Why not?

Isn't it time for our President to start naming names and pointing directly at those Republicans that are lying? He should just say it...Mitt Romney (pause) is a liar. Ryan (pause) is a liar! Now say it again and again through all of the speeches and as a topper, ask directly for an apology!This is not politics as usual; the Republicans have declared war on the truth because they know if it's said often enough, it will become "truth" to the masses of uninformed. The masses that hate the thought of a black man in the White House.

Wooden, but Wishful -

From the - NYTimes.com:
 "Neil Newhouse, a Romney pollster, recently explained that “we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers.” Or the facts themselves, obviously."

'via Blog this'

Day two?

Day 2 of the RNC has passed and we still don't know anything about that empty suit named Mitt. We do know that his wife stands beside him in her own empty suit. What did she say? Important? And that was followed by the disgrace that calls himself governor of New Jersey. Again, emptiness. Devoid of any meaning. The standard lies were repeated as expected and that was that...

I'm not sure I can take much more of this... I need to get my brushes and paint.

Study: Right twists facts

Something we already knew

Obama In 'Impossible Bind' Over Donors

Jane Mayer: Obama In 'Impossible Bind' Over Donors : NPR:

Have you ever wondered just what it would cost to 'own' this country? I think we're about to find out. Unless you help...


'via Blog this'

Another why?

Why is Romney touted as the man with "business experience"? He identifies himself with all of the small business owners; he's one of them! Yet the man has never run a business that produced anything. He's never had to face a payroll. He was a 'consultant' for a few years after college and then went into the company acquisition business with Bain Capital. He never produced anything and never got his hands dirty. He's a fraud.

Why?

Why do so many people think that the Keystone pipeline project is all about bringing oil and jobs to the USA? In some small way that is true. The oil will travel through the heartland of the USA on its way to a refinery in Texas where it will be made into gasoline that will then depart our shores on a supertanker bound for China. China is the Canadian company's customer for this gasoline. There will be some jobs created; mainly to build the pipeline and when that is complete, the jobs are gone. The Canadians were prepared to build that pipeline to British Columbia if we hadn't caved in. Building a pipeline to the Gulf coast is cheaper than building one to the Pacific.

From Guernica

How Nonprofits Spend Millions on Elections and Call it Public Welfare - Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics:

Who knew that the "501(c)(4) " could be used this way? It surprised me. And the $$$ numbers are astounding. Class warfare? Yes, and guess who started it. The very wealthy are in full attack to buy this Presidency and make this their nation.



'via Blog this'

Akin the science major

This is from the LA Times... "So what's so scary about Todd Akin? It's that he currently sits on the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology", which oversees federal spending on non-defense-related research. This is not the kind of post for someone who thinks pregnancy can be suppressed by women's bodies. He also sits on the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, which is not the ideal assignment for a guy who thinks that climate change, if it's happening at all, is probably a result of solar flares. This is, of course, the House the tea party built. Unless voters put a stop to this anti-science movement, the Senate could soon go the same way. Now that's a nightmare."

A valid opinion

"ROBERT B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the last century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers “Aftershock" and “The Work of Nations." His latest is an e-book, “Beyond Outrage.” He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause." 

I would say that Mr. Reich has the credentials to have an opinion that bears listening to. Read this post of his (August 20) on why the Ryan/Romney plan would be a disaster for America. Even if you are a Romney fan, Robert Reich deserves to be heard by you. He makes his argument quite clear and doesn't hide anything from you.What do you have to lose by reading this short article? 

ENPLAN Wildfire Viewer

It's another orange morning as the smoke from all of the fires settles into the valley here (Chico). The Chips fire continues to threaten my son-in-laws family cabin in Prattville.

This viewer is a great tool for seeing what's actually happening in the field. The Rush fire is the states largest fire and is close to where we once lived... ENPLAN Wildfire Viewer:

'via Blog this'

A quiz

Who was the 43rd President of the United States?

