It's obvious...

An Open Letter To FL Governor Charlie Crist

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:37:00 +0000

Following is a letter a friend of mine wrote to Florida's Governor Charlie Crist. This is a letter that needs to be circulated widely; I invite you to blog about it and e-mail it around:

Dear Governor,

I have lived in Sarasota for most of my life. I have eked out an existence working and having a few low end rentals on the side. This was a rough yet rewarding existence helping those folks who were down. Renting to the poor I have never been able to get first, last and security. People do not have it. Especially today. Now there is no work to be had in this town translating to a real shortage of tenants. The current batch are all so far behind I am facing having to evict three. I have not had to do an eviction in ten or more years. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that it will now cost me OVER FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS EACH to evict. That is if I do all the work myself and go through all the hoops myself and make sure not to cross one i or dot one t or it starts all over again from the beginning. All this in my free time. Even if the tenants do not fight leaving - because they cannot afford to go anywhere - I will be out several months rent and the huge repair costs to rehab three units. It is coming down to leaving the tenants in place and giving the property to the bank. I have worked my whole life for this. Shame on you and your ilk. Your approval rating with me just dropped its last ten points to zero. I am also letting everyone I know about this your alternate form of taxation. Shame on you.

Vincent Dessberg
BellaGlass.com

A Friend's Lament About The Demise of Newspapers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Following is a letter that a friend, Jan Slusmon, of Burlington, VT, sent to some friends and I:

An Amazing Change

About a month ago, my wife and I made an amazing change, one that is strange and deeply unsettling. For the first time in my adult life, I/we do not get a daily newspaper every day.

This is an astonishing change for me. I have always been a huge fan of newspapers. For much of my adult life, I read as many as three, four, or even five papers a day. There were days I'd spend a couple of hours reading them.

In addition, I spent about 15 years of my life working in the newspaper business, as a reporter and editor, and also have worked in both commercial and public radio, and for many more years indexing newspaper and magazine articles for scholarly databases.

And so this was a pretty drastic step.

We'd been talking about dropping our local paper for some time, and had vowed to do it when the price went from 50 cents to 75 cents a day.

Although money is a concern to me as I transition toward retirement, it was not the issue here. What has really happened is that there has been a very steep decline in the quality and comprehensiveness of newspapers, along with a very steep increase in price, one I'm no longer willing to pay. (I would gladly pay 75 cents a day for something, but I feel taken to spend the same amount on nothing).

Our local paper, the Burlington Free Press, is a Gannett paper, a member of the fast-food, lowest common denominator chain, where profits have always been far more important than quality. But it did have a fair amount of local news, even if the quality was not very good. In the past couple of years, the amount of local news covered by the Free Press has dropped off to almost nothing. It's all stories from the wire services, and a wrapping for advertising circulars. There's nothing in it, and they kept raising the price. In the last year or two, it's taken less than 60 seconds to read everything of interest in a 24 or 36-page paper.

I felt great dropping the Free Press, and had planned to switch to the Boston Globe, one of America's greatest newspapers, and the one strong regional paper for New England. The Globe is excellent in many ways--a real newspaper. But a week after the Free Press price hike, the out-of-town distributors who bring the Globe to Burlington hiked the price from 75 cents a day (which I was willing to pay) to $1.30 a day. At the same time, they raised the price of the New York Times (which I used to read daily and still read occasionally) from $1.25 a day to $1.75 a day, and $6 on Sunday. Even USA Today, which is pretty thin but has some occasional good stories, has gone from 50 cents to $1 a day in short order.

As late as the mid 1970s, I was buying two local papers from Vermont, the Boston Globe, and The New York Times, for a total of 50 cents or less a day! And some days I'd splurge and get the Montreal Gazette for another 20 cents.

