Debsweb

And That's The Truth

2008-08-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

As a black female in America, many years of observation have honed my instincts and taught me which battles are worth my time to try and win, and which are worth fighting for but will never change minds that are permanently closed under the guise of everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Guess which one this is.

The last few years have plainly shown that anyone who thinks that racial issues are okay in America, are obviously not one of the races that have been historically shunned in this country. There has never been an Italian, Asian, Indian, Black or Hispanic President. We can't even address the blatant sexism that exists and is glorified every day in this country by people who should know better. If Muslim countries where the woman walks three feet back and to the right can elect a female Prime Minister or President, what's our excuse? Other than the obvious?

One of the peculiar media memes of the past year has been a lot of tormented nonsense about whether the ascendance of Barack Obama means that race is somehow off the table as a defining issue in American life. Of course his prospective nomination is a historic moment, but I can't even begin to understand why this is a controversial topic. How can anybody suggest with a straight face that pervasive racism is not the reason why, in a year when every imaginable factor favors the Democrats, Obama is even or trailing in the polls behind an addled, war-hawk septuagenarian who is disliked by his own party?

To me it is Katrina that puts the lie to any fantasy of a race-neutral America. And it's Katrina, not 9/11, that displays the nation's potentially fatal 21st century weakness. While countless billions have been spent converting our society into a police state to prevent another unpreventable attack by a handful of neo-medieval wackos, the story of the ongoing destruction of a historic, majority-black American city -- before, during and after that storm -- has been briskly swept under the carpet or, more accurately, abandoned to investigative journalists, documentary filmmakers, NGO social workers, corrupt or incompetent bureaucrats and other irrelevant social debris.

As time passes on, it will be the blatant lack of response to Katrina that identifies this country. Identifies her as the liar and hypocrite she is. Today's Americans, having got their piece of the "pie", are determined to maintain the status quo by making sure that nobody else gets a slice. They are no longer interested in the tired, the poor, the hungry or the hurting, it might upset the apple cart of their self induced superiority. Unfortunately, compassion wasn't written into the Constitution and even if it was, it would have been eliminated right along with the rest of the Bill of Rights in a futile effort to protect us from a bogeyman in a cave half the world away. Because a frightening majority of the people in power, are determined to stay there. No matter what the cost.

Our Founding Fathers must be so proud. Not.

BBB

Born To Serve

2008-08-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Once again the Demowienies are in the process of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Why am I not surprised? So much for that much lauded theory from the usual Democratic pundits who haven't rubbed elbows with the common man in years. You know the theory that said that Obama had a better chance of beating McCain than Hillary would. This election cycle has been rigged since day one and anyone who thinks that things are going to change in January needs to share their psychedelics with the rest of society.

An untried, unproven (did you know he's black?) political upstart against a professional politician whose main claim to fame was to be shot down in Vietnam and held as a POW; who left his first wife while she was recovering from a car accident for his current and much richer wife; who can barely tell the difference between Iraq and Iran, much less Shia or Sunni; was closely related to the Keating scandal and hasn't accomplished much since then except to keep running for office and now he's ahead in the polls.

And the best part? The Republicans haven't even brought out the big guns yet. One of Hillary's greatest strengths (yes, she had some to go along with her baggage), besides her experience and her previously shown ability to work well with others, would have been that they couldn't dig up any more dirt on her than has already been thrown. Not so for the anointed one, have you seen the story about the brother? This is just the beginning. I hope Hillary takes the Gray Davis approach and decides to live a life of happiness away from all the lies and selling of souls for votes. She and Bill will be able to laugh sadly at the mess that people who supposedly knew better have created and left the American people to drown in.

As goes California, so goes the nation. Down hill and into the sewer ditch. Californians were so sure that getting rid of Gray Davis and installing Schwarzenegger would make things better for the state. Several years later and now look at where we are. No budget, deeply in debt and no way out except to either hurt the people who have nothing more to give or give to the people who keep finding things to take. You remember the takers from when we all used to go to grade school together before they destroyed one of the best educational systems in the country. They had all the best toys, hung around in cliques that the average (read poor) person couldn't get into and made sure they were the only ones on the cheerleading squads and running for school offices. The original '09ers. Obviously they haven't changed one bit.

What has changed is that the American people still believe in royalty and have decided to appoint those with money as the sole arbiters of what is best for the common man. That would be the other 99% of America, soon to be known as the poor and downtrodden. Or in the language of the Dark Ages, serfs.