Why don't Republicans remember his name? And all that he did?

Just wondering.

Who believes them? Why?

"Both men have also twisted themselves into knots to distance themselves from previous positions, so that voters can no longer believe anything they say. Last week, both insisted that they would save Medicare by pumping a huge amount of money into the program, a bizarre turnaround for supposed fiscal conservatives out to rein in federal spending."

Read the whole NYT article here... 

What's his name?

Democrats and Progressives (no, they're not the same thing) need to keep Bush's name in the news. He and his policies are the reason for our economic mess. To pretend otherwise is insanity. And our President needs to keep reminding people of that...he needs to say the word 'Bush' in his speeches. No tiptoeing around it. That Republican President threw away a surplus budget and then spent over $3 trillion dollars in the wars he wanted. All while cutting taxes for the wealthy. That can't be debated. And this current candidate and his white bread partner want to use the same tax cutting method while accelerating the growth of the Pentagon war machine. The Reagan/Bush/Romney  'trickle down' method of budgeting has been shown to be a fool's game, as only a fool would believe it works. Why are they telling us it will work this time?

It's obvious that the Republicans know that Bush is their weak spot. He isn't invited to their convention and that's a first! Former Presidents are always invited to speak at their Party conventions. Not this time and that's why Democrats and Progressives need to speak his name every chance they get. He's to blame and he's a Republican. Enough said.

ps don't forget to ask about the tax returns...

Vitriol?

I've been watching and reading the news and I constantly see where Republicans are complaining, loudly, that the Obama campaign is out of control! They talk about the nasty rhetoric that our President uses against the upstanding Mitt. And then I watched a Jon Stewart clip where he reminds the audience, in his oh so subtle way, that the Republicans have an overwhelming edge on the Dem's when it comes to near slander of the President. Do the Dem's have a Rush Limbaugh? How about a Michelle Bachmann type? And there is Sarah Palin with her nasty mouth; the Dem's have no one like that. And how about the Fox network? They can't say 'Fair and Balanced' anymore as every spokesman on the air is trashing the Democrats. Do the Democrats have a TV network to call their own? I know that the Republicans insist that 'The News Media' is left leaning. Oh, if only they were! The news media of today is owned (literally) by the same corporations that are supporting the Right. No reporter wants to rock that boat! and so it goes...the summer and the campaign drone on. But I do feel good about one thing; I donated some money to the Obama campaign. Not a large amount and I may do it again later in the summer. He is gonna need every dollar! There's a dozen billionaires that want to own the Presidency and they are giving plenty to the Mittster.

She's back...

It was so nice to see that Nance was back and posting. Although this one is a repost of hers, it is being posted at just the right time. Give it a read, you will enjoy it.

A choice has been made

I'm not surprised. Those in charge of the Republican Party knew they had to have someone on the ticket to charge up their regressive base. And Mr. Ryan will certainly do that. Let's see; he wants to cut SSI and Medicare before he has them removed altogether.And taxes for the wealthy will decrease under the Ryan Plan and that means the someone else's taxes will have to increase. Duh! It's very much like the Reagan Plan when he took office, and if you will remember, he ended up increasing the taxes and the role of government. But not the taxes on the wealthy. Reagan wasn't going to do anything to hurt his boss's empires. So now Ryan wants to do the same thing and you may notice that everyone is talking about Ryan's Plan and not Romney's. That's because he doesn't have one. He is truly an empty suit. He has nice hair and millions of Mormon votes. And that's all that Ryan needs to fulfill his dream of gutting the government for the benefit of his friends.

With any luck at all, Ryan and his friend will not be elected. Then we can look forward to 4 more years of  venom from the regressive right. Sigh.

I'm still registered as an independent. I'm not a Socialist nor am I a Communist. I like to think that I'm a progressive (without a capitol P). Independent voters are increasing all of the time and that weakens the two parties; a good thing. Imagine a country without the two parties; those in office would have to listen to all of our comments, praises and criticism's. No more being deaf to the pleas of the citizens of the 'wrong' party.

