Something New

I've been looking at the new 'Dashboard' of Blogger. Like all things Google these days, it has been simplified to the extreme! But it does have some great new features and it is much easier to navigate. The feature I am not all that fond of is the graphic representation of the traffic on my blog. Yikes! I must be talking to myself these days. That's okay, I was very interested in 'traffic' a few years ago and tried my best to keep it entertaining, but I'm not an entertainer at heart, I'm an observer. Every once in awhile I get motivated to write some lengthy post of indignation but then that feeling passes and I'm back in observation mode. Relaxed.

Speaking of being motivated...last night I finished the book, The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley. I now have a morbid fascination with the book, as on one hand, I want it out of the house because of the evil it contains; the words of Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Yet I read it again as I find it hard to believe that these things really happened. They did. For instance, Mr. Bradley tells a short version of the Opium wars and of the fortunes made by Anglo entrepreneurs selling opium. Names we know...Warren Delano (think FDR), Cabot, Russell (think Yale Skull&Bones) Low (think Columbia University) Green (think Princeton) Forbes and Perkins.

 Enough of that ancient evil! We do have some fresh evil out there and that's the story of Rupert Murdoch and his handling of the "News of the World" hacking scandal. First, he shuts the newspaper down. Now where's the evidence? Harder to find when the newspaper no longer exists. The scandal grows, none the less, and it makes headlines on all of the news services...except FOX. They ignore it in favor of a story about Jennifer Anniston...did she or didn't she have plastic surgery?

Books of The Times -

James Bradley’s ‘Imperial Cruise’ - Queasy Side of Roosevelt’s Diplomacy

In our library this was marked as a 'New Book' and, unfortunately, with library budgets under attack everywhere, I'm sure it's the best they can do. So...the book is a few years old but no matter, the subject matter was fascinating to me; Teddy Roosevelt. I've read a few books about him but none with the detailed telling of his upbringing and of the times he lived in. Unfortunately, supporters of TR tell us that this was a time when white Americans commonly believed in their racial superiority. That's not an excuse. Presidents are meant to be better than the common man. Sadly, as we have found through the years, they are far more 'common' than exceptional and TR is no exception. I wouldn't have been able to stay in the same room with him without being sick to my soul.

This Modern World » Blog Archive » The debt crisis on planet Glox

The debt crisis on planet Glox

Tom puts it all in perspective...

Epic. Fail

I've been trying to keep up with the national news and whenever I do, I’m so disappointed by what I read. I sometimes wonder if the behavior of the politicians is calculated to drive away any valid interest in what they’re doing. They defy common sense in their assaults upon one another (and logic). This causes you to shake your head; baffled. So, you turn to the comics where Dilbert’s boss makes more sense than what you just read or heard from your representative. In the voter’s world, these buffoons were elected to do the citizens work. All of the citizens. Not just the Democrats that live in their district or the only the Republicans. They are supposed to work for ALL of us. Fail. Epic fail.

Take the Supreme Court; please. More buffoonery from the right side of that august bench. One; why on earth would anyone think that a corporation should deserve the same status as a person?  Two; their latest failing was their rejection of California’s law that protected minors from violent video games. They did agree that it was wrong for minors to see a bare breast in a video game but it was not wrong for that same minor to torture and kill that same woman as long as she was properly clothed. And Scalia, he with the IQ of a turnip, argued that since children already had access to ‘Hansel and Gretel’, where a witch would cook and eat little children, there was no reason to protect them from video game violence.

I sometime wish there were laws that said I couldn’t insult a Supreme Court judge or a Senator or a Congressman, even a President. (maybe there are? No, the Sedition laws were repealed some time ago) I would gladly go to jail just to proclaim loudly that Scalia and Thomas were devoid of both principle and intelligence. The list of Congresspersons and Senators that deserve the same is far too long to place here in print…but I will, if I need to.

And then there is the President. What happened? No, he is not any of the things that the conservatives call him. But he is certainly not the man I voted for. I can’t count, nor do I wish to recollect the promises he has broken. Yes, I know campaign speech contains promises that sometimes cannot be delivered. But far too many of his campaign promises never made it past the front door of the White House. I will vote for him again. I have to. I will do anything at all to keep a Republican from sitting in the Oval Office. It makes me gag whenever I think of the possibility of that happening. Every time we’ve had a Republican President, the nation has suffered immensely. Not one Republican President of the 20^th century was worth a bucket of warm spit. Let’s not even consider that 21^st century failure…the one that has caused all of the pain we’re suffering now.

Atlanta cheating scandal

highlights dangers of high-stakes testing:

"Proponents of so-called 'reform' like to blame teachers' unions for everything bad that happens in schools, but with cheating scandals popping up across the country, including in a number of decidedly non-union districts, it's becoming clear that that's not the case. In fact, although Atlanta teachers have no collective bargaining rights, some of them belong to the American Federation of Teachers, and it was the local AFT chapter that first reported cheating to the district superintendent."

Campbell's Law is valid everywhere. It's in your school districts as well. They just haven't been caught yet.

Focus fireplaces

contemporary fireplaces | modern fireplaces

No, I don't want a fireplace. I hate the mess that comes with it; the wood fragments, ashes, even insects that hitchhike in on a log. I've cut and split enough wood in my lifetime to say that it's over for me! No more!

But...these fireplaces are tempting me! Amazing. Look at the whole product line, you might find the one that will tempt you as well.

Old

From the Edge - Chico News & Review

Another good one from Mr. Porter. (my favorite local author) He describes a small part of aging in his usual humorous way. It's difficult to do much more than laugh when it comes to aging. And I welcome any opportunity to do so...!

Kentucky Tea Party

Sells ‘Yup, I’m A Racist’ Fourth of July T-Shirts

There are times when I am utterly stunned by the gross stupidity of some of my fellow human beings. This is one of those times...

Something local...

From the Chico, News and Review...a little something from my favorite columnist in this small paper. He describes the latest folly by the local police force. They claim that they need more manpower and then they do this...buy a tank for a quarter million dollars! Don't laugh; I bet it's happening in your own community as well. It's hard to keep the boys away from their toys...even deadly toys.

Ouch! Redux...

I really don't care for the fact that I know so many of the staff at the local hospital. But...they are great friends to have when you have to spend so much time there. Now, unless there is some great calamity, I won't be seeing them again. Except at the store or the library...places where I'm quite happy to see them. On Monday morning I had a neurotransmitter and paddle leads installed in my backside. This is the last step for those of us who have FBSS (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome) and are in constant pain. The installation of these items went smoothly and much faster than the back surgeries that preceded this one; only 90 minutes! Everyone was so nice! In fact, I was really enjoying my conversation with the anesthesiologist when she interrupted me, with a smile, and said 'Good night!'

I woke up, as scheduled, in the Recovery Area. Then pain ensued. And it has been pretty much a constant companion ever since. They have me on Percocet (Oxycontin) but it is doing very little for me. On a positive note, I have finally removed the dressings and taken a shower. After that, I had my wife take a photo of the creative landscape of my back. It's easier to do that than to twist my neck trying to look in the mirror. I won't post that photo, I promise. It's quite ugly, with lots of staples showing through the yellow and purple bruising. The new scars go quite well with the older ones, though I may have a tattoo artist label them with dates.