BBB

Sisyphus And I Are Related

2008-08-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

My landlord could care less that the state hasn't paid me for taking care of my mother. He wants me out so he can rent to someone who has a steady paycheck. That used to be me. And thanks to the state budget impasse, there is no where to take my mom while I search for another job. Did I mention that the other day I came home and the house was full of gas because she didn't turn the stove off completely? Caught her just before she lit a cigarette. Or that she fell down a few weeks ago and can still barely walk?

I hope the the California Governor and Republican representatives spend whatever afterlife there is in hell. Pushing a rock uphill until it rolls back down and flattens them. Time and time again. I'm so glad I was in such a hurry to grow up and be responsible. I'd run for office but as Kevin Costner put it so eloquently, I've lived a colorful life. I believe that makes me ineligible since I'm not squeaky clean enough for the hypocritical voters. To say nothing of the press.

Has anybody else noticed that the FDA lies? Like the proverbial rug. They don't care how many people die and they certainly don't care if it's induced by pharmaceutical companies or bad food. Accountability, it's only for the people who weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

Nothing else matters.

Oh well, gotta run. I just might be able to get food stamps. For myself. Isn't that special? I've been boxed into a corner and there is no guarantee that I'll even have a place to cook the food if I qualify. I'm really tired of fighting the same battles over and over again. Getting my Masters was supposed to prevent that. Instead all it did was saddle me with debt I'm never going to be able to repay. Life is so wonderful. I should have quit when I was sixteen. At least the fridge was always full and the rent was always paid.

BBB

Critical Thinking Went To The Dogs

2008-08-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

Pot calls the kettle black. With absolutely no trace of irony. Or shame.

Good luck with that. If the courts think that committing treason by outing a CIA operative is okay, they won't give a flying fig about politicizing the Justice Department. This is what happens when everyone kowtows to a leader whose objective was to destabilize the government, remove the protections of the Constitution and install extremely conservative judeges to prevent undoing the changes. Things are going to get much worse and may never get better in our lifetime.

I personally can't stand Obama, but requiring him to dumb down his rhetoric so the Wal-Mart voter will understand him says more about how far behind America has fallen in critical thinking than it does that Obama is an elitist. At the rate we're going, in twenty years our Nobel prizes will disappear and all our new doctors will be from foreign lands who go to third world countries to get a little experience. That would be us.

I was wondering how long that would take. As if building cities in the desert was a brilliant idea with long term potential during a global warming cycle. There have been some rumblings recently and now McCain has decided to apply the economic plan for the poor to the water supply in the western states. But in reverse. Take from those who have and give it to those who don't. Because in this instance, those who don't, have the money and need the water for their playgrounds. Next thing you know, they'll suggest taking it from the headwaters and divert it around the states that the Colorado used to run through.

Hoo boy! The Gateway Pundit must be desperate if the opinion of a man with questionable sexual history can be seen as more patriotic than a presidential candidate because he got goosebumps when he held his Olympic uniform for the first time. Wow! And then he bags on the the commentator as a liberal tool for asking the questions. It's funny how conveniently El Pundito and his commenters, forget that said commentator was very good at an American sport himself and was considered a hero by those who watched him play. And unlike the person he was questioning, he doesn't pretend he's an amateur at a sport that he has been getting paid millions for the last 12 years. Dumb de dumb dumb.

Our day has come and gone. As an acupuncturist trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine I can say that yes, China is on the move and has every intention of dominating the world. Both financially and power wise. While Americans are content to think that history is last season's episode arc of Lost, the Chinese take the long view and include centuries of history in their decision making. Then they plan for centuries in the future. Unlike Americans whose idea of the future is January 20, 2009 and not much else. The Chinese laugh at us because we like to wait until we're thirsty before we think about digging a well. Or as our grandparents used to know it, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Which goes along with a penny saved is a penny earned. Not borrowed. From China.

BBB

Wednesday Night Musings

2008-08-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

Old news. The Food Network ran a biography of Julia Child and at the very beginning it states that she worked for the OSS during wartime and that she met her husband there. After they were married, he was stationed in Paris and she attended cooking classes and finally learned how to cook. The information was out there if you were paying attention.

Somehow, I don't think Russia cares.