Speaking of Socialism; we already have some of that in our government and it works quite well. I think we could use some more. A more perfect society would contain capitalism and socialism. You can make make money in your ventures but you need to help the widow and the crippled. All those that life has cast aside. How hard could that be if we all did it?

Just the other day...

I was watching the Olympics and there was a break for a human interest spot where people (Brits) were being interviewed and asked what they thought about Americans. One lady responded that she was baffled by the American preoccupation with 'God, Government, and Guns'.The first and last items were self explanatory but she did say that 'here in England we expect government to do things for us and it's quite the opposite in America.' So true. But wrong. Government is supposed to work for us. Thomas Jefferson, though I love his intellect, was dead wrong with his opinion that the wisdom of the 'Yeoman farmer' was enough to govern the land. In the America of 1776 the main industry was agriculture that was supported by slaves. There were only a few million Americans to govern, not over 300 million as we have now. We need government and we should be willing to pay for it because it supports us all. We are the government! Do we really want to go back to 1776 and be responsible only for our ourselves? If you do, you should leave; find yourself an island and move to it. Let us get on with the urgent tasks that our government must do to secure our future.

How very odd...

So, it's Paul Ryan for VP. The rigid Right Wing has decreed that if the Mittster wants their support he will take on Paul Ryan. Now, even as naive as Mitt is, he must know that Paul Ryan is not welcome around any gathering of baby boomers or elders. He is a declared opponent of Medicare and would eliminate it altogether. Ryan only has one theme and that is 'cut'. I think Mitt is in trouble.

The All-American sport

Football. NFL football to be exact. And the NFL and Lenovo have signed an agreement whereby Lenovo will sponsor the NFL and provide all of the great computers that the NFL will need. Lenovo? A very large computer manufacturer from China. You may remember them as the company that bought IBM Thinkpad.

The Chico ER says...

I was reading the local paper this morning and had already finished with the column 'Tell it to the ER', a place where anonymous callers can have their thoughts displayed in print on page 2 of the paper. Naturally, all those with no desire to be identified call in with every kind of lie imaginable. It has always seemed so odd to have such a prominent spot in the paper since you're not allowed to have a 'Letter to the Editor' published anonymously. I moved on to the editorial page and here the editor was raging on about the fact that Senator Reid was not revealing the source for his claim that he had heard that the Mittster had not paid taxes for ten years. The editor was convinced that Reid was lying because he had not named his source, and he used the full content of the column to vilify the Senator. I have a feeling that the editor was silent about the Swiftboating of Kerry and I don't remember this editor getting very upset with the 'birther' folks.

You would hope that the editor would remember some of the lessons from Journalism school and try to remain balanced and neutral while trying to seek out the truth. Nope, not going to happen here...that's how it is in a conservative county within a liberal state.

Another day, another medal

Here we go again. Another full day of Olympics and NBC. Don't get me wrong as I do love the idea of Olympics; the Olympics where the amateur athletes of the world assemble to compete against each other. (Or the clock) I don't like seeing incredibly rich professional athletes wearing gold medals. It makes me want to vomit. And then there is this business of counting the medals won by a country. Excuse me? I didn't see a country competing, I saw athletes competing and the glory belongs solely to them.

Oh, well...it's an old complaint and nothing will change. There simply too much money involved to ever make changes.

On another note; did you see the women's 10,000 meter race? You need to see that race! Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia ran always hanging back in the pack. Then, as final the 6 or 7 laps  came up, she began her move. Soon she was in 4th place and moving forward. As the last two laps began she moved to the front and then, when everyone expected the Nigerians to make a kick, she accelerated and left everyone seconds behind her! I get goose bumps just thinking about the race.

And the next day, it was the men's 10,000 and another thrilling finish. Mo Farah of GB and Galen Rupp of the USA were 1 and 2 in a finish that is giving me those goose bumps again. And to top it off, Mo and Galen have been training partners for the past 18 months while Mo was in Oregon to train under Alberto Salazar.