Now I have to wait for the swelling to go down and that is when the St. Jude's rep will meet with me and turn the transmitter to ON. There will be a period of programming as he determines what kind of stimulation will work best for me. After that is over, I get a card that notifies TSA that I'm a legal carrier of metal in my body. And then it's over; I don't have to see anyone again 'medical' until the internal battery fades and must be replaced. That would be in about ten years...in the meantime, I get a chance to get my life back. Walking! Lots of walking...

I'll let you know how it works, in just a few weeks.

AARP and Social Security

Why did I ever think that AARP had my interests at heart? Did I really believe that the management there at AARP headquarters was comprised of 'do good, feel good' Americans who spent their weekends volunteering at the homeless shelters while the apple pies they had just baked were cooling at home...watched over by a cute Cocker Spaniel? Argh! What traitors they turned out to be. I should have known that people in high management positions, even within AARP, have only one agenda and it's a Republican one.

Quantum-dot displays

Dotting the eyes |From The Economist

Doesn't that figure? Our television set is just two years old and with this technology on the very near horizon it might as well be 20 years old.

Party Politics

How Conservatism Lost Touch with Reality - TIME

Now, I rarely read Time news...but this headline caught my eye and I was pleasantly surprised to read an intelligent piece under the Time banner. This short article should be sent to every Congressman and Senator...

Fantastic...

Image Record from Cornell University.

Amazingly enough, this was written during the creation of the Republican Party...somehow they knew the future!

"A heavy, stupid demon, despite his dignities)....his powers are in the gluttony and the pleasure of the belly."

The Republican Agenda

From TIME GOES BY

Sure, she's angry. Why not? I have to agree with her 100%. If you haven't already read this well written post...click on the link above and get busy!

From Wired 9.12:

The Geek Syndrome

I remember reading this article when it was first published and having an 'Aha!' moment.

Here's a link to the author and more of his work...

Roger Ailes

His Office Protects Him from Gay Terrorists - Gawker

Oh, the weird stuff you run across while surfing the intertubes!

Considering how Fox News is run, this story really does make sense. And it certainly tells you a whole lot about the intelligence level at NewsCorp...starting with Sir Rupert, who hired this creep.

StoryPeople?

The story for today is:Golf

When I first read about the Story People, I was interested enough to visit the website. But I was less than thrilled by what I read there. Since the site had good recommendations I decided to sign up for the daily 'Story' to be delivered to my inbox. Truthfully, I would have to say that the first few 'Stories' were just so-so. Then they began to get my attention. Now they're like Cheetos but without the orange crud...

"The first time I played golf, I had the most fun throwing bread to the goldfish in the pro shop. It made as much sense as anything else."

Let Them Eat Tanks

From Sojourners Magazine/June 2011:

You may have to do a 'free' one time registration to see the article (so dumb!) Anyway, what is not shown in the on-line article are the various graphs that indicate where the tax money goes AFTER the Pentagon takes 58% of our annual budget for discretionary spending. And then the article questions why we spend this un-Godly amount of money on war and not on defense. If it is for defense, who are we defending ourselves against? It's not China; they are our largest trading partner. We will never go to war against China. Terrorists? A RAND Corporation study showed that military force was the least effective means to address terrorism. Politics, at 43%, was the 'best' method. The Pentagon does to the taxpayer what Bernie Maddoff did to his investors...except the Pentagon will never go to jail as they should.

Ben Cohen, of Ben&Jerry fame, uses the article to explain this thievery with a couple of boxes of Oreo's...

"Wallis: Tell me about the Oreo demonstration.

Cohen: That's a demonstration I developed on my own. It makes it easier to understand the federal budget. One Oreo represents $10 billion. The $700 billion Pentagon budget is just a stack of 70 Oreos -- you can understand 70 Oreos. In comparison to that, the federal government spends just four-and-a-half Oreos on education, just one-half an Oreo on alternative energy, and a fraction of an Oreo on Head Start. If you take just seven Oreos off the Pentagon budget, you could provide health care for all the kids who currently don't have it. You could provide Head Start for all the kids who need it. You could eliminate our need for Mideast oil through energy efficiency. You could change our country into one that cares about people, eliminates poverty, and helps people climb their way out, through education."

If you don't have any Oreo's, any cracker will do if you want to see what this looks like on your kitchen table. And once you've seen that, consider the fact that not one of our elected representatives or the President has seriously considered doing something about this abomination. Consider it? They won't even talk about!

Lightning Bar Blues:

from Arlo Guthrie «

Follow the link above. Classic Arlo...I hadn't heard this one in a long time.

From 'This Modern World '

Once upon a time

Oh, it's such a classic fairy tale! And I knew it after the first panel...

Joe Bageant (1946 - 2011)

Bageant’s Frustration: Extreme Isolation

He was one of my 'heroes' as he always spoke his mind. I didn't always agree with him but I probably did about 90% of the time.Order one of his books at your library...

"The Rant"

by Tom Degan: The Disenfranchised States of America

Just as described in Tom's piece, the students in the 'Big City' of Chico are being targeted for disenfranchisement. The local knuckleheads of the GOP have obtained enough signatures to get on the ballot with their idea of a perfect democracy. A democracy without student participation. Since students normally go home during the summer months, their proposal (Measure A) is to move the City Council elections in the city from November to June. It doesn't matter to the GOP that most of the students are residents, physically, for 3/4 of the year. I would believe that would qualify them to be full time residents in a legal sense as well. After all, if you're a rich Republican and decide to take a world cruise, do you lose your residency status?

MonkeyLectric

LED Bike Wheel Light

Might save a life...but will the police want to ban them as 'distracting'?

Life

Life goes on. And I'm still in the thick of it. Thank goodness! I'm awake at an early hour every day and browsing the internet via my Google Reader links. I usually start with my Art links and download images of all the art that strikes me as 'good'. I'm up to 3,500 or more images in that collection, all of which help me satisfy my Aspbergian desire to collect things. The internet has become a great tool for that and I have a separate 1.5 Terabyte hard drive that is becoming choked with my odd image collections. Before the internet, 'collecting' was so much more difficult! Hmmm? I just noticed that my large scrapbook filled with business cards is sitting out again. A physical collection as opposed to a digital one.

Moving? We're still at the same address and interest in the house is low. We've had two lookers since January. Two! We've reduced the price and we are ready to lower it again, this time to below the price we paid for it. That's something we had never planned on…We have to console ourselves with the fact that this would be the first time for this to happen in our long history of buying and selling our homes. We started out by purchasing a 3Br/2Bath house in Newbury Park, CA for $21,000. Now we're dealing with hundreds of thousands. We also keep saying that we don't have to move and we can wait for the market to turn around. That's true but almost unbearable to think about. We are very tired of making the thirty minute trip to Chico at least six times a week.