Mom is almost a walking example. Especially since she has difficulty walking. Add a good breeze and she falls over easily.

I thought Kissinger was the worst, but this is a new century and there is always someone trying to see how low they can go.

Bank Of America Sucks The Big Weenie

2008-08-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

I cannot stand B of A. They may be my bank but they are trying to balance their bad mortgage loans on the backs of their poorest consumers. In addition to reordering how they do their debits, they have now instituted the practice of charging overdraft fees on pending items. Items that haven't been paid and may drop off for any reason, such as they aren't authorized. But that doesn't stop them from charging you a fee even if they haven't paid it.

My Netflix was due yesterday and I went to put money in the bank before the day was over. I'm living really close to the bone while I wait for the state to get its act together. This morning I check my balance and discovered three overdraft charges for items that weren't overdrawn, they were pending and the money was in the bank before they cleared. This is $105 that they won't give me back and has left me with the grand total of $35.82 until the third of September or the state sends me another check. Whichever comes first. And even though there was enough money in my account, they didn't pay Netflix. The last entertainment mom and I had is in the process of being canceled.

I have no gas in the car, very little food (why did Shadow have to dig up my peas and green beans?) in the fridge, (we won't even talk about the rent I can't pay) and absolutely no possibility of ever getting my finances in order because no matter what I do, Bank of America keeps instituting new fees and new ways to take my money, even when I have done nothing wrong. I guess you are supposed to keep a minimum of $1000 in the account to protect yourself from their thievery and that isn't the type of account I signed up for. If I had a $1000 I wouldn't be suffering as much and mom and I wouldn't be on the verge of being homeless.

Plus, they are paying .050% on savings, down from the 3% when I opened the account. Why keep money in a savings account that doesn't pay? Why keep money in this bank at all? Did you know that their Keep the Change scam takes the money out of your checking account at the end of the day but doesn't transfer it to your savings account for another 24 hours? They are using your money for a whole day to make money for the bank and calling it a savings plan. Yeah, for them.

The economy in the Bay Area is so bad that they didn't even have to turn on the metering lights on the Bay Bridge this morning. It isn't a holiday, but people have no jobs to go to. I can't find a job that lets me work from home so I can keep an eye on mom, who has taken to removing items of clothing in public and is rapidly forgetting how to walk or eat properly, but I can't afford to put her in a home and she is still too aware to be in a place that you go to die.

I'm tired, depressed, stressed and I hate Bank of America with a purple effing passion. I hope they go under and all their executives go to jail for fraud. As if that would happen with Bush and his cronies in power. I think I'll start using a check cashing service and keep my money in a mattress because the fees would actually be less.

Bank of America really sucks. And I hate them.

I really hate them.

Dear John

2008-08-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

What is it with politicians and their inability to keep their zippers closed? After Gary Hart, how could you be so dumb? I guess now we know why you dropped out of the presidential race so early. Unless you are a Republican like McCain or Gingrich, being outed will derail a campaign. You were probably hoping that the press wouldn't find out since they had proved incapable of researching the lies that led us into a war that you have admitted was wrong.. Surprise! If you could admit you made a mistake about a vote that cost people their lives, why not admit you had messed up before it became a campaign issue? For another candidate.

Along with most other people on the planet, let me express my disgust and displeasure at your actions and the sorrow it is causing the innocent members of your family. As I'm sure you are well aware by now, you should be ashamed of yourself. Did you think you were a Republican and could get away with it?

I know that Mark Foley's inappropriate behavior with male pages was glossed over and forgotten, that David Vitter's predilection for prostitutes and diapers has been forgiven and forgotten, and that Larry Craig's wide stance is considered more humorous than sexual, but you of all people should have known better. The media loves nothing more than to run with a sex story, especially one that involves a candidate with expensive haircuts. It saves them the hassle of reporting on stories that affect the country such as the Saddam forgery letter. Or how bad the economy really is.

You were my preferred candidate, I thought the rest were pale imitations of a man with principles. I hate when I'm proved wrong. So, in the words of my friend L, don't let the doorknob hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

BBB

Indict, Impeach, Imprison

2008-08-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sounds good to me. Riddle me this. If you've lied about WMDs, lied about al-Qaeda involvement, lied about outing a CIA officer, why should I believe you when you say that you didn't forge documents to start a war under false pretenses?

From the nucking futz department. The crew without a clue is putting every American outside the country a moving target. For torture.