The best part of the Olympic viewing experience? It's being able to use the Mute button on the remote. Goodbye Costas! You're outta here!

Sail away

Politicians on both sides are blaming the other for the loss of jobs. The 'outsourcing'. Yet it is the American public that is to blame. We want the cheap goods. We buy the cheap goods. And I don't mean cheap in quality, just in price. And with our wallets open every day of the year at stores like Target, KMart and Wal Mart, we guarantee that those jobs will remain outsourced. The largest container ship in the world*, the Emma Maersk, sails across the world from China in just five days and it is loaded with goods for Wal Mart and Wal Mart only. So every two weeks, the Emma Maersk supplies us with the cheapest of goods. And I'm not even counting the hundreds of smaller container ships that are making the same kind of voyage. Those jobs? They sailed away while we wished them Bon Voyage!

ps did you know that both China and India are caught in the same trap? Yes, they are outsourcing jobs to nations that will do the work for less.because their citizens want a better deal. Good luck with that!

*there's probably a larger one by now...

Yippee! Vacation time!

You want to know why the unemployment rate just went up in July? Just ask your Congressman or Senator. Oops! I forgot; they just decided to take a month long vacation. Leaving a Jobs bill behind. I guess they forgot it in the rush to pack their bags...

On an ABC interview

'Dick Cheney breaks silence on Gay Marriage' ... 'claims his silence was for political reasons'

In other words, he was a coward. (most bullies are) Any time someone claims that they did anything at all for 'political reasons' it is because they are a coward. And our Congress and Senate are filled with them. Cowards all!

Refining oil: Stormy petrol

from The Economist:

Interesting story because it puts lie to the usual gloom and doom if we don't hurry up and drill in ANWR or other  pristine sites. Fact is; there's a glut of oil/gasoline in the world. I had always thought that the oil tankers brought the expensive black stuff to our shores where we refined it and distributed it to all of the pumps where we waited, wallet and nozzle in hand. Not so. Gasoline itself is what's found in those tankers. And since India and China have the more modern (productive) refineries, those tankers, more often than not, are delivering gasoline to our thirsty cars...there's more to it than that of course, so read the article for yourself.

'via Blog this'

This, just in...

from 'Blogging via Typewriter'

ABC NEWS: "Like other companies, Apple typically keeps profits on overseas sales in overseas accounts. When someone buys an iPad in Paris or Sydney, for instance, the profit stays outside the United States. Apple may pay some corporate income taxes on that profit to the country where it sells the iPad, but it minimizes these by using various accounting moves to shift profits to countries with low tax rates. For example the strategy known as 'Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich,' routes profits through Irish and Dutch subsidiaries and then to the Caribbean." →

From now on  we'll just call these sort of shenanigans, 'The Mitt Maneuver'


Well said!

Wait, don't tell me.

Update! "The suspect in the shooting rampage at a Colorado movie theater that left 12 dead has been identified..."


No, don't tell me his name. I need to know what color he is. What's his religion? What about his political party affiliation? Is he a natural born American? Those are the real important things to know! Oops; almost forgot...is he a member of the NRA? Nah, I guess we don't need to know that... 

Things I read...

 “All we have to do is replace Obama. We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don’t need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don’t need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate. Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become President of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.”
~Grover Norquist, calling for conservatives to elect a weak President they can use as a puppet, CPAC, February 2012. NOTE: While Norquist did not specifically mention Romney, other Republicans on this list have noted Romney’s weak leadership skills and his lack of spine in standing for what he believes in. Bryan Fischer stated in an earlier quote that Romney would be a pushover as President, which is exactly the kind of President that Norquist wants.

apropos of nothing at all...

'apropos of nothing at all' was my mother's remark to me on most occasions when I interrupted the adult conversation around me...which I did quite often.