Speaking of Chico, we were there yesterday for a trip to the Farmer's Market and Costco. That's shopping at the opposite ends on the marketing scale. We bought strawberries and sugar peas at the market and enjoyed a long discussion with the seller about the various types of strawberries (Avoid the Chandler!) and how to deal with customers, a topic that the seller had pursued at college while he lived in Minnesota. He happens to be a Hmong and our community is being blessed with their presence these days as more of them move here and get involved in the local ag businesses. They are great farmers. I have no idea as to why so many of the Hmong's were originally sent to Minnesota as that is about as far as you can get from Vietnam – climatewise.

Now, about Costco…it's the cheapest place in town for gas as it's always ten to fifteen cents cheaper than anywhere else in town. Yesterday was the wrong time to go as we had forgotten about the crowds that would be stocking up for graduation parties this coming weekend. Cal State Chico, the local university will be graduating the class of 2011 on all three days of the weekend. Anywho…we made our way around the store and bought/ground our supply of coffee and we also bought one of the hot rotisserie chickens. Our daughter had raved about them and so we had to try it. It was only $5 and we have discovered that we can have three meals from it and still have chicken left over for salads. Of course, being Costco, we also bought things we shouldn't have. I lose all willpower when I'm there and come out poorer at the end.

I'm still waiting to meet with the surgeon that will do the implant of the Spinal Cord Stimulation device. Just one more week! And at the meeting he will discuss what he is going to do (I already know!) and then he will send me on my way with a promise that the hospital will call – sometime - and give me a date for the surgery. Maybe, after the surgery, I will be able to reduce the amount of pain meds I'm ingesting. Which varies. Yesterday was 4 Norco day and the day before that was 6 Norco day. Oddly enough; I really want consistency. If it's going to be pain, give it to me all of the time. Don't give me pain and then, mysteriously, relieve it for an hour, two hours or a day before returning me to the pain. All or nothing, please! I'm sure that doesn't make sense to the average person but that's how it is…for me.

I'm reading the Koran, or Qur'an these days. Just half a dozen pages a day as it's not easy reading. It's somewhat like reading Leviticus or Deuteronomy in the Bible. And it makes just as much sense. There are lots of contradictions in it; very much like the Bible in that respect. We attended a seminar at our church on Islam. The speaker was Jon Armajani of the College of Saint Benedict/Saint Johns' University. He was a fascinating speaker, being of Iranian descent, a Princeton Seminary Presbyterian pastor and teaching Islamic Studies at a Catholic university. So I'm reading the Koran as interpreted by N.J. Dawood, that was Jon's recommendation.

I've been quite surprised by the all of the references to Moses, David, Mary and her father, to Jesus and Apostles. In the Koran, Christians and Jews are lumped together as the People of the Book. That 'Book' being the Old Testament or Torah. In the Koran, the People of the Book are respected…as long as they behave exactly as the 'Book' orders them to. Impossible.

My art projects have come to a halt, all except for the most minor ones. I'm sure it's the drugs that have robbed me. I have half a dozen large and blank canvases in the garage and spider webs are growing around tubes of paint. Sigh.

Well, the sun is shining, the wind is blowing and it's time to do something else. I've sat here too long!

Woof!

An interview with John Elder Robison, Living Boldly as a “Free-Range Aspergian”

Good stuff here!

Mom

Memories of my Mother. Such a complex person! So I’m just going to post her picture and tell you that I loved her very much. And I miss her. 

My Nana

 I was reading Mature Landscaping the other morning and Nance’s topic, her grandmother, immediately made me think of my Nana. Eava (or Eva) Seymour was born in the Iron Range town of Tower, Minnesota in 1890. When I look at her school picture I have to admit that she was funny looking little kid. Time moves on and she grew up tall (for those times) probably 5’7 or 5’8. She would have been considered a beauty; petite women were considered ‘pretty’ in those days and she was tall. A classical beauty. She was wooed and won by a handsome Scot, an immigrant and a scoundrel. He was also my grandfather, William B Dunn. She soon had two children, my Aunt Jessie and my father, another William B. Then, in the early 1920’s, the scoundrel came up with the idea of taking the family to California to live. Which he did and then promptly disappeared, going back to Minnesota and another woman, leaving his small family alone and broke in San Francisco. Nana had to get a job if they were going to survive and she found it almost impossible to find work in those days, but they did survive. Dad told me of stealing bread and fruit during the leanest of times. Eventually they made it to Los Angeles and that is where Dad finished school, graduating from John Marshall High School. She didn’t like to talk about the past so I only received bits and pieces of her story as I was growing up. I remember my dad always referred to her as ‘Tilly’, short for “Tilly the Toiler’, a popular comic strip character from the 1920’s that was described as a ‘Stylish working girl…’. I do know that she worked for J.W. Robinson Co., a high class department store in downtown Los Angeles. For years she worked as a saleslady on the 7^th floor, in the  Lamp Department. Sadly, she made a mistake when she went to work for them because she listed her age as being 10 years younger. I think she was afraid of age discrimination. All was well until it was time for retirement and then she had to continue working until she was 75 if she wanted the pension. Of course she did.  And she worked till the day she died…    

My favorite memory of Nana was a day when my younger sister and I had taken our red wagon out to find bottles to collect for their redemption value. We lived near the beach and discarded bottles were hard to find. I was 6 years old at the time and my sister just 3. We had been lucky and after a long day had found enough bottles to cover the bottom of the wagon. We were right in front of our house when three older kids came walking up and demanded that we give them the bottles. We protested of course and just as tensions reached a peak, the screen door of the house flew open and Nana came to our rescue. I had never seen her with her hair down before and I was quite startled to see her magnificent cloud of gray hair flying into the air behind her as she grabbed the hose, turned the water on and raced toward us, directing the spray at our tormentors. “Shoo!’ she yelled. “Shoo, you kids and don’t come back!” Well, they shooed all right and we were saved! It was the one and only time I can remember her raising her voice. Our hero! 

From Mature Landscaping:

She Never Had Nothing

This is some classic material from Nance...what a great writing voice!

Of course I couldn't help but think of my Nana, my most loved grandmother. During the next 24 or so hours I have to come up with a post of my own about my Mother and my Nana. I have already shared their photos with the family, via Facebook and I can use those here tomorrow as well.

The High Cost

of Low Teacher Salaries - NYTimes.com

I read this yesterday in the Times and said 'Yes!' to myself. This is what I've been saying for years and I was quite happy to see that someone with writing talent was bringing these thoughts to the pages of the NYT. A good one!

Makers

Download for Free

Cory Doctorow and I have the same thoughts regarding copyrights but he is able to do something positive about it while I can only cheer him on.

I read a review of this book a little while ago and then downloaded the html version. Three pages later I'm hooked. I'm actually looking at some of the URL's and thinking about following them with a cut and paste...but wait, this is fiction!

Warning! I read in the review that there are a few x-rated sections in the book. Do what you wish with that information. I'm taking the risk because I love geek books. I love technology. And I love an author who dares to speak the the truth about copyrights. (no, the book is not about copyrights...only the author is!) By the way, you can even buy the book if so inclined.