I've been a poker player for about 18 years and absolutely loved the game until Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker with a 7-2 offsuit. It was a disaster for the game. Now everyone and his brother wants to play poker and go all in on almost every hand, even if they're playing $3-$6.. Odds don't matter, logic doesn't matter, position doesn't matter. A big stack you can bully someone with does. The San Jose card clubs are in a word, deficient. From the food to the lack of services. There are so many rules and regulations, they can't even replace your drink if the floorman knocks it over. You don't even get a deck of cards when you make a Royal Flush. Nothing, nada, not even a picture. If they would let us have jackpots, bring back the masseuse while playing, anything, and if I had money to play I wouldn't mind the proposed tax hike in the card rooms to save city services. But what do the players get in return? Higher table fees that don't go into the pot, which will mean less players per hand. 49 tables sounds nice, but shouldn't there be some money in the pot to fight over? Otherwise, what's the point?

Oh joy, another taser death. Aided and abetted by police brutality. I guess he was supposed to yell fire instead. With the usual cover-up. The Swissvale police also don't seem to understand the First Amendment. Specifically the part that deals with peaceful assembly. I guess they think that since they aren't Congress, the Amendment doesn't apply. To people without badges.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Oysters get herpes?

At the usual place

Waking Up To Reality

2008-08-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday ~~Pravda~~ the New York Times, the wonderful paper that gave us Judith Miller and forgot to cover the facts that led us in to an illegal and devastating war, had an editorial about the Hamdan monkey trial.

It is impossible, in any case, to judge the evidence against Mr. Hamdan because of the deeply flawed nature of this trial — the blueprint for which was the Military Commissions Act of 2006, one of the worst bits of lawmaking in American history.

At least when John Adams was defending the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre he had a snowball's chance in Hades to win and was able to use something called proof so that justice could be served. Such liberties are not encouraged by the diaper wearing crowd that purports to be the "daddy" party (And we found out what they meant by that, didn't we Misters Craig, Vitter and Foley?)are currently destroying everything that our Founding Fathers held dear. The truth is no longer self evident. Nor are we created equal, especially if you believe in the wrong maker, have brown skin or wear a turban and a beard.

For seven years Bush and his cronies have ridden unbridled through the Constitution, laying waste wherever they went. From the Patriot Act forward they have done nothing but seek more and more power with less oversight than almost any junta in history. Currently Bush is in China blowing smoke out his ass by chiding them gently (since we need their money to survive) for human rights violations. Cynical people might consider this more than slightly oxymoronic once one remembers Katrina, the destroyed country of Iraq, spying on American citizens at will before 9/11, outing CIA operatives for revenge, the highest prison incarceration rate in the world, his gleeful enforcement of the death penalty while Governor of Texas and since becoming President bringing death penalty cases in states that don't have the death penalty, and then because it continues to be bad, New Orleans. Yes, our bobble head in chief is giving advice in humanity. As if he knew what it was.

A dire assessment, but unless he quits pandering to the right, probably accurate. Then we'll end up with McCain and even less of the Constitution will apply to the average American, who isn't going to be what they think it is.

Majority rules. But what happens if the majority changes? It's like the old saying. Be kind to your kids, they're going to pick your retirement home someday.

BBB

On The Backs Of The Poor

2008-08-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh*t. Our lovely Governator is proposing an immediate "temporary" one cent hike in one of the most regressive taxes known to man, the sales tax. And this is right after demanding that state workers earn the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour in a state where the cost of gas is still well over $4 a gallon and Los Angeles is intent on removing the dollar value menu from poor neighborhoods. Because no food at all is better than Latinos being fat, isn't it?

Why are poor people and those who the governor intends to make poor, expected to bail out the economy of a state that has so many millionaires? Why can't the rich pay a little more in taxes on the exorbitant amounts of money that they spend on vacations, expensive cars they don't know how to drive and eating at restaurants featuring edibles that aren't really food? Why are the people at the bottom of the economic ladder expected to bear the brunt of the state's fiscal mismanagement and political grandstanding by having their benefits cut to the bone and then adding insult to injury by taking what little money they have go to support prisons and corporations instead of being funneled back into programs to help them make everyone's lives better? Things like real education for children, public transportation and rebuilding the infrastructure.