Now on to another subject. I am so very tired of hearing that the wealthy create jobs. It's such a patent lie. It's the demand of the consumer that creates jobs. I want a new stove but I can't buy it because I'm making so little per hour and I have no money in my savings because I was paid so little on my last job. So the stove factory doesn't hire anyone to build that stove I wanted. Duh! The guy that owns the factory hasn't created any jobs. And the very wealthy take their money and put it into off-shore accounts. There's no job creation there!

How do the Republicans face themselves in the mirror each morning? Robert Reich, who can be read here or on his Facebook page said it all a few minutes ago. I'll paste that comment here because he has already shared it with all of his Facebook fans and asked them to share it with their friends..."Senate Republicans blocked the DISCLOSE ACT. No surprise there, but they should be held accountable. They're making a mockery of our democracy, once again. Their logic? That required disclosure of the names of wealthy or corporate political donors might cause them to be intimidated, and therefore infringe on their First Amendment rights. I don't know many billionaires who intimidate easily, especially when it comes to making large political contributions. And I've never heard of an intimidated corporation."

 In closing, let me say, apropos of nothing at all, that Mitch McConnell is a piece of dirt.

Reading

I have been reading 'That Used To Be Us', a book by Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum. It's a good one. The only complaint I have is that it is taking a long time to read it because I become so outraged at what the authors reveal, that I have to put it down for awhile to calm myself. Well, that may be a little over the top. Let's use disturbed instead of outraged. I like to think that I'm too old to be outraged.
Anyway, back to the book, whose subtitle is ' How America Fell Behind In The World It Invented and How We Can Come Back'. The authors explore every facet of our society and how it relates to the jam we seem to be in these days. They use real facts to make their arguments and that's refreshing, even though I haven't always agreed with their conclusions. It is fun to read (once again) a book written by polite people. I would bet that I would enjoy sitting down with them and 'discussing' what they have written. And we would part as better friends than when we first sat down.
The reasons I'm posting here today are found in the ninth chapter, where they discuss deficits and taxes. One; Nixon scrapped the Breton Woods system that the US and Britain had forged in 1944. This system had the dollar tied to the price of gold and so gov't couldn't print and spend money that wasn't tied to this exchange rate. Nixon did this to pay for the Vietnam War. Now our currency floated free and the 'invisible hand' of the market would determine the value of the dollar. When Reagan took office he cut taxes for the wealthy and soon those deficits reduced the revenue base to a full 5% of GDP. In the meantime, government spending increased as Reagan invested in the Pentagon for a defense buildup. Reagan was soon alarmed by the figures and began replacing the tax cuts with increased taxation. He did this five times during his time in office. Reagan also shored up the Social Security system in 1983. Just as an aside; Reagan never called them taxes. They were revenue enhancements. That way he could claim to have never raised taxes. George H. W. Bush also found out that he needed to raise taxes, much to his embarrassment. Clinton was a different story, in that he raised taxes and the deficit was soon a surplus! His plan was to be ready for the 'Boomers' in the next century. Then we had eight years of disaster as Bush the Younger went to war and cut taxes. Four years ago, the estimate for the cost of the war in Iraq was $3 Trillion dollars. And that didn't include the  cost of the war in Afghanistan which is now the longest war in our history.
Bush the Younger leaves office and hands the whole mess over to Barack Obama. Disaster ensues when debt catches up to revenue and then the banks, etc, etc. Obama has made a mistake in NOT laying the blame for this mess on those that deserve it. He has been far too polite. They all should have been called out for the liars they are...
Another part of the book deals with the fact that millions of jobs will never come back. Even if you brought back those jobs that are in foreign lands, it wouldn't help. Technology has sailed into the future and left millions standing on the pier. Don't blame the President...blame our education system and that places the blame right at our own two feet. We have decided not to fund schools. We have decided to abandon our children. We can't blame anyone else.

Whew! That's enough for now...

From snopes

snopes.com: DNSChanger Virus:

Want to check if you have the DNS Malware? Check here. (I got a green light.)
'via Blog this'

In case you hadn't noticed...

