Some People Shouldn't Belong...

I was reading an article from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC) Thursday about how the military has a deeply entrenched subculture of members who openly support or identify themselves as part of white separatist and/or neo-Nazi groups. If you click on the pics of the guys in the article, you will see some of their profiles stating their racist or national socialist leanings.

As a veteran, I got a real problem with that! I don't think those people should be part of the American armed forces. Their loyalties are not to the U.S. Constitution or the American people. I think they ought to be put out of the military with bad conduct and even dishonorable discharges for violating their enlistment oaths. Racist and neo-Nazi organizations *are* domestic enemies.

I sure don't want those people able to use the military to develop warcraft skills that they will then be able to pass along to others and that they are willing to turn against their fellow Americans.

What to do about them in the military? Call your congress critters and senators and demand an investigation and demand legislation banning these people from enlisting in our armed forces. Demand that existing military members who are parts of such organizations be discharged immediately.

To write your congress people: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
To write your senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Proportion: Iran and The Death of Michael Jackson.

The world is really topsy turvy to me right now. Michael Jackson's death is bigger news than what is happening in Iran.

There is plenty being written on Jackson's life (which I've believed was sad and lonely even when he was a child performer) and death -- by all kinds of folks who want to dig at the nut of 'what does it all mean now?' and that's not for me to figure out. I enjoyed his music and his huge talent and that will be missed. In some ways I think perhaps his death was actually a mercy to him, however premature.

But Iran is something for me to try to figure out since I like to think of myself as both an American and a citizen of the world. I was 25, fresh out of the Air Force and in my first semester of college when the 1979 revolution and Hostage Crisis in which American embassy personnel were taken on November 24th and held for 444 days. The hardliner Khomeni took power and we westerners started learning how little we really understood about American and British foreign policy in the Middle East not to mention the meddling we did to preserve our access to Iran's oil resources.

Some of my acquaintances at college were students from Iran and I remember them being scared of American backlash. They weren't at fault and didn't support the revolution or Khomeni's regime, but there was always some jerk willing to stop by their table at the Frontier restaurant were more than happy to demonstrate their own ignorance, bias and racism on a near daily basis with some vile spew.

It was embarrassing that my own country men and women were capable of such foolishness but it certainly was not surprising given the levels of racism against minorities that had existed here for so long. I suspected at the time that for Iran repression was going to become the norm and I sure didn't wish that on anyone. But for all of that, I was pretty ignorant myself. Really. All I knew about Iran was that it was a bit about the regional antiquarian art from back when it was the Persian empire, that it gave birth to Omar Khayam and his beautiful poetry, notably The Rubyiat, and that Islam was the dominant religion. The rest of what I knew was the usual stuff a kid learns when they study geography - languages spoken in the country, where the major cities were, general info on agriculture and other resources. I'm not a world traveller... I've always been a bit too poor for that kind of life, yet the rest of the world still matters to me.

So 'lo many years pass and Iran stays in the news, especially when there are new elections. In the mean time, there were semi-regular news stories about how repressive the government had become so when news of an election with the more moderate Mousavi was on the slate, I joined the many who hoped that -- if the election was fair -- it might lead to more freedoms for the Iranian people. Now we know different. The election was stolen on a scale that beggared either of Bush's stolen elections. Once the protests started in the streets, pro-Ahmadinejad supporters turned into thugs wielding truncheons, pipes and more against their countrymen and women. I think if the number of votes exeeded the number of elegible voters on the scale it did in Iran, I'd be out protesting in our streets too! Talk about insulting people's intelligence!

Some of the higher clerics are even saying that people who participated in the protests should be executed. And that should concern us -- it should concern people of goodwill everywhere. The bread and circuses of a celebrity's death does little to shape the world yet does much to divert our attention from larger things. What happens in places like Iran are much more important in the long run. I support a free Iran.

Tidbits

Did any of you see that pic of the Iranian soccer players with the green wristbands showing their support for Mousavi? I thought to myself, "When they get home, they're gonna be in soooo much trouble." I was right. Saw in the news today that four of them have been "retired" for life. That's just wrong. I know its wrong, you know its wrong, the world knows its wrong. Just as wrong as the life bleeding out of a young woman after a single shot to the heart. It sure makes me wonder why we Americans didn't have the guts to take to the streets nine years ago when Bush stole the election.

Earlier in May, I was just sick and depressed about everything. Even the disarray in our home. The household disarray has been cleared up significantly and it is a more relaxing environment to be in. I'm trying to keep on top of it so it doesn't revert back.

Camping is going to be the activity of the summer. Jim and I have already gone out once with our coven to a sweet spot up past Pena Blanca and I found a wonderful old volcanic hoodoo there that I got a nice picture of and this last weekend we went to the Paliza group campgrounds in the Jemez (pron.: HAY-mez) mountains for the summer solstice. Jim did a workshop on solar ovens Saturday morning, but we were unable to do a demonstration of solar cooking because it was raining! We got nearly an inch of rain. Luckily the pavilion we were under kept us plenty dry.