Democrats have been open about their desire for higher taxes to help solve the deficit, though the sales tax is by no means their first choice. The Democratic budget proposal includes $9 billion in new taxes, but they are aimed mostly at corporations and the wealthy. Sales tax increases, by contrast, tend to hit lower- and middle-income residents harder because they spend a bigger share of their income on taxable sales.

One political analyst said the governor should explain his tax plan to the public, rather than having it leak to the media.

"This is Mr. Salesman, the guy who could sell anything," said Tony Quinn, co-editor of the California Target Book which analyzes legislative races. "If he's going to sell his party on a sales tax, and the Democrats who view it as regressive, he ought to lay it out before the people."

Nope that's called honesty with a dash of cojones and it isn't something that politicians are known for. Requiring a two thirds majority to pass a state budget when all the Republicans are interested in are playing games with people's lives and pretending that they have the people's best interests at heart has not worked for the people of California for many years. Every July we go through the same thing and meanwhile the state is falling down around our ears.

Eventually, like when the state isn't considered a player in the world economy and only the movie stars have money to spend on purchases that aren't required for daily survival, things are going to have to change. Unfortunately, it's going to be too late for the majority of Californians. They will have already moved to Mexico in order to have a better quality of life.

BBB

Freeway

2008-08-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

My back goes out more than my car does, but then it doesn't have to pay for gas.

Yes, I can't afford the freeway and no, I don't have a lot of money.

Mom's birthday is Saturday and I can't afford to buy her a card, much less take her out to dinner or do something really nice for her. I don't even have a truffle from the Minstrel hidden away to surprise her. No matter how much I do for her, I still feel like a failure. She falls at least once a day and her eating and drinking are slowing down to almost nothing, which is a pretty good indicator that even if she makes it to her 78th, it will more than likely be her last.

And no, my brother didn't get in touch with her for his birthday on the first and she's been pretty depressed not being able to talk to the baby of the family since he graced her with a phone call for Mother's Day. I think he's 47 but he's acting more like 4. Just the way I remember him.

Putz.

3Bs

Too Funny

2008-08-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today's chuckle is provided by a commenter at HuffPo on a Max Blumenthal article about Toby Keith's lynching song and his follow up remarks on the Glenn Beck show about Obama acting white, as if Obama isn't half white and educated, but all black and a thug rapper. Take it away Intruder.

Political commentary from Toby Keith is about as meaningful as a music critique from Helen Keller.

The bras aren't really bulletproof, but they will prevent the dreaded underwire poking or even better, being injured by little pieces of metal if policwomen are shot at while wearing a vest. And there's more than one model. Though I doubt if they will make Avedon's bra of the week list.

All is clear now. The Pentagon studied ancient empires to find out how to rule the world. I guess they missed the part about all the empires weren't all that successful. Otherwise they would still be ruling the world and the United States wouldn't exist.

Baghdad: City Of Walls

2008-08-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

By way of the Guardian. You will never see this on American television. It isn't entertainment, it's reality. The reality of living in Baghdad after years of war. First you can't get around.

The graves of those who were killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, the wrong religion, the wrong whatever.

And then there are the children. The true innocents and the ones who are paying the highest price. The orphans being recruited to continue the terror that was visited upon them. By us.

What have we done?

BBB

Are The Trains On Time Yet?

2008-08-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

Nothing says politician like reversing yourself to meet the results of a poll. Even when they know the poll is hogwash, that the resulting answers are bogus and that it won't solve the problem at all. In true political fashion, Barack Obama once again sways with the breeze in his effort to become the Decider's heir. I remember how badly I was treated when I pointed out on another site that the closer to the election the more of his true self would be revealed. That he would say or do anything that gets him closer to the goal. Opportunistic? Most definitely. Between FISA, drilling off the coasts, and now wanting to let the Florida and Michigan delegations have full voting powers restored to" reunite" the Democratic party (under his banner), some of them must be feeling a little betrayed by now. Betrayed by their own naivete. I can hardly wait until his VP pick when the shaft slides all the way in.

Um duh! Low wage workers usually tend to be people of color and are therefore more likely to be predisposed to liking Obama over McCain. For those who are melanin impaired, it's easier to identify with someone who hasn't always had a silver spoon in their mouth. And after years at the bottom of the economic ladder, poor people realize that rarely does a change in presidents improve their individual lives. Nice of the WaPo to point out the glaringly obvious.