And so I find myself frustrated. Some days I buy the Globe, other days USA Today, but for the very first time in my life I don't get a paper every day. And costs of everything are skyrocketing. My wife and I thought we were secure for a good retirement, but the prices of everything keep skyrocketing out of sight, and we find ourselves making decisions about buying all kinds of little things we never gave much thought to.

I find myself getting a lot of my news now from PBS (Macneil Lehrer) and NPR. But broadcast news is STILL not as good as the news from a good newspaper. I also (shudder) find myself getting a lot of news from the Internet. The Internet is an amazing medium, but I've never thought of it as a place for comprehensive, balanced news--it's more about entertainment, infotainment, and opinion, sometimes wacky opinion.

I do find myself reading The New York Times, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor etc. websites, as well as the websites of local papers. But I feel queasy doing this, like I'm cheating. This information is basically all coming from the newspapers, and if nobody pays to buy the newspapers, this information will disappear.

I find it amazing that in a few years we have gone from newspapers as a very strong, venerable tradition, one I've loved and thought would always be a part of my life, to one that is declining dramatically in quality and scope, and one that, instead of costing a pittance, would require me to spend a couple of hundred dollars a month to sustain my "habit", money I don't really feel like spending in view of my other needs.

We live in amazing times.....

Jan

Sarah Palin? No Way.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Sarah Palin believes teens should abstain from sex until marriage. She's opposed to sex ed in the schools.

That's just plain wrong, because:

(1) teens are never going to abstain; and
(2) There is zero discussion of sex ed in many families.

This leaves teen GIRLS unprotected, because they're the ones who are at risk of getting pregnant. Sarah does not believe in abortion, so those teenage girls who line up with her beliefs will risk having to bear children if they do get pregnant. Teenage girls shouldn't have to bear children; they should have the time to pursue their studies and prepare for careers. Teen boys shouldn't have to marry girls they impregnate if they don't choose to; and anyway, that's way too young for people to marry.

So, I feel sorry for the GIRLS who become victims from lack of sex ed knowledge.

Sarah expects other teens to abstain even though her daughter didn't. Why didn't her daughter use birth control? Is it because Sarah prevented local schools from teaching about it and because she never bothered to educate her own daughter?

It's an insult to all intelligent women for McCain to think any Hillary fans will vote for him because of this conservative woman he invited to join his ticket.

Hillary Heads Petition to Protect Women's Health

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:37:00 +0000

Hillary Clinton asks us to sign this petition.

She says the following about it, as the honorary chair of HillPAC, an organization dedicated to helping working families:

"It is our goal to fight for a better future for every child, and for every family. To keep fighting for those who get up every day, no matter what the odds, and never give in. For those who never back down, and those who always stand their ground.

"The Bush White House is working to rewrite the definition of abortion in federal regulations to include common forms of birth control. This would undermine women's health and put family planning services in danger. Simply, it puts women at risk -- it could even prevent victims of sexual assault from receiving emergency contraceptives.

"I need your help to speak up for the health of millions of American women who are in danger, once again, from the latest assault from the Bush administration.

"Will you join me in sending a strong message to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to put women's health ahead of right-wing ideology?"

We share Hillary's concerns and hope you will sign the petition.

JustSayNoDeal.com

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:06:00 +0000

New site highlights all the groups that support Hillary, not Obama

Dennis Kucinich Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against GWB

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 05:52:00 +0000

My Facebook Friend on The Colbert Show--Hilarious!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:49:00 +0000

Sexism Is Rampant In the Media

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:23:00 +0000

Petiton to Keep Boston Legal On the Air!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:31:00 +0000

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/keep-boston-legal-on-the-air

How To Save Money on Gasoline And Help the Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Find out how a simple do it yourself tweak to your car or truck will allow it to run partly on water. It sounds incredible, but it's true.

Hillary on Leno (Parts 1 and 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:27:00 +0000

She's relaxed and funny here:

Part 1

Part 2

Worth Reading, Whatever Your Political Views

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:06:00 +0000

This awesome essay by Robin Morgan speaks volumes about how the media is prejudiced against women running for president, and how we have allowed the media to get away with their vile prejudice.