It’s dark out there

It is early and that's no surprise. I was in bed for about five and a half hours before I gave up and decided to make a pot of coffee. Now I've had a cup and browsed the internet as I usually do about this time. My feed reader told me that there was something new to read on a friends blog; Mature Landscaping. Nance has a great way with words. And her posts prove it. If you read carefully you might notice a small reference to pain. Her pain. From what I can tell, she is at odds with severe pain on a regular basis and still appears to be a winner. She handles pain with much grace. Enviable grace.

Speaking of pain as I was... in about a month, I will be talking to the surgeon who will do the Spinal Cord Stimulator implant. Surgery will follow within a week or two? A month or two? Whatever! Then, with any luck at all, I will be able to wirelessly dial up the necessary pain relief any time I wish. Electronic wizardry sending messages from the embedded controller and up my spine; these fool the brain by scrambling the pain message. What a wonderful time to be alive!

Of course I don't get off the hook of pain completely. I now count 'Trigger Finger' as something new to plague me. Luckily it is my left hand ring finger and so, being right handed, I'm not incapacitated by it. I was able to get my wedding ring off before the swelling became too bad and now the ring sits here in front of me, looking a little lonely, waiting to go back on someday.

On a different subject; I've been researching Asperger's Syndrome during the past half a dozen years. I had always thought that I had ADD/ADHD. (I'm seventy years old. It doesn't make a lot of difference now.) But as I read about that I began to see references to Asperger's and so I explored some more. I took the usual on-line tests and each time I did I came up with scores that indicated that Asperger's was definitely a part of me. And this (self) diagnosis explained so much about my childhood! And my adult life as well. Such as the fact that I have a problem looking anyone in the eye. I remember all of the meetings I had to attend and the silent commands to myself, "look him in the eye...you have to or he won't believe you!" It was one of those 'John Wayne' things...you simply couldn't trust a 'cowboy' that wouldn't look you in the eye. I failed so many times. I can't do it for more than a second or two, so I've learned to look at eyebrows instead! And then there is my boring recitation of facts that only I would enjoy. I often see my unwilling audience's eyes glazing over as I interject with yet another useless fact from my never empty treasury of facts. I used to read the dictionary for fun; Aardvark to Zymurgy. And then I would read it again. And again.

There are plenty of other signs of Asperger's, enough so that during the time with my Tuesday morning painting group, I mentioned the fact that I was fairly certain that I had Asperger's. One of my friends there, nodded her head  and said, quite firmly, "I knew it! I knew it!" She works with developmentally challenged kids at the local high school and knows quite a bit about Asperger's. (I'm developmentally challenged in ways you would not notice at first glance.) Asperger's, or Aspie's, as some call themselves, usually have higher than normal intelligence. I have an IQ of 138 or 143, depending on who you want to believe. Those numbers did not make me a rocket scientist; I was a carpenter! Having a higher IQ and having Asperger's makes for a very uncomfortable life at times. I can't always make use of the intelligence in ways that society understands. And when I was younger I was constantly being flogged with those numbers by counselors who thought I needed more motivation.

Being a carpenter was really a blessing as I could usually work by myself if I needed to. Plus, I could work out construction problems in my head while I was alone and come up with better methods for building. That 'talent' soon promoted me to foreman and superintendent. I was still an apprentice when they made me foreman as well. (That didn't win me a lot friends) But, being deeply introverted, I had to come up with a different way of leadership as I simply couldn't yell and threaten to fire anyone. I did find a way and it worked for me for many years. I would give them the 'look'…without actually looking at them, of course. I would exude disapproval without ever saying a word. Devastating!

As I said earlier, I'm over seventy years of age and whether or not I have ADD or Asperger's…or a bit of both, makes no difference now. Except for the fact that I'm now aware of some of my more irritating 'habit's' and will try to moderate them for the sake of friendships. Just don't ask me to look them in the eye

Disappointed

I just read that our President has released the "long form' of his birth certificate. He should never have done it. He's playing right into the wacko's hands with it. Now they will claim it's a forgery...'it must be, otherwise he would have shown it earlier.' These fools won't let up. You watch...

Buzzfeed says...

Pay Your Taxes? These 10 Companies Didn't. [PIC]

From injaynesworld: i

it's the "Sunday Recap - Late Edition..."

I didn't get around to this till the early hours of Tuesday...but it's still fresh stuff!

Love the 'Toenail' story!

Remember when?

I ran across this bit of wisdom (satire) and just had to share it...

"Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half our 401(k)’s, took $trillions in taxpayer funded bailouts, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves $billions in bonuses, and paid no taxes? Yeah…me neither. Pass it on." 

Tweetit

Have I become immature, or has Twitter matured? I prefer the latter. All I know for sure is that I have suddenly started following and reading all sorts of tweets on my once dusty Twitter account. It started, I believe, when I picked up on the John Kyl story and I just had to read Stephen Colbert's tweets on the subject of 'Not intended to be a factual statement'. Here's a sampling (44) of these great tweets that still make me laugh. Can you believe that Kyl is still a Senator? How can he have the nerve to pick up a paycheck? But I digress...I started looking around the Twitter world and have begun following lots of people and organizations. I'm up to 71 now and still looking for more to follow. But, what I don't understand is...why do people follow me? I rarely have an original tweet; I am a habitual re-tweeter, just doing my bit to spread the news...

Todd Lamb

Notes From Chris

This is one of the 'Treasures of the Day'. Too bad our town is so boring. No one here would even look twice at these notes...

Argh!

« The Spinning Dancer Illusion »

This Modern World

Language is a virus

Soylent Green. Coming to a theater near you...soon

Sorry, you have to be of a certain age for this to make sense...

(One of Charlton Heston's worst films)

Tax myths

and misunderstandings - Chico News & Review:

A clear and concise story on the 'Reagan Ripoff'.

Why doesn't a Republican give us a verifiable accounting of how successful Supply Side Economics works? Because they can't. It's the same old lie and repeated endlessly.

9 Things

9 Things The Rich Don't Want You To Know About Taxes

It's just nine little lies explained. Nine little lies that you need to know about...and who said them!

Colbert

Colbert twittering silly John Kyl into oblivion:

"Kyl, like so many on the Right flaps his gums and lies so much he has to have someone else call his dog. "

Now that's funny! (And true!)

A special report on pensions:

Falling short | from The Economist:

The second paragraph of this story told me just about all I needed to know... "The employers who promised higher pensions in the past knew they would not be in their posts when the bill became due. That made it tempting for them to offer higher pensions rather than better pay." It was simply criminal and no one has gone to jail for it yet. Maybe the CEO that signed the agreement is gone but the company isn't and they are responsible for those sins. Someone...lots of someones need to go to jail. They lied. And they knew it when they signed the agreements. And until someone is punished I don't intend to believe anything they have to say.