Another strike against the consumer. All in the name of progress. Wherever Orwell is, he's probably sitting in stunned amazement with mouth agape, bewildered by not only was his book off by several years, but it would cover areas he never thought about.

"Some insurers can make a decision in the same day, or right on the spot," Franzen said. "That's the real 'value-add.'"

skip

When an insurer makes an online query about an applicant, Ingenix or Milliman's servers scour the data and within minutes or less return reports to a central server at the company. The server aggregates the information going back as far as five years, including the drugs and dosages prescribed, dates filled and refilled, the therapeutic class and the name and address of the prescribing doctor.

Obviously that decision will be no. There is a new world order and the have nots won't be eligible for it. The really sad part? There didn't used to be so many have nots. Isn't it wonderful how the Republicans and their Demowienie enablers have been able to cull the herd in such a short amount of time?

BBB

Jaw Dropping Crap

2008-08-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Asking if Congress deserves a vacation is like waking up and smoking a joint to decide if you want to smoke a joint. Shouldn't they have to do some work first? At least occasionally? In the never ending run for the White House, how many votes have McCain and Obama missed while they were running for another office because the one they're in isn't good enough? And please, using the example that the Demowienies don't want to cave in to the Republicans is foolish since there are more than enough examples to go around. Fortunately 472 of them are up for reelection this year, maybe they'll get a surprise at the polls.

Things are getting better all the time. Pretty soon the only people employed in America will be those who provide personal luxury services to our overlords.

The police are sticking with their story that the kid with the broken back and foot tried to get up and walk into traffic so that's why they had to taser him 19 times. Do they drug test cops? Because if they don't, they should. On a daily basis. Especially hallucinogens.

Hmm, I see the cojone missing stormtroopers have struck again. What possible excuse (other than revenge) could there be for placing a compromising package (you know they did it), bursting into the mayor's home and then shooting his two Labrador Retrievers, one of whom was hunted while running away, to death? No arrests were made.

I joined the Army in 1974 and I can honestly say that other than a few bawdy jokes (that I enjoyed because they were funny) and the occasional "accidental" brush against my tits, only one person ever harassed me and he ended up at Leavenworth doing hard time for a few years. Hhis conviction ostensibly had nothing to do with me since my First Sergeant wouldn't take me seriously, but I knew something else that caused his incarceration and had no hesitation about making sure the MPs found out about it. Other than that, my troop mates were my friends and they treated me just like the other guys. Now it seems that a woman serving in the military is as likely to be assaulted by the people who are supposed to be watching her back as she is to be killed or wounded by a terrorist. I thought it was supposed to be you were more likely to be killed by a terrorist as to get married after forty? Methinks that order in the military isn't what it used to be.

BBB

Schwarzenegger Is An Idiot

2008-07-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

Moderate my ass!! Instead of holding the feet of the people in California government (read Republicans) to the fire and slashing their pay to minimum wage, what did he do? He slashed the pay and fired 22,,000 of the people of California WHO ACTUALLY DO THE WORK AND NEED THE MONEY to the federal minimum wage which is a dollar and a half less than what Californians used to get.

The alternative is to force the Democrats to cut every single program except the ones the less than one third of Republicans who pretend they are legislators, want. Just to make him happy. It's the lousy two thirds majority vote to approve the budget that the Rethugs have been using against the people of California for years. If he thinks he's going to be elected to replace Barbara Boxer, he is sadly mistaken. His next position is going to be on the unemployment line. With all the people he just shafted for political gain. We won't vote again for a backstabbing, cigar smoking asshole who only takes care of his buddies. How are all the innocent people supposed to pay their rent, buy gas and/or make a car payment? How will they get to work since he has slashed public transportation to the bone? Why were the people of California so stupid as to replace Gray Davis with this numbskull?

In return for his stupidity there should be a complete work stoppage. Nothing in any government office gets done until pay is restored. Period. When a person is hired to do a job, they are offered a certain salary and told what the requirements are to earn it. Why in the world would someone want to do a job that they are going to get paid so little money for that they can't afford to live in the state?

We have the highest rate of foreclosures in the nation and I don't see that changing any time soon. Maybe it's time for a recall of the dumbest governor since the lamppost.

Arnold needs to go. Preferably to H E double hockey sticks. It's obvious that all the steroids shrunk what little brains he had.