CRUSH, my new video about a guy with a crush on Hillary

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:53:00 +0000

Wonderful Kucinich Video!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:29:00 +0000

The man's got principles and passion!

Road to the Greenhouse!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:02:00 +0000

Meet Dennis KuSpinach and the other candidates!

Find out which presidential candidate has values most like yours

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 01:48:00 +0000

http://www.dehp.net/candidate/

KUCINICH SWEEPS PDA POLL

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:03:00 +0000

KUCINICH SWEEPS PDA POLL WINNING 46 STATES at 41 percent

Dennis Kucinich wins yet another poll, winning 46 states EASILY and beating out the so called "top tier" candidates, Obama, Clinton and Edwards with 41% of all of the votes. He had at the least, a 15% lead over the "top tier" candidates. The winning states include the big ones, Iowa and New Hampshire.

"...two candidates--Dennis Kucinich (41%) and John Edwards (26%)--combined for more than 2/3 of the total vote. Over 15,000 PDA activists voted in the presidential straw poll. Full results at
http://www.pdamerica.org

Hillary is too conservative for me

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:38:00 +0000

In the MSNBC debate tonight, Hillary Clinton (as well as Barack Obama) said she would not favor a national law banning smoking in the workplace. Her stance on this causes me to lose respect for her. I will no longer vote for her in the primary.

Hillary's Health Care Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 08:50:00 +0000

I'm glad that Hillary has finally announced her health care plan. It's good that her plan gives all Americans the same options that Congressmen and Congresswomen already have. And I like that in her plan, insurance companies wouldn't be allowed to deny coverage for preexisting conditions. But what does her plan say about preventive health care? I've written to her asking if her plan gives discounts for healthy lifestyle choices. It needs to. Have you heard anything about this?

In the Ghetto--A Lisa Marie & Elvis Duet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 06:01:00 +0000

Lisa Marie filmed this in New Orleans, a duet with her father, to draw attention to the fact that poverty exists in this country. It's a beautiful video.

Going Vegan Helps the Environment for Sure!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:02:00 +0000

Please rate my question in the CNN/YouTube presidential debate contest!

For lots of information about why the United Nations and University of Chicago scientists say eating vegan is more effective than driving hybrids, see this page at the Vegetarian Union of North America.

Also, sign up for the free e-newsletter from my magazine, RawFoodsNewsMagazine.com

Sicko is Brilliant

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 04:46:00 +0000

Michael Moore's new movie, Sicko, says a lot about the huge lack of compassion in the US government:

How is it that other countries (and Sicko doesn't even mention ALL of the countries) are able to provide free health care for all? And why can't the US?

Sicko shows how greedy and selfish health insurance companies are--a sad and even criminal state of affairs.

Sicko addresses something very wrong with the US system, the clout that big business holds in keeping politicians quiet. Indeed, it's a sad state of affairs--a Catch 22--when a person with high ideals needs to take money from greedy and selfish health care and pharmaceutical companies to campaign to get elected to try and implement those ideals.

I can imagine Michael Moore as president some day. But then again, he probably has more power to foment change as an independent filmmaker than he ever would as a candidate needing a huge fortune to be taken seriously. Dennis Kucinich, who is campaigning to be president, says all the right things, but no one takes him seriously because he has no money.

Hillary Announces Her Campaign Song!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:18:00 +0000

Check out this cute video from Hillary Clinton's campaign.

I tend to agree with Bill in this one. I think they made the wrong choice!

An Open Letter to Michael Moore

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:50:00 +0000

Check out my open letter to Michael Moore.

Michael Moore Has a Big Crush on Hillary Clinton

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:20:00 +0000

In this article, he calls her sexy.

I think it's great that Bill's wife is getting some buzz that puts her in a new arena.

Moore was responding to a reporter's question about the way his new film, Sicko, treats Hillary.