In the past five years we have lost half of our wealth. Stolen. Theft by the manipulations of Wall Street and no one has gone to jail for those crimes either. But we were lucky as I had a Carpenter's Union pension. When the Dow Jones collapsed, I didn't hear a word of complaint from the Carpenter's fund; the checks continued to arrive. On time and for the full amount. If they hadn't, we might have had to live with our children!

And now someone, lots of someone's, want the gullible to put their retirement savings into 401(k) plans? Why?

Enough griping...the rest of the articles are fascinating but must be taken with lots of salt.

From Street Talk:

Another Haley Barbour Hunkers Down on K Street : Roll Call Lobbying

I know...and I'm sorry for it. Sort of. But take a look at this guy (and read the story of course) and imagine him as President. He wants to be. Appearances shouldn't matter but Mr. Barbour needs a year at a gym and elocution lessons. Hopefully he will be eliminated in the first round.

A good read

I've been reading the book The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason. It's a crime novel set in Iceland, the home of the author. I'm not finished with it but I'm thoroughly hooked. I was hooked enough to open up Google Earth and descend, virtually, on the small island of Iceland and tour some of the spots described in the book. Such as Hafnarfjordur. Say that three times, fast. Heck, say it once! The photos don't tell me the temperatures but they are uniformly lovely. The aerial views seem to indicate that everything is 'neat and tidy'. And the roads! Wide roads with beautiful sweeping interchanges, but where are all of the people? The photos almost all show deserted vistas both in towns and out on the highways. Unfortunately, Google hasn't sent their camera cars to Iceland so you can't take a virtual tour street by street at ground level, but you can click on the hundreds of photo opportunities and get a good sense of the place. Enough so that I want to go. Unfortunately I will have to go alone as my wife had already read the novel and sensed that it was never 'really' warm in Iceland (Duh!...it's called Ice-land for a reason!). For her, vacations are in warm places.

In the book, the police detective, Erlendur Sveinsson, is not at all like any detective novel 'hero' that you read about before. He is a tormented and lonely soul. His children hate him and he's hated by his ex-wife. Odd, but he reminds me a great deal of Kurt Wallander, the Swedish detective in the novels by Henning Mankell. That's another author that's a favorite of mine. Maybe it's the long dark winters of the sub polar regions that gives these authors such a tortured view in their books. Iceland sits astride the Arctic Circle and isn't all that far from Sweden…and it's really dark all winter long. In fact, the author notes that depression is a major problem in Iceland.

But I'm going in the summertime when the sun never sets! I guess I'll have to bring my wife some souvenirs…

California's Republicans:

Dead, or just resting? | The Economist

Hopefully the former. It's just one more good thing to love about the Golden State.

American Fascism

Henry A. Wallace's Warning of American Fascism

This was written in 1944, believe it or not. 67 years ago and it reads as if it were written yesterday. I came across it on True Blue Texan's blog and after reading it, I just had to post it. Read it and see if you don't see some truths...maybe even more than 'some'.

Hopeful

Yippee! I think I'm finally emerging from a three month Fentanyl holiday. I'll take my pain plain from now on…straight up thank you! Hopefully, this new feeling will last for awhile and I can get on with living again. I had been in a creative slump for the past few months but last night, just before bed, I whipped out the watercolor crayons and my big sketchbook/art journal and started drawing with big strokes and big color. Added water and then more color. I let it dry and then I started in on it again this morning. All very abstract of course but I have featured a big Rx with black slashes through it.

Somewhere in my reading this morning I came across this bit of wisdom…why is it that the Republicans have successfully focused the righteous anger of public opinion on the costs of the public sector employees and have pulled a curtain across any view of the crimes of the banking industry whose excesses have cost us far more than the public sector? How dumb are we? And don't get me started on the wars. Three trillion dollars for the Iraq war and now the Afghan war, the longest war in our history at over ten years…we haven't even begun to calculate what that will cost us all in the end and it's all because of the power of the military/industrial complex, the bad boys that Ike warned us about. Oh, Ike…if only you could see it now. You would weep. I know we should. But we continue to watch TV, that gentle soporific machine, and our lives glide along undisturbed. We need the draft! Yes, if we want out of the current wars and to avoid the future ones, we need to put ourselves in harm's way. I guarantee you if we thought that our son's and daughter's, our grandchildren, wives and husbands were in danger of being sent to fight in some senseless war, we would rise up and demand that it stop…now! We have not been attacked by any nation and yet we have laid waste to two nations and alienated ourselves with countless citizens of the world. Disgusting.

I better go back to my painting…

Of the 1%,

by the 1%, for the 1% | From Vanity Fair

An educated look at the inequality crisis...

Battery technology:

Highly charged |From The Economist

I sat down to eat my eggs this morning and started reading this. After I finished, (the article and the eggs) I had to go to the computer and share it...

This is the kind of stuff that gives me hope for the future. Our future.

From Mad Mike...

Millions of Americans cannot read this:

This is from an older post but nothing has changed. These people vote and they get all their information via television. Guess which channel?

"Every year, at least two million adults considered to be functionally illiterate swell the ranks of Americans unable to read. If this critical problem isn’t addressed soon, society will most certainly pay the price.

Illiteracy Statistics

42 million American adults can’t read at all; 50 million are unable to read at a higher level that is expected of a fourth or fifth grader.
The number of adults that are classified as functionally illiterate increases by about 2.25 million each year.
20 percent of high school seniors can be classified as being functionally illiterate at the time they graduate.
Source: National Right to Read Foundation

Where Illiteracy Leads

70 percent of prisoners in state and federal systems can be classified as illiterate.
85 percent of all juvenile offenders rate as functionally or marginally illiterate.
43 percent of those whose literacy skills are lowest live in poverty.
Source: National Institute for Literacy"

Speaking of weather...as I was

in the previous post...here's some stats. 744" of snow! And more to come...AccuWeather.com - Weather News | Excessive Sierra Nevada Snow and Agricultural Impacts

Speaking of Art

What fun. I picked up a check for $48 yesterday. Payment in full for the $60 abstract painting I had in a local show. The curator made $12 off of it. It wasn’t even supposed to be in the show as I didn’t like it and only included it when my wife said, “aren’t you taking that one?” So I did. I don’t even have a photo of it and I’m hoping to forget that I ever painted it. But…now I’m thinking about the fact that someone paid $60 for it. My first painting sold for $20 and it felt more like a donation. Small canvas and small subject. But $60 means something serious in these times. Should I paint some more that are just as mundane as that was? If I wasn’t just a retiree enjoying himself, then I would probably do that. That would become my new favorite style. For the $bucks$. But a style in art is ephemeral unless you get lucky.

Speaking of luck. Bad luck. The big time art world is being rocked by a judge’s decision regarding a ‘school’ of art. It’s called ‘Appropriation Art’. Really. As I understand it, one ‘artist’ would take copied photographs from another artist’s book and then add things to the photos such as painting guitars and glasses on the subjects in the photos. And then sell the results for millions. Yes, millions. I’ll never understand the major art world because these were really ugly paintings. Sorry, photos. The problem lies in the fact that the judge interpreted and made her decision based on what she thought were the motives of the artist. Bad art or not, no one can know what motivates an artist. (Certainly not a judge with a S and J in their MBTI. Artists are almost always N and P with some F thrown in.) Then to make matters worse, she says that the gallery had an obligation to determine the motives of the artist. In the meantime the pictures in question are not to be shown in any manner…do the new owners (yes, someone bought them) cover them with velvet and only lift the velvet late at night when they are certain that no one is around to see the transgression? What is certain is the fact that these pictures, because of the notoriety, are now worth even more…if that is even possible. Can I include a photo here? One stolen from the internet? Sure, why not? Millions have already seen them.  