BBB

Oops, Needed A Title

2008-07-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

You can always tell when I'm disgusted with politics as usual, I play with the blog design. I went back to the Neo configuration, with a few mods on my part. The mods took me most of yesterday and part of this morning, so I gave up on adding the header picture for the moment. It just wasn't coming out right. It's amazing how much you forget about playing with coding and RGBs when computing isn't your profession.

The best part about Neo, the template not the hero, is that the whole blog doesn't have to reload (only the top post, much faster for those in a hurry) if you click on one of the post links on the left hand side, which is currently set for the last 20 posts. I realized that I had accidentally destroyed the posting function and hopefully it will nowwork for somebody besides me. Let me know if it does or doesn't.

I also went back to the dark template because it's easier on my eyes. I'm getting older and less functional as the days go by.

Because We Need More Smiles

2008-07-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

At the other place.

One More Instance Of GOP Hypocrisy

2008-07-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Support the troops! Unless you're a member of the GOP and think that 25 million is too much to spend on paralyzed veterans. A bridge to nowhere is okay, helping people who can't walk or pee without assistance is not. And then to add insult to injury the GOP tries to use the issue to accuse the Demowienies of avoiding dealing with high gas prices. Otherwise known as offshore drilling for their corporate buddies.

Republicans blasted the bill as an attempt to bait them and distract from measures to deal with high gas prices.

"They're using every trick to get us away from dealing with high gas prices," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Let's recap the GOP support of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bad armor, insufficiently armored vehicles, no plan other than shock and awe, multiple tours, poor medical care if they get back to the United States in less than pristine condition, ignoring the emotional costs of war in veterans, closing brain injury units as the incidences of brain injuries in the troops was increasing due to the IEDs that nobody "could have foreseen", obstruction of the GI Bill and now willing to let injured veterans be forever hostage to other people for help.

The best part? Tom Coburn has the nerve to consider himself a doctor. Unlike recently departed Randy Pasuch, not the kind that helps people.

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What A Crock!

2008-07-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Only because they aren't looking in the right places. This is just like when they redefined hunger as food insecurity. In less than half a mile on Seventh Street in San Jose there are currently 11 motor homes or 5th wheels currently parked and being lived in. Then there are the side streets with one or two vehicles that are also occupied. In the Bush economy it is possible to have a job and not have a home or a drug problem.

“It affirms the very significant change in policy shift that took place over the in the last six years,” said Mr. Culhane, who studies homelessness trends and policy, of the decline in the numbers of chronically homeless. “We’re moving in the right direction, without a doubt.”

I'll just bet everything is going according to plan. The plan to transfer everything of value from the have nots to the have mores.

I just want to be your stepping stone. So much for the myth of serving the public. It's always about the benjamins, isn't it?

Major tactical error. He should have gone to see the troops by himself, they deserved it. But then you would have to have spent some lonely time in a hospital bed to understand that. CNN gets interviews and soundbites all the time, these guys are still suffering the initial shock of being wounded.

Great, just great. 275 minutes a week.

Why aren't Republicans looking for another candidate? Melanoma of the head and face are the most fatal of skin cancers and McCain has had more than one occurrence. Between this and his encroaching senility, the odds of him finishing his term as Senator, much less President, is seriously in doubt.

The Food Network, the one that used to show you how to cook but now mainly shows you people eating at places you can't get to, has replaced the disgraced Robert Irvine with the Giggler on Dinner Impossible. Instead of letting the ripped off John Besh handle the duties, they are forcing Michael Symon down our throats. Well, I'm not swallowing. And I'm not watching either. Bring back Robert Irvine or let Besh do it. Who cares if Irvine stretched his resume, he did the job he was hired to do. If Symon is the Iron Chef for the week, I skip it and now it looks like Dinner Impossible has become Dinner Unwatchable. The giggle and the soul patch are just the tip of the iceberg. I miss the old Food Network, the one that gave me ideas for dinner, not dining out.

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From Sea To Shining Sea

2008-07-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

After almost three and a half years of blogging, these last few days I have been finding it difficult to care. I've always had varied interests, but since 2004 they have been limited to politics, cooking and a few other assorted hobbies, but mainly politics.