Climate Change: ‘This Is Just the Beginning’: "More than 2,000 heat records were broken last week around the U.S. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the government agency that tracks the data, reported that the spring of 2012 “marked the largest temperature departure from average of any season on record for the contiguous United States.” These record temperatures in May, NOAA says, “have been so dramatically different that they establish a new ‘neighborhood’ apart from the historical year-to-date temperatures.”"

'via Blog this'

Republican Candidate Chris Collins says...

Chris Collins: 'People Now Don't Die From Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer': "

"People now don't die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things," he told The Batavian in an interview that was flagged Tuesday by City & State NY. Collins was discussing his desire to repeal Obamacare."

if only.

This guy must be a Mitch McConnell disciple.

'via Blog this'

Mitch McConnell

On 30 Million Uninsured: 'That Is Not The Issue' (VIDEO):

and our tax dollars go towards his paycheck. Can we fire him? Please?

'via Blog this'

senility

Sen. Mitch McConnell said. “The question is how to go step by step to improve the American health care system. It is already the finest health care system in the world.” That's a lie! McConnell has dementia!

Okay!

Fantastic news! The Supremes have had a moment of clarity and we're on our way to joining the rest of the world in how we care for our citizens...

I need to tune in CNN just to see the long faces on the Republicans.

Now, what does Romney have to say?

Images

I was just looking for some images of my other two grandchildren. We had spent some time at their swim meet two weeks ago and I'm certain that I had photos...somewhere. Then I remembered that I had used my smart phone to take the photos and now how do I get those photos from my phone to my computer. And I think I used Instagram. Now that really compounds my problems. I can see the photos on my Instagram folder on my phone, or is the folder somewhere in the depths of Instagram itself?

I used to do programming for a living! Now look at me...I can't find a simple file. But in my defense, Can you imagine the number of images that are out there? I wonder if anyone has ever counted the number of bytes that are stored just for images? Worldwide? And yet, we are still being offered tens of gigabytes for free storage of photos. Each one of us. Amazing!  

Let's take that little further and imagine the number of servers in a huge number of 'Server Farms' scattered all around the globe. And imagine the power needs for those servers! How many power plants are needed to generate that power?

All of this brings me to the number, 200 Giga-ton's. That's the amount of ice, in tons, that is shed annually from the Greenland ice cap. That's the ice that actually raises the level of the sea. So, if I find those photos, I will print them and then delete the files. Just doing my bit for mankind.

The Past Two Weeks

...have flown by as we have been spending all of our time (day and night) with our two youngest (9 years old - twins) grandchildren. It was time for their annual stay with 'papa' and grandma while they take swimming lessons. There are no lessons or even a pool where they live. We've been doing this since they were 3 years old and they have turned into pretty good swimmers. There is a lake near their house that can be used during the summer, so the lessons do have a value...a value beside the obvious one of pleasing the grandparent's by their presence.

Abigayle this year

Steven (my namesake) this year

Here they are in 2007...debating the reason for swimming lessons.  

Scary!

Statement as of 3:26 PM PDT on June 14, 2012

... Red flag warning in effect from 10 am Friday to 9 PM PDT
Saturday for wind and low relative humidity for fire weather
zones 215... 216... 263 and 279...


The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a red flag
warning for wind and low relative humidity... which is in effect
from 10 am Friday to 9 PM PDT Saturday. The Fire Weather Watch is
no longer in effect.


* Affected area... fire weather zone 215 northern Sacramento
Valley to southern Tehama County line below 1000 ft... fire
weather zone 216 central Sacramento Valley in Glenn, Colusa,
Yuba, northern Sutter, and Butte County below 1000 ft... fire
weather zone 263 southeast edge Shasta-Trinity nf and western
portions of Tehama-Glenn unit and fire weather zone 279
eastern Mendocino nf.


* Winds... north 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.


* Relative humidity... as low as 5 percent.