I was reading some of the comments on the case and it was brought out that almost all artists are ‘guilty’ of appropriation at some time or another. We take ideas and styles from other artists all of the time. And now that I’m working on some collage pieces…I’m definitely guilty!

I have a large collection of digital images of art. Whenever I see a piece that interests me, I right click on it and save it to a folder of other images. I have some artist friends that are afraid to display their work on-line because someone might steal it. A thief like me, I suppose. But what would I do with it once I had stolen it? I use my collection as a screen saver…guilty again. Please note; I'm deleting the photo above from my hard drive. That's simply ugly.

It’s just a few more days now and then I get my trial Spinal Cord Stimulator and I’m eager! I’m already imagining the luxury of being able to dial out the pain whenever it strikes. And once it’s surgically implanted and the doctors dismiss me, I will be free to do…what? It’s been so long since I’ve done so many things I don’t know where to start. Driving will be a big thing for me. Long walks will be another. I should be able to paint again. Currently, I paint in spurts. No, not spurts of paint but spurts of energy. The drugs make me manic one minute and then I’m off for a nap or off to do something else. I can’t concentrate long enough to do more than five minutes at a time. On Tuesday mornings, when I paint with our group, I do pointillism. Not because I like it, but because it can be mechanical and I can appear to be normal to my friends. I’ve been working on the same piece for a month now and I really don’t care if I ever finish it. But, once I’m off the drugs, I may change my mind and find it to be fascinating once again.

This has been an amazing month for weather. It’s still snowing in the mountains to the east of here; where our son and grandchildren live. The Sacramento River has gone a full foot over flood stage locally and that means water is released into strategic areas to take the pressure off the river. Some rural roads are now flooded and will stay that way till the river level falls. As we cross the river at Hamilton City, we can see a house located about 50 feet away from the river and the river is now lapping at the lawn that slopes away from the house. Today we will probably see rain once again and it’s forecast to rain all of the way past the end of the month and into the next. This is a weather pattern that climate scientists have predicted. Exactly. We even had a tornado touch down about 20 miles from here. All part of global warming. The same global warming that our congresspersons deny as they pander to the right wingnuts. Oh, don’t get me started…     

venting

Aargh! My Trigger Finger problem is most irritating this morning! It's also very common and I hate to have 'common' problems. The more exotic the better!

It's just a little after 5 and I've been up since 3. All very much normal for me. Sigh. And now it's time for another cup of coffee.

Okay, coffee is in my hand…in a cup. And I've made the painful walk between here and there to get my cup. It's only on the return trip from there that I feel the pain. It must be the added weight of the coffee. And the cup. And speaking of pain, it's less than a week now until I receive my trial Spinal Cord Stimulator. Yippee! And then, after I receive the final install of the SCS, maybe, just maybe, I can think of reducing the amount of drugs I'm taking for pain. I have a love/hate relationship with Fentanyl, Norco and Neurontin. Yet, I can't imagine life without them. I have to. They aren't the first drugs I've had to divorce myself from so I'm quite optimistic about it. Though…at my age I certainly don't need a painful divorce. And now with a case of 'Trigger Finger' to contend with, I wonder when will it (the pain) all be over? It's been three years now and it's starting to feel 'normal'. I don't need that!

Our group of painters has put together another show at the sports club and this time I'm absent from the show. I helped to hang it yesterday and was truly relieved to have nothing there for others to judge. Yes, I sold a painting at the last show but it was one that I wasn't happy about and never should have shown it. I am not ready for another experience like that.

Until Sunday, I was all set, or had talked myself into believing that I was…ready to hang two pieces in this show. Then I saw through the haze of drugs and decided to gesso right over them. Done. These pain killers might give you inspiration, or something that passes for inspiration but they don't give you talent.

I've begun some new pieces but I'm going at it quite slowly and not letting the inspiration get ahead of what I'm able to do. I'm still looking for some way to express myself adequately. That's why I'm taking a Papier-mâché class next month. As I said - still looking!

Some quotes I pulled from the net…

Artist's Quotes

There is in every artist's studio a scrap heap of discarded works in which the artist's discipline prevailed against his imagination. Robert Brault.

 

To sum up, I work without a theory. I am conscious above all of the forces involved, and find myself driven forward by an idea that I can really only grasp bit by bit as it grows with the picture. Henri Matisse. 

 

I paint in order not to cry. Paul Klee. 

 

But the Devil whoops, as he whooped of old: "It's clever, but is it Art?" Rudyard Kipling.

 

No great art has ever been made without the artist having known danger. Rainer Maria Rilke.

 

Whoever wishes to devote himself to painting should begin by cutting out his own tongue. Henri Matisse.

 

Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.  George Carlin.

 

What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art. Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

 

An artist's career always begins tomorrow. James McNeill Whistler.

 

One must beware of a formula good for everything, that will serve to interpret the other arts as well as reality, and that instead of creating will only produce a style, or rather a stylization. George Braque.

 

If I knew what I was doing, I'd be doing it right now.  Keith Urban.

 

Truth and reality in art do not arise until you no longer understand what you are doing and are capable of, but nevertheless sense a power that grows in proportion to your resistance. Henri Matisse.

 

ThinkProgress

Ending The Afghan War Would Save Taxpayers 40,000 Times More Money Than Defunding NPR

The Republicans are idiots! Especially our own Wally Buffoon. In Butte County, NPR has been voted the best radio station year after year after year. Yet he voted to silence it...

Of course it won't work. Federal funds make up such a small amount of the budget and I'm certain that the citizens of Butte County will make up the difference.

What this whole symbolic tempest shows us is that our congress is busy chasing the mythical demons that bother them and not paying attention to the people's business. They hate NPR because it consistently reports the news in an unbiased manner. More people trust NPR than any other news source and that just cannot be tolerated by the Republican Brownshirts.

This bill will go nowhere this year or the next. It's just foot stamping by the Brownshirts...but in the years to come?

Modified version

of original post written by Josef Oehmen | MIT NSE Nuclear Information Hub (http://web.mit.edu/nse/)

Would you care to read some non-sensational news about the nuclear reactors in Japan? The ones that have been damaged? This is written/edited by MIT and I think they can be trusted to give us accurate information. It's not as exciting as the stuff given to us by any one of the many talking heads on television but I think it's our duty to try and find the truth rather than accept the headlines and this is as close to the truth as I will get...I love the internet!

Something I found

As I was wandering this morning, I came across this chart.

You may have to magnify the image to see detail but I can tell you one of the things you would see...that after 15 years of working as a teacher, your salary would rank 23rd out of 29 nations.