No Tunes

I am sadly removing my Project Playlist widget from my blog. However, it came to my attention that apparently there are copyright issues that are not resolved with Project Playlist. As I believe artists deserve fair payment and control of their intellectual properties, rather than even accidentally violating their rights, I've removed my playlist widget and will be looking for one that lets me post the kind of playlist of music I'd love to share-- legally, of course.

It's The Economy & It's Personal

I'm not blogging much lately. It's the economy. Really. I'm having a hard time keeping my head above water and it's hard not to feel like throwing a pity party.

Fact is, I feel damned ashamed of being in debt and unable to pay them off right now-- and it's relatively small debt compared to other folks. Our home's roof also needs replacing... it is so bad that the fascia board is rotting away around the edges and shingles blow off everytime there is a wind storm. And I have a diabetic dog to care for and even though we can sqeak on affording her insulin, we can't afford the other care like glucose monitors and test strips and regular vet checks where her A1C levels are checked regularly. I'm stuck working part time for $8.00/hour and am still dealing with my less than stellar mental health issues like panic disorder and agorophobia and depression (untreated *again* for lack of insurance) which led me to being under-employed in the first place and losing my job with T-Mobile after they couldn't find an off line position so my doctor would sign off for me to go back to work. Bankruptcy. It is NOT an option. Paying debts is where it's at. Somehow.

Keeping my spirits up is an exercise in faith. Faith that things will somehow improve and that we get past this.

I keep wishing for miracles. You know: Little miracles: 10 sheets of roofiing grade plywood. 3 rolls of roofing felt. 251x10x8 lengths of board lumber. Enough roofing shingle or Pro Panel to do a 1000 sq ft roof. We can do the labor ourselves.

Like millions of others, I fantasize about winning big in one of the lotteries -- enough to pay off my debts and stay debt free forever and ever. Enough to cover health care -- which I do not have a scrap of right now. Enough to make a few small improvements to our home -- like building on an en suite bathroom. Ok, I've got a 3/4 bath with shower and that's better than what people in a lot of other countries have, so a real en suite is a bit of a luxury, but I'd sure love to soak in a tub again. Some time. I'd like to have enough to have money in trust so we help our family and friends. I wish.

So, I'm slogging through the muck and nearing my 55th birthday, it all sucks! But I'm trying to keep the faith that things will work out. You know? And I know that at least, I didn't cheat. I didn't lie and stab people in the back to get ahead. I never inflated my resume nor did I claim to have credential I never earned. I played by rules I was raised by about how you earned the American dream until the rules were turned topsy turvy by the greed mongers and I couldn't learn to cheat to survive.

Bullsh**, Officer Powell, You're Just A Merciless Bigot

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/27/national/main4898503.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4898503

"I was just doing my job!"

Phooey! All you needed to do was escort them into the damn hospital and let the Moats' say goodbye to a dying woman.

You're nothing but a merciless, pitiless bigot and no amount of trying to cover your tracks with excuses is gonna change that fact. In my opinion, you are morally and spiritually corrupt. You disgust me and I hope you get fired and banned from police work. You're unfit to serve!

Short Time Off The 'Net

In this economy, my hubby and I are struggling with the basics like keeping up on our house payments so it is with increasing frequency that I'm not able to afford my cable internet connection.  I'm also unwilling to go back to the slower speed of dial-up not to mention the frequent service issues that go with dial up.  So I've been reconciling myself to the fact that some months I may have to wait a few days before getting back.  Other things, like paying for my dog's insulin, are more important.

Heresy?  It nearly sounds like it but as an older person, I spent more of my life off the net than on it. 

Oooh Those Bank Execs And Their High Flying Ways

So Bank of America's honcho flies to Washington in one of the private jets held by the company. He said it was a 'time sensitive' thing so that makes it worth it instead of flying business class. It's a buncha bull. He could have been driven to the airport, made the flight, taken a taxi and gotten to his meeting with Congress on time.

He just doesn't wanna give up the perks. That tells me that he thinks he's too damn good for the rest of us! Given our country's economy, it rankles. Given that I'm broke and struggling, it rankles and I find I'm bitter.

I had a credit card with Bank of America. I'm paying it down slowly since I'm broke as hell and struggling to pay when I can. The amount is under two thousand. Not much, but with the interest that kept going up after missing payments following a long illness that ultimately left me unemployed for nearly a year... well... I reckon if the interest had been frozen at the 3% interest rate it was when I got the darned card (and regulated to stay at 3%), instead of the 29% it went up to, then I'd have had it paid off a year ago. I never abused the card either and had a great payment history for several years prior to getting sick.