Through the years, many of the blogs I enjoyed reading caught Ted Barlow disease and disappeared. The latest were Mixter's Mix and Ponzo (I guess I'm not an invited reader). I doubt if I'll quit, but my energy is low and readers are few. I am a first-born and will always have an opinion about everything (just ask me!), but I'm tired of being irritated and disappointed in my country and my government. That isn't going to change because I stop writing about it constantly, but the world needs more positivity and right now the only thing I'm positive about is that we are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

In the last four years it has become sadly apparent to me that most Americans are of the sit and wait variety. They are willing to sit and wait, hoping that things will change for the better and are content to focus on their own lives and the lives of troubled stars, pregnant stars and "reality" shows that have nothing to do with real life. Anything but paying attention to how the country has changed around them.

What really brought it home to me was this season of Jeopardy! One of the things I noticed about the contestants was that they knew stuff about movies and obscure musical groups and very little about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Revolutionary War or how and why this country was founded, but they could name some specialized mammal that I, nor anyone I know, has ever heard of. Now, that's depressing.

The election isn't going to change things by much since our freedoms have been whittled down to almost nothing and there wasn't a peep from the general populace during the process and I don't expect a majority will demand them back. Using the excuse that it won't get worse is just sad. Our media hasn't done its job and the people haven't asked it to, people are too busy pretending that life is a reality show and everyone will get a do-over. And besides, it won't affect them, it only affects the bad people. Until it's too late and their homes and jobs are gone.

When I was a little girl and we were stationed on Air Force bases throughout the world, unlike today we had no choice about radio or televisions stations. It was Armed Forces Radio and Television Service and the government spin on world happenings, or it was learn a new language. No such thing as cable or the internet. I'll never forget going to see the original Batman movie and having Burt Ward's voice blow us out of the seats. We had been watching the tv show on a Puerto Rican station (because tv didn't start until the news came on at five and went off again at ten) and Robin had a boy's voice, so the change was pretty noticeable. AFRTS eventually showed Star Trek a year behind the States and we were really surprised to see that black girl on the bridge. But I digress.

I loved going to the movies, except for one thing. The Star Spangled Banner was played before every movie and it was required that you stand and put your hand over your heart. I hated it. When we got back to the States and moved to California we still had to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at the beginning of classes. I hated that also. Only seniors were allowed to not stand and recite and when I became one, my butt never left the chair. Not once did I feel guilty or unpatriotic. Otherwise I wouldn't have joined the Army two days after graduating high school.

Why did I hate doing those things so much? Well first of all, they forced us to do it. Since it was by rote and not intention, it was just like reciting the ABCs and had less impact. Ask anybody you know to recite the Pledge or the Anthem slowly and sound out the words and you'll realize that 98% of the people have not a clue as to what they are saying. If, and it's a big one, they can do it without the singsong repetition. It's amazing how many words aren't correct.

Secondly, America The Beautiful should be our anthem not some old Enlgish drinking song. We really do have a purple majesty, they are called the Rockies and they don't try to usurp power for themselves or their cronies.

I want my country back even though I know that it's impossible. The one from the late sixties and seventies that had hope, that just knew things were going to get better and wasn't afraid to stand up and demand that justice be served to those who deserved it. Not even a President was immune. Not the country that currently exists in its place and demands that someone who lied about taking steroids be forced to spend years in jail while one who outed a CIA spy has his sentence commuted and people are begging for him to be pardoned. My how the priorities have changed.

And not in a good way.

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Sunday Morning Quickie

2008-07-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Favorite blog post title of the week. Deflator Mouse Pops The Obama Balloon. The post was excellent as usual, but the title made me snicker for hours.

If you like Jeopardy! and who doesn't, this site is for you. They have archives of clues and questions and it's current. Trivia heaven.

From the you have got to be kidding department and coming to your email inbox shortly, we have the Obama Death List. The hardly ever right wing is so desperate to belive anything but the truth that they have concocted a list that attributes a murder to Obama at the grand old age of nine using the excuse that it was an initiation ritual because Islamists must spill the blood of another before age ten in order to prove their loyalty to Allah. Really? He cut a kid's head off at the age of nine? Most of the people on the list don't even exist. While there is no proof whatsoever that Obama attended a madrassa and killed someone, there is proof that the current First Lady caused the death of a classmate in 1963. I'm not even voting for Obama and this is so over the top, that I just might.

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Tortoise Vs. Felines

2008-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

A little light hearted entertainment.

http://view.break.com/293055 - Watch more free videos

Determined little guy, wasn't he?

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