I've been saying this for years; teachers are underpaid! You get exactly what you pay for! It's so basic...why is it so hard to understand?

From Citizen K.:

Youthful Idealists Need Not Apply

I must have been busy...or asleep yesterday because I missed this post until this morning. At first I thought it must be a joke. I know that Republicans are mean spirited, but there are limits and I thought they would respect them. Obviously not.

Diana's

Diana's Innermost House

We've been thinking of downsizing...

Firepower

Calling the shots | The Economist:

"".....the policing tradition is rooted in 19th-century Peelian principles: the police are not supposed to impose order on an unwilling populace, but to operate with the consent of the community. The display and use of force is meant to be minimal."

And it works!

"LESS than 5% of police officers in England and Wales carry a gun on duty. Infinitely fewer fire one, and fatal shootings by police are vanishingly rare (there were two in 2009-10)"

"To a degree that many Americans find incredible, this fairly violent country is policed by men and women who might, on a difficult day, pack a baton and a can of tear gas."

Here's a model of policing that works...so why don't we try it? Our own methods haven't worked in years. Actually, they never have. 

And on a different subject...I have a new post on Peppers, the art blog

photos by Martin Schoeller

photos by Martin Schoeller

Scroll down through the photos. All very startling. Do I 'know' all of these people? I have to admit that I have only seen about 70% of them.

Embarrassed Republicans

Admit They've Been Thinking Of Eisenhower Whole Time They've Been Praising Reagan

"'I never understood why everyone elevated him to the level of a party icon,' said 89-year-old Nancy Reagan. 'Ronnie was certainly sweet and I loved him very much, but let's face it, he was a terrible president.'"

Furious!

I was so mad. Really mad. That was yesterday and I had just received the latest issue of Mother Jones magazine. (Smart. Fearless Journalism) They have a article titled 'Plutocracy Now' and in the article, at the beginning of the article, I found this…

"Princeton political scientist Larry Bartels studied the voting behavior of US Senators in the early 90's and discovered that they respond far more to the desires of high income groups than anyone else. By itself, that's not a surprise. He also found that Republicans don't respond at all to the desires of voters with moderate incomes. Maybe that not a surprise either. (it isn't) But this should be: Bartels found that Democratic Senators don't respond to the desires of these voters, either. At all."

Okay, I know that the study is almost twenty years old now. I would also be glad to bet that the behavior of the Senators has not changed. In fact, we're probably talking about the same Senators! They won't retire when they should and we're stuck with Senators that are stuck in the 20^th century. That's another conversation altogether…

The article, which you should buy and read for yourself, goes on with another 6 or more pages of facts and figures that tell you just what kind of a government our inattention has brought us. For instance, we know or we have heard that there is a growing in equality in income…

    The average income per family

        The top 0.01% $27,342,212.

        The top 0.01-0.1% $3,238,386

        The top 1% $1,137,684

        The top 1-10% $164647

        The bottom 90%
$31,244

The BOTTOM 90%. How do you support a family on $31,000? Don't they get it? Who did they vote for? Why are they on the bottom? Because of how they voted! Or didn't vote…(it makes me want to bang my head against the wall when I think of these facts)

These figures show so clearly that if the bottom 90% were paid decently and had decent benefits, they would be able to buy that new TV or a new car or – Gasp! – a new home. Henry Ford, bless his perverted fascist heart, knew that you had to pay labor if you wanted them to buy. Doh! Just think about the $$$billions that would flood into the economy if these families were paid…10% more? Okay, $3,100 per family in increased wages. That's a lot of buying power if millions of families start to shop again. More tax revenue! Millions more! Probably enough to revive the budget of any state

Before Reagan and his voodoo economics came into power (which one was Bonzo?) we had a decent economy because we had union labor buying into that economy. We could have that economy again if we would just rid ourselves of this current blood sucking government. We need new Senators and Congressmen. We need to vote!

Musings

I've been reading the book, Yellow Dirt
by Judy Pasternak, the story of how the Navajo nation was exploited and abused because it was our nation's desire to have more uranium than any other nation on earth. And so we do. Tons and tons of it. Far more than we could ever conceivably use. They've done the math and the War Department has quietly stored it away; next to the mountain of $200 hammers that was ordered and never used. Okay, the hammer part isn't true. But it could be.

As I read about the cover-ups and outright lies by government agencies once it was discovered that mining uranium might be harmful to your health, (Duh!) I couldn't help but think that that was another time where Wikileaks was needed. But it hadn't been 'invented' yet. As one agency after another discovered what was happening to the health of the miner's and their families, they quietly put the files away and pretended that they had never seen them. Shameful! There are still some people that think that revealing those kinds of secrets is unpatriotic; those people should have to live in radioactive homes, drink radioactive water and breathe radioactive air. Just as the Navajo people have had to.

Speaking of illness and of governmental agencies; yesterday we had to buy another month's supply of a pain med. We paid $14 for what the pharmacy said was over $400 worth of Gxxxxxxxxn. It's close to $15 a day. It's almost the same with Fxxxxxxl as we pay $45 for $300 worth. That would be $10 per day for that one. Medicare was taking up the slack. And this is just two medications out of the half dozen or so that I take. I haven't added it all up but I would imagine that without Medicare we would have to spend over $800 a month for meds. From what I've read, the $800 figure is low and that many others would have to pay much more than that on a monthly basis. Lucky us. We're also lucky because there is just one of us taking medication right now. What happens ten years from now when, hopefully, we'll both be around and taking meds? I can imagine that if it weren't for Medicare, we would be spending 2k a month or more.

Where am I going with all of this? Still musing.

When it comes to Wikileaks I am a fan. The fact is, you cannot trust your government. Ever. All governments lie. Big or small, they all lie. Think about the citizens of Bell, California. Those people would have LOVED a Wikileaks story about the grand scale theft that was taking place in their little town. Look at our own national history. It's been one lie after another and that's just the ones that have been caught. Caught without Wikileaks. I'm not saying that we are not a wonderful nation. We certainly are. And I cannot imagine living anywhere else. But we can only go downhill if we ignore the lies and tell ourselves that that's the cost of freedom. No, it's not! You certainly can't tell the people of Guatemala that ignoring the lies of Dulles, the CIA and United Fruit Co. gave them any freedom. (1954)

Maybe it's my imagination, but I don't think it is…I think that we have become far too accepting of lies. Politicians lie routinely because they are not being called to account for the lies. In 'my world', news media would be tasked with ferreting out the truth. A politicians story would never make it to print or broadcast without the basic research being done. And when I say politician I mean every government spokesperson. Dog catcher to President. Everything that goes into a newspaper or news broadcast, including letters to the editor, should be verified. How can you call it 'news' if the basic tests for veracity aren't followed? The way it is now, the 6:00 O'clock news should start this way; "Good evening. Welcome to KWIZ's 6 O'clock Opinion".