I feel like we consumers are getting the short end of the stick. The profits from exorbitant interest rates are driving us down while the bank's highest ranking executives steep in unnecessary luxuries. And let's face it... we ordinary folks are never going to see the inside of one of those corporate jets in real life, much less fly in one! We get by flying coach when we have to. We get by driving more than we care to on our daily commutes. We get by using public transit like riding buses, street cars and trolleys in the places that have them.

What makes these executive's work so costly to us consumers? What do they do that is so beyond price? These high flying execs have made a passel full of bad decisions over the years costing their employers millions. If they get fired, they walk away with golden parachutes sometimes in the 10s of millions of dollars. If we ordinary people did that in our jobs, we'd be fired and our (by then) ex-employers would be looking to have us prosecuted and put in prison!

Why can't the bankers getting all this bail out money look at the things they've got on their calendars -- sponsoring golf tournaments, sporting events, concerts, & more -- and cancel them until things have turned around for the better? They need to shut down the corporate sponsorship of things that are nothing more than show -- a smoke and mirrors show at that!

In the over all scheme of things, I wouldn't bitch if B of A was sponsoring a city's public schools and funding applied science teachers in things like computers, biology, health sciences including nursing, pre-med, dental hygeine. We need schools teaching sciences like horticulture, agriculture, and animal husbandry, we need student learning engineering fundamentals so they can go to college and study biomedical engineering, electrical, mechanical and civil engineering and more.

I wouldn't gripe if they were sponsoring magnet arts schools either. I love watching all kinds of dance, seeing beautiful paintings and sculpture, and looking at beautiful design and crafts work in furniture, lighting, and that stuff. We need the arts every bit as much as the sciences.

I do mind them sponsoring the bread and circusses. I've actually minded for a long time, but given how close to the edge we all are, I think it's beyond unconscionable.

Why can't these bankers limit themselves to the things we ordinary consumers are already limited to so we can all get back in the business of producing?

More Peanuts

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090212_peanut_corp_in_hot_water/

:::shaking head in disgust:::

Writer's Block From Too Much To Choose From

I was on YIM the other day with my blog friend Divya who lives in London before work, chatting about writer's block. I realized there's plenty of fodder out there to write about, but I'm blocked. Maybe it's having too much to choose from.

I've noticed in the last few years, even when I go to the store, sometimes I wander for an hour or two just looking at the stuff on the shelves before finally making my selection. I'm thinking maybe too much choice is as bad in its way as too little choice is.

Then there's Madoff and other ponzi schemers being exposed. The ripple effect of their depredations is mind boggling and the harm they've done to so many American charities and philanthropic trusts is devastating on a long-term scale I cannot begin to wrap my brain around. The repercussions are manifold. Rabbi Marc Gellman's open letter to Bernie Madoff in Newsweek pretty well tackled it: "You betrayed charities whose good works you have extinguished in an afternoon. These betrayals are epic in their scope and dazzling in their utter lack of remorse or responsibility. There must be some new word invented to describe the way you have redefined betrayal. The Bible calls such things a toevah, "an abomination". It means an act so alien to our values and our natures that it cannot be understood or explained. You have committed an abomination. This is what you have done...." and that's only the beginning of Gellman's critique. Google "Marc Gellman on Madoff" and the first link will take you to the full letter.

There are a few things that have occurred in my own life time that I have viewed as an actual abomination. This is right up there on the list. So is the next item in my menu tonight.

Over the last few weeks we've been hit by yet another salmonella scare involving the Peanut Corp. of America in Georgia. What are these people thinking? One comment from the Associated Press said, "Food and Drug Administration officials earlier had said Peanut Corp. of America waited for a second test to clear peanut butter and peanuts that initially were positive for salmonella. But the agency amended its report Friday, noting that the Blakely, Ga., plant actually shipped some products before receiving the second test and sold others after confirming salmonella...

"...The salmonella outbreak has been blamed for at least eight deaths and 575 illnesses in 43 states. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation. More than 1,550 products have been recalled."

Frankly, I was gobsmacked in the market the other day seeing how many products had been pulled off the shelves because one of their listed ingredients were peanuts. Peanuts are one the US's staple foods & used as a primary, secondary or tertiary ingredients in food products. I counted over 50 familiar grocery items missing from the shelves including various brands of dog food from the pet food aisles.

The Peanut Corp. of America's second largest client was the USDA who purchased peanut products for hunger programs serving the country's poorer population. There are a lot of average joes out there getting USDA commodities now that they've lost their jobs & incomes over the last year or so. How cynical and criminal is this company? Too busy or committed with other things than to ensure they put out a safe, clean product? It takes a lot for the government to go after a company with criminal charges and that company sure has earned those charges in spades.

The news on crime has me just about convinced that our civil society is teetering closer to the edge of barbarism than ever before. I'm sure y'all can come up with your own lurid examples, so I'm gonna spare ya mine this time. There's plenty we should not tolerate that we do tolerate and vice versa. When is enough enough?