No, I didn't

I didn't watch the debate last night. I did listen and I kept a careful watch on Twitter. And it was obvious that  President Obama won...

But, this morning I was thinking about how degrading this process of debates is for both candidates and the public. Winning a debate is a measure of a man? Or a woman...if we ever become civilized. Of course not! I want to know more about a candidate than 90 minutes of sound bites can possibly deliver. The whole affair reminds me of the old days of prize fighting and the moderator is the referee of course. 'And in this corner....'
That's not Presidential. Give me a speech, one hour long, detailing the plans that the candidate has for this country if elected. That's all. If I can't make a decision after that, I don't deserve to vote.

I'm terribly afraid that this election and all elections in the future will be decided by debates and polls. Scary.

What?

My 'Smart' phone just burst out with a tornado warning. Tornado? We're in California. We can't have tornadoes. I'm sure it's in the state constitution ...

Along with the raucous warning came the message. "Seek shelter immediately" I jumped to the computer to check out the local weather where, sure enough, there was a tornado alert. I was told that I should seek shelter in my basement. Basement? We don't have basements in California! Well, some houses do but they are the really old houses. So where's my shovel?

The alert time has run out and I see sunshine. I also see a dark wall of clouds in every direction. This might not be over...

clearing my head

Just so I don't go crazy with election year fever...I am looking at my Ancestry dot com program to see where I came from. I do this every few years and I get all excited to see the origins of many of my distant ancestors. And then it becomes work and I drop it until the next burst of curiosity.

I just ran across 'Mercy Tilinghast' a 7th great grandmother on my mother's side of the family. She was born in 1680 in Providence, Rhode Island. She married at the age of 18 and died, in Providence, at the age of 89. Her father, or my 8th great grandfather was named 'Pardon Elisha Tilinghast. He was from Seven Cliffs, Sussex, England. Mercy had at least six children that I can find, including my 6th great grandfather, John Power, born in 1710. I love those names...Mercy and her father, Pardon. And Pardon has his headstone located at Corner of Benefit & Transit Streets,Providence, Rhode Island. 

Now, a mystery...Pardon and his father, also named Pardon died in 1718. the 29th and 19th respectively. So what happened during that winter? Plus, Lydia Taber, the wife of Pardon Senior and my 8th great grandmother died on the 27th of January...same year. I have to Google these dates!

I did search and I was surprised when I saw a Wikipedia article pop up as #1 in the Google search. (Providence January 1718) The article was all about Pardon Senior and his exploits. Great reading! But no clue as to why they all died. Pardon Senior was close to 96 years of age so his death was not unexpected. Now I have to find out why the others died in that month. More mystery!

It drives me crazy!

All of the candidates, from dog catcher to Presidential, refer to the 'politicians' as being the worst thing imaginable...yet that is exactly what they, the candidates, are! If you run for office, you are a politician. Don't you get it, folks? They ARE lying to you!

But there they are, on television, night after night, claiming to rid the city, county, state, and nation of 'politicians' if only we would favor them with a vote.

We have a local pol who claims to be a good old boy and is always seen leaning on the fender of his truck, a barn and tractor in the background, while he promises to get rid of the politicians that are infesting Sacramento. But...he is one! He already holds office. In Sacramento...

Doesn't anyone notice? We deserve the government we get...

Beautiful Day

The sun is out and it's supposed to be 77 degrees for our high...and then the forecast---

... Major change in the weather pattern coming with valley rain
and mountain snow early next week... 

A cold low pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska will begin
dropping into the eastern Pacific this weekend. A cold front
associated with this low is forecast to move into northern
California Sunday night passing through the north state on Monday
and Monday night. This system will bring breezy winds... valley
rain and mountain snow between Sunday night and early Tuesday
morning. Subsequent systems may bring lighter amounts of precipitation
later in the week. 

Between Sunday night and early Tuesday... valley rains of up to a half inch
are expected. Roads which have been dry for months will likely
become very slick at times due to the build up of dirt and oilsover the Summer. Motorist should allow extra time for travel especially
during the Monday morning commute. Localized heavier rain is also
possible. Areas scarred from recent wild fires over the Summer
will be susceptible to debris flow. At the higher elevations... snow
accumulations of 6 to 12 inches are possible above 5500 feet.
Travel will become hazardous there due to slick roads and reduced
visibilities at times.

 Yikes! Suddenly it's Fall.