Back to the topic of Medicare and Social Security (SSI). Okay, SSI isn't going away today or next year or the year after that. It's good for another twenty years at least. And with minor tweaks…adjusting the tax rate so that upper income earners pay into it just as much the lower income earners do. Basic fairness. The program will go on easily into the next century. But there are those who see 'fair' as being socialism or worse. People who don't know anything at all about socialism. These same people want SSI to go away. And they are trying to convince my children and grandchildren that it makes sense to throw away the lifeboats on a ship that might sink. Now we happen to be quite lucky as I have a pension from the Carpenter's Union and my wife has one from her teaching days. We add that to our SSI and we're doing okay. But…the same people that want to throw away the lifeboats also want to sink the unions. I don't like imagining life without SSI or my union pension. But that is the life these con men want for my children and grandchildren.

I didn't grow up in a union family. But I did grow up in a family that respected labor. I was the first union member in the family and no one thought it was odd that I was. If, at the time I became an apprentice, I had a choice between union or non-union and I chose non-union…they certainly would have thought it odd. Or stupid. But I became a union carpenter apprentice and then a journeymen, foreman, superintendent, etc, etc. And I paid into my pension all of those years, just as I paid in to my SSI account. I used to see the dollars for those two benefits on my paycheck stub and I would often wish that I had the money right then. I needed it! But I couldn't have it and somehow, through the years, we got along without it. Now I'm retired and there isn't the smallest possibility that I could go back to work as a carpenter…but my pension and my SSI are here for me. I paid for them to be here. They aren't coming to me freely. It's actually my money. Money that the union wisely kept for me and money that the government was supposed to do the same with. I certainly wouldn't have done it. In fact, I was surprised when I did retire and asked for my union pension. I thought I might have a few bucks. I had more. I praise the union every time I think about where we might be if they hadn't looked after me.

Some Medical News:

Arizona Mulls Checking Hospital Patients' Citizenship -

Arizona's state government is considering new legislation that would prevent hospitals from giving nonemergency treatment to suspected illegal immigrants.

Suspected? This lets anyone be the judge. "Hey! I suspect you! And you...and you." Where does that kind of power stop? And to make the hospital that judge? That shouldn't be their job. Ever. Nor should it be the job of the druggist or the grocer or the baker or candlestick maker.

More

The more I read about the double dealing on Wall Street and the criminal negligence on the part of the Republican and Democratic parties as they allow these thieves to get away scot free...the more I think it's time for the American people to demonstrate to our representatives just how serious we are about change. Real change! (Don't t even mention the Tea baggers; those people are mindless fools who don't even know that they are owned and controlled by the Koch brothers. Robots!)

I want to march! Tell me where and when... Egyptians did it, why can't we?

Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail?

From Rolling Stone

Went to the post office the other day and picked up my copy of Rolling Stone. I'm 70 years old; why am I subscribing to Rolling Stone? Matt Taibbi is the reason I signed up for it. I have a feeling that I'm the only subscriber here in the 'Red' city of Orland. Anyway; you should read the article. If you want to look at the article about the cover boy, Justin Bieber, go ahead. I wouldn't recommend it though. It just might make you gag.

PolitiFact says

Mitt Romney tells CPAC that more are out of work in U.S. than employed in Canada:

This meeting of the Conservatives is like a meeting of the Liars Club...can you top this one? Why doesn't the media ever call them on these blatant lies? Because the news media belongs to the Right Wing.

Here's what an economist said, a Conservative economist at that...

"Frankly, I don't see that Romney's comparison makes much sense, whether it can be backed up or not,"

Oh, 'Mitt', do we have to listen to your fabrications for the next year and half? Why don't you go home now and spare us the pain?

First things first

A quiet morning. I read the news and then the blogs. I decided that there was nothing out there that I could fix so I moved over to the Google Reader feeds for Art and stole some more of the art I liked. Steal is a harsh word...I Copy it to a folder on my Desktop and then set my Screen Saver to display it. OC as I am, I now have about 1,400 pieces of art to look at.
Speaking of art, I found a piece of mine that needed finishing and so it is done. I put it on my art blog. 
I was cleaning things up in the studio when I found that one...and many others. I also made myself some new 'supports' for painting. A 3'x4' and a 2'x2' hardboard surface on a wood frame. They have gesso on them and now it's time to come up with an idea to cover them with. But why do I make new surfaces when I have so many that are not 'finished'?
On another note; we have used up all of the leftovers and have begun using Trader Joe's odds and ends for dinner. Not that TJ's ingredients are below par; they definitely are not! But it is time for a real meal again. This cooking for two is difficult enough, but when you're using prepared meal ingredients such as Chimichurri Rice or Sweet Potato Fries, the container always holds 4 or more servings and it's easy to be tempted to use the whole package. Anyway, back to my real meal. I defrosted some chicken thighs and a few minutes ago I deboned them and have them ready for the next step. I don't know what it is yet, but I have time. And in the meantime, I have the bones and skin simmering on the stove as I make some rich chicken broth. I credit YouTube for  my knowledge of deboning a chicken thigh. 
What did we do before the internet?
Well, we read and I'm still doing a lot of that. I'm reading the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and I'm just finishing up Jesus War: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years, by Philip Jenkins. This one is exciting, but a tough slog. There are far too many names to remember in this ancient but true drama. (One name stands out; Timothy the Weasel, Patriarch of Alexandria.) Of course it could be the meds I'm taking that has me drooping after ten or twenty pages. I have a Fentanyl patch on my shoulder that keeps me in a gray zone most of the time.
Speaking of gray, I recently got a catalog from The Duluth Trading Co. and after reading about their Longtail T's, the Solution to Plumber's Butt, I decided to try them out; mainly because I was tired of the nagging I was getting every time I bent over. Okay, they are pretty good. Really nice. And I got a gray one. No, I'm not getting anything from them, I just thought I would share the info. 
I better go...I have to check the chicken broth. If I can remember why I'm in the kitchen.

Funny Stuff

I wasn't the first one to steal it so here it is...
The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

And the winners are:

1.Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2.Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3.Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4.Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5.Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6.Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7.Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8.Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9.Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10.Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11.Testicle, n.. A humorous question on an exam.

12.Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13.Pokemon, n.. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14.Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15.Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16.Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Whilst

the populace celebrates the natal holiday of Saint Ronnie, some of us are still naysayers. Boo to you Ronnie! And whilst I was surfing the intertubes this morning I happened upon some data that makes my position quite clear. I was present at the time these robberies took place but the majority of the populous seemed oblivious to the fact that they were at a crime scene...and they still are.

The Paradox

of Corporate Taxes in America - NYTimes.com

This is a very good piece on taxation and one that ought to be read and understood by all. I've griped about it for years. And the author is right. It's well concealed. No one wants to write about it or address it. The Republicans use the official corporate tax rate as some sort of bludgeon to use on the Left...when in fact, no corporation pays the 'official' rate. But you can't get a Republican to talk about it. lalalalalalalalalalala.

I've noted here before that the small corporation I worked for changed themselves to a Subchapter S corporation and saved $6 million a year in taxes. Guess who paid the $6 million? And what our corporation did wasn't a secret...every CFO knew about it and used it when they could.