public schools. I think this damn war sucks. I think MUCH more money should be spent on getting our utilities, etc., back in good shape, instead of letting it all go to hell like the dykes in New Orleans.
On the other hand:
I honestly don't favor a public health care in the style such as Canada, but I do realize that with health care costs going mad, the ticket has to be picked up by somebody.
About 10 years ago, I suffered an ectopic pregnancy and had emergency surgery. I was unemployed at the time. Because it was due to a pregnancy, that surgery was covered by Medicaid/care. If it would have been a ruptured appendix,it would have cost as much or more, but would not have been covered, because it didn't involve a child or a mother. I think that situations like that should be covered, even if it doesn't involve a child/mother.
I am a firm believer in gun ownership. While I don't have a concealed carry permit myself, I support the right to carry, both concealed and in a holster right on the hip. I am also a firm believer in a strong military.
Now-whether this makes me a right-of-center, a left-of-center, a center; who knows? I just know that, while I still carry the Republican card, I don't find myself aligned with their party very much any more.
I know I'm much more left leaning/moderate than my boss, who is so square he turns up at the corners. I am also much more right leaning/moderate than my co-worker, who can't stand guns and won't have one in her house.
So, those of you who are more political savvy than I-am I a right-of-center Republican? Or another political fish entirely? |
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| Writer's Block: Church & State |
[Sep. 29th, 2008|10:41 am] |
Yes, church and state should always be separate. This is a logical extension of the freedoms built into the constitution.
Whenever the two get mixed up in each other, bloodshed is almost always the result along the way. Oppression of one sort or another is ALWAYS the result.
The relationship between the two should be that of distant cordiality. |
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![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
carmy_w's journal
"Plato's attitude towards usury resembles that of the Old Testament in that the condemnation in both cases is based on the ad hoc consideration of its social consequences rather than on any analysis of its nature. But Plato's condemnation differs from the latter in that it is founded not on any personal obligation of fraternal charity or generosity but on the fact that by setting one class (the poor borrowers) against another (the rich lenders), the taking of interest destroys the peace and harmony that must be preserved in the interests of the State." ~ Interest: An Historical & Analytical Study in Economics & Modern Ethics by Thomas F. Divine
Posted by Erdgeist (Emphasis added by me)