But we're not worried as we will be flying South to Disneyland on Wednesday AM and we will land at John Wayne International Airport where the temperature will be 79 degrees and the sun will be shining...all week long. We will have our son and girlfriend with us as well as the 'reason' for the trip; our twin 9 year old grandchildren.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser -

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

I hadn't heard of him until this morning...where was my head? Anyway, I find his work to be fascinating. Just use Google Images to see his works. I especially enjoy his architectural works; very much like Antoni Gaudi.



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Identity of donors

 to conservative group sought - latimes.com:

""We went online and checked them out," he said. "They seemed like a legitimate group.""

Of course...because everything you read on the internet is true. Isn't that the rule?


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Too Many Mitts Says The Salt Lake Tribune

Tribune Endorsement: Too Many Mitts | The Salt Lake Tribune:

I hope this gets national attention!

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The sickening truth

 about wind farm syndrome - opinion - 08 October 2012 - New Scientist

I knew it! The closest wind farm is about 120 miles from here but even so, it's causing me gray hair, memory loss and 'stray electricity'...

Leaked Audio

Captures Romney Asking Employers To Tell Their Employees How To Vote

Why am I not surprised? He would think it's perfectly normal to act this way.


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another one

Just listened to the news and they were reporting that Fedex is consolidating services, laying off workers and will be laying off even more as automation will make their positions redundant. Our worry shouldn't be outsourcing...automation is taking jobs away and it won't be stopped. Remember the folks that used to make buggy whips? You don't? Neither do I.

Driving around

I spotted more than one politicians' plea for my vote. They're everywhere! And the the standard theme these days is to promise jobs. City council, county supervisors, state representatives, dog catcher...they are all promising jobs. Of course it's all a lie. If you want jobs to reappear you have to educate. There are only so many service jobs and they are always filled with those that didn't aspire to higher goals because their education was so poor. We didn't give them the education they deserved. In the meantime, mid level technical/engineering jobs are going unfilled for a lack of qualified applicants. When will we learn?

I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of my ballot. I want to fill it out immediately and get it back to the registrar. I heard that California now has over 50% of the voters using 'absentee' ballots. Now if we could only turn that 50% into independent voters, we would have some power! Power to eliminate the two party system...that's what I want to see.  

Steve Jobs Quote

Top 15 Steve Jobs Quotes | Big Is The New Small: +

"Picasso had a saying: ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal.’ We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas… ~Steve Jobs"

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a moral imperative

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.”
— Thomas Jefferson

Romney’s ruinous tax plan - From The Washington Post

Romney’s ruinous tax plan - The Washington Post:

Another worthy read...

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From Tumblr...Obama for America

Obama for America:

Why, oh why didn't we hear this last night? That should have been his closing statement.


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Words

I'm feeling quite 'wordy' today and so here is another thought, or two, of mine.

Regarding the debate. I was disappointed in Jim Lehrer last night. He let himself be intimidated, or so it seemed. I like Jim Lehrer a lot and it seemed as if he wasn't up to the job. Both candidates should have been sternly reprimanded at one time or another, but Romney deserved it far more often.

But, previously, I said I wasn't watching the debate. And I wasn't. But I was recording it for my wife and she watched after she got home. And so I heard it from the other room. It wasn't pleasant to hear the truth being twisted and tortured by the Republican candidate.

And that business about Mitt getting rid of PBS/NPR funding! What an idiot! The figure that I read was that .012% of the federal budget is used for that funding. Chicken feed. That sure sounds like a personal vendetta on Mitt's part. Actually, he is playing to his base; they hate NPR/PBS with a vengeance. They can't stand to hear true 'fair and balanced' news as opposed to the Fox kind.

I was also offended by the references to the 10th Amendment. If there was ever an Amendment that deserved to be removed from the Constitution, this is it. This is the 21st century and Romney is telling me that if I want the best healthcare or education, that I have to shop around among the various States and then move to the one that best suits my needs. What? And how does that make us a better nation?

I'm a citizen of the world who lives in the United States and within a region of the USA called California. Am I a patriot? Somewhat. I've learned that American Exceptionalism is a lie. I served in the Navy, which is more than most of the draft dodging Republicans can say.

There I go again, getting off topic...I better quit while I can.

Okay. One more thing...Romney threw out the 'best healthcare system in the world' lie once again. Why wasn't he called on it?

From TIME GOES BY | Loneliness and Old Age

 Loneliness and Old Age:

Ms Bennett has a very interesting subject here and since for technical reasons, I don't seem to be able to comment within her Comment section, I will just do it right here...but first, read her blog and then return.

I would probably believe the Terman Longevity Study before I would the others. I am lonely at times but it's often by choice or by temperament. I've been a 'loner' all of my life. As an INFP personality type I am extremely introverted. People wear me out! While I was in the Navy I always asked for the 'graveyard' shifts and loved them. During my career in the construction industry I always worked alone. I was foreman and I was a superintendent and you don't make friends in those positions; you might have to fire a 'friend'. As an estimator I had to be alone during the work day. Estimators were not to be disturbed because we were always counting things.

Now don't get the wrong idea; I was not anti-social. I went to all the company functions...and left early. I traded jokes with the people I worked with. But I rarely had anything in common with most of those people. I  remember quite vividly the making a friend during my days of working with my tools on. During a conversation at lunch, I discovered that he read...books! Finding someone like that on a construction site is very rare and we became very good friends.

Now 72 and retired (by choice) for almost nine years, I find that my time on the internet, my time with my artist friends, my time at church...are enough for most times. I know that I can find other sources for friendship but my 'standards' are often too high. Like that friend from long ago, I'm always looking for someone who reads...books.

I paint once a week with a group of eight other painters. They all read books. We talk more than we paint. Painting is our excuse for getting together. I scour the internet for others who read books and I've found plenty of them. We haven't met in person but I think of them as friends. Ar our church we have four pastors and they are all intellectuals who believe that there is a way for science and religion to get along. We work with the University of California, Chico (nest door) in a series of seminars about science and religion. We work with other faiths and have sponsored seminars with local Muslims as guests. I own a Koran and read it. (now and then)

But I digress...(I'm 72 and it's allowed) what I was getting at was the fact that I can choose to be lonely...or not. And this would have been my comment on Ms Bennett's blog this morning.






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polling

The debate is over and who won? Of course it all depends on who you ask and that's the rub. There never will be a winner or a loser in these contests. That's probably one of the reasons why I hate the darn things!

But on to the polls and a thought that I have had for quite awhile now...since I won't answer the phone for a pollster and since I know a lot of others that feel the same way, we are never going to be included in those polls. That's millions of people. I read the other day where a reporter attempted to conduct his own poll of a thousand voters and after two days of calling he had been able to get the opinions of a little over a hundred people.

People who answer their phones for pollsters (and then answer the questions) are a subset within the general population yet that is where the statistics are coming from. That is a small subset. I would guess that these are lonely people that are thrilled when they hear the phone ringing. Yet we believe the figures when they come out in the paper or we see them online.

I've always wondered why they don't use internet polling? You have no idea who you have contacted when you use the phone and so it is with the internet. You have no idea as to the truthfulness of their answers when you use the phone and so it is with the internet. All things being equal, why not use the internet?

Someone has decided to do just that! And of course it's Google; in a trial run.


A CNN poll of debate-watchers found Mr. Romney very clearly ahead, with 67 percent of registered voters saying he won the debate, against just 25 percent for President Obama.

A CBS News poll of undecided voters who watched the debate found 46 percent siding with Mr. Romney, 22 percent for Mr. Obama and 32 percent saying it was a tie.

Google, which is experimenting with online surveys, found 38.9 percent of respondents saying they thought Mr. Obama performed better in a poll it conducted during the debate, against 35.5 percent for Mr. Romney and 25.6 percent who said it was a draw. But a second poll they conducted after the debate found 47.8 percent of respondents giving Mr. Romney the advantage, against 25.4 percent for Mr. Obama.

Do those figures tell us anything? I'm not sure yet, though I'm naturally inclined to believe the Google figures. I think Google is on to something here and I don't doubt that other pollsters will be following their lead. Perhaps then I will have my voice heard in a poll.

Now a word about the debate; from all I've read, Mr. Romney was all bluster and no facts. That is what his base loves! He talks about the 12 million new jobs he will create and yet he won't describe even one of those new jobs for us. Me, I'll take 'facts' every time.

Debates

The debates are on and I have left the room. As an INFP personality type with AS, I cannot stand the rancor. Listening to the arguing actually gives me a terrible feeling; one that I find hard to describe. my heart races and I can't concentrate on what I'm doing. Even with the volume all of the way down, I know that they are arguing and that still bothers me. If I were there, I would charge the stage and tell the two men to stop! Stop it right now! Settle your differences like grownups. 

Of course I would never make it to the stage; I would be shot dead by the Secret Service agents...so I'll just read the critics views tomorrow. Reading is going to make me angry but I will be alive. And alive to vote for Obama.