* Impacts... low humidity along with gusty winds and dry fuels
will result in critical fire weather conditions Friday and
Saturday with increased chances of the rapid spread of any
fire starts.


Precautionary/preparedness actions...


A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now... or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds... low relative humidity... and warm temperatures will
create explosive fire growth potential.

The wind has already begun to blow...18 mph right now

Asperger's

Good reading that explains why we're so important.

http://www.economist.com/node/21556230

same old same old

There's so much to not like about yesterday's election results. We live in a 'Red' county so the fact that the same old miserable Republicans made it back into office was no surprise. The fact that it looks like the additional $1 tax on cigarettes will be defeated makes me angry. Philip Morris and the others of their ilk paid almost $50 million to defeat the tax while supporters were only able to pay about $15 million. And it's the advertising that does the job...sad isn't it? Heaven forbid that a voter might read about an issue; it's so much easier to just let the ads tell you how to vote. That is if they voted at all. Far too many never even bothered. Even the convenience of mail-in ballots doesn't seem to get some people to participate.
The Wisconsin vote will affect us all. It's open season once again on unions. And without unions, quality of work will decline. I saw it happen in the construction trades as non-union workers took over the housing and light commercial work. There is a good article on the fate of unions and just how important they are in this NYT opinion piece..
It going to be a long summer. But I did find some good summer reading, courtesy of the Nameless Cynic. He has the link to McCain's 2008 opposition file on the 'Mittster'.

4-Way

I attended two graduation ceremonies during the past week. One was for my 13 year old granddaughter as she moved to high school from middle school and another was for my 18 year old granddaughter as she graduated from high school. During one of those ceremonies the Rotary International 4-Way Test was mentioned as being inspirational and helpful for life. The 4-Way Test is...
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

All very admirable indeed. And then I thought about all of the candidates for leadership roles in our government. Okay, what wrong with that picture? I imagine that every candidate is a member. How could they pass up a chance to schmooze with a pack of businessmen? Think Romney; he has to be a member! Has he passed even one part of the Test? Of course not...

Rotary International should purge their membership roles of any candidate/member that hasn't followed the Test. If not, then we know exactly how hollow this 4-Way Test really is.

EricByler | NPR Provides Preview of November's (Attempted) Hostile Takeover of the American Democracy

EricByler | NPR Provides Preview of November's (Attempted) Hostile Takeover of the American Democracy

"The richest 100 people in America are providing 80% of the money going to Republican Super-PAC's, and, this constitutes 80% of all the money being spent by these lawless electioneering entities.  This report implies but does not come out and say that the "Citizens United" decree was a direct response to the advent of social media and crowd-funding, which made it possible for We the People to have a larger say in, for instance, who is elected president. 

At least 105 people are very, very worried about this development.  100 of them are spending millions of dollars to counter it, and 5 of them undermined the Constitution and destroyed their legacies as Supreme Court justices in order to help them.  America's plutocracy is spending so heavily this year because they feel they need to entrench their power so deeply that our votes (and the will of the People) will never matter again."

Well worth listening to... 

Why?

I was browsing as usual and this headline caught my eye...'Senate Mulls Equal Pay for Women'. I haven 't even opened the article to see just what it is that they are 'mulling'.And I don't think I will. The headline offends me. Senators; why on earth would you even stop to think about the question of equal pay. Just do it! And then go stand in the corner for a few hours because it's shameful that we even have to bring this up. Workers are workers and all pay should be equal. Are female Senators paid less than their male counterparts? Of course not. I'm at a loss for words here. This is the 21st century and we are still arguing that women should be paid less than men? Unbelievable! Yet...we still haven't passed the Equal Rights Amendment, have we? Loud sigh...As long as these people are in office we deserve what we get.

Thieves!

States Diverting Mortgage Settlement Money to Other Uses - NYTimes.com:


I was thinking along the same lines this morning when heard Romney complaining about the expenditures for the economic recovery..."the biggest, most careless one-time expenditure by the federal government in history.  And remember this: the stimulus wasn’t just wasted – it was borrowed and wasted." Of course it wasn't wasted; the states spent all of it and in some cases, the general public even received some of it. Romney has a problem with that? Then, why isn't he lambasting the states that 'wasted' the money? No, lies play better on television. 
And then there is this story about Romney..."In his 2010 book, No Apology, Romney argued that following the $152 billion stimulus package signed by President Bush in the summer of 2008, "a second stimulus was called for. Under Obama that's obviously what we got. And you know what Romney thought about that stimulus package? It wasn't too bad. Although Romney would have preferred that a second stimulus be passed under Bush, who "understood much more than [Democrats] the crucial role played by tax cuts," the former Massachusetts governor wrote in his book that "the 'all-Democrat' stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery"—just "not as much as it could have" if the stimulus plan was designed the way that Romney would have preferred."
You see, Romney lies all of the time...probably in his sleep as well.
If this man makes it to the White House you will see some of the darkest days that this nation has seen. I'll stick by that statement because I have 'evolved' regarding my opinion of Romney. A few years ago I would have said that he would make a decent Republican candidate. I thought he was an honorable man. Then I began to watch him and to read about him. Now I know...and a vote for him is a vote corporate America.


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Right speech - From Mr. Porter

 Opinions - May 10, 2012 - Chico News & Review:

Some day I hope to meet Mr. Porter. He lives here in the same town so there is a chance that our paths will cross.




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teesha's circus

| teesha's circus:

No, it's not L.A. but it is San Louis Obispo. Great photos! San Louis was NOT like this when I lived there...darn it!

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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Bans Funding Planned Parenthood - ABC News:
Ms Brewer states...
"This is a common sense law that tightens existing state regulations and closes loopholes in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions, whether directly or indirectly," Brewer said in a statement. "By signing this measure into law, I stand with the majority of Americans who oppose the use of taxpayer funds for abortion.""

Okay, I oppose all of the wars and 99% of what the War Department does...I suppose I shouldn't pay my taxes. After all, there doesn't seem to be any way to separate the taxes spent on war from the taxes spent on those things that benefit us all.

Jan Brewer is an idiot.


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From xkcd:

The Romney Quiz:

I think I already know the answers! Take a look...

Comedy

Our local paper had a political cartoon this morning that got me thinking. The cartoon showed a figure labeled US Taxpayer, putting taxes into a postal box and the money flowing out of the box and into another, labeled General Services Administration Party Fund. Funny? Not really, because the flap over at GSA is just another symptom of our political malaise. Why do employees behave badly? Because their boss's do! Think about it; during the past twelve years we have watched our Congress and Senate do very little for their money. Not that they haven't enjoyed themselves as well...they have! And the past four years have been the worst. The lawmakers have abandoned their jobs and have engaged in a spitting contest that seems to have no end in sight. But they get paid regularly and quite well. And it is their job to be the 'Boss' for hundreds of agencies. They have failed and I can hardly blame the employees at GSA for what happened...they certainly had poor role models.

What happened?

I'm slightly addicted to Pinterest, the on-line app that let's you post pictures and recipes and just about anything else on the web via your own Pinterest page. Doing this is called 'pinning' and if you see something you like you can 'like' it and/or 're-pin' it to your own page. During the past month or so, I have 'liked' about a dozen photos and those were the ones that were posted by distant family members. I 'repinned' no more than four pictures that I liked. Then, one morning, I 'pinned' the picture you see here. At last count I had 375 'likes'. and numerous 'repins'. I'm baffled... true, it is something I do (kick the ice cube) but I had no idea that there were so many of us!

Nostalgia

As I age, I try not to spend a lot of time in the past but there are times when it's unavoidable. Such as right now. I was born in 1940 and grew up in the boom times of the 50's. California had a memorable Governor then in Earl Warren followed by Pat Brown. We had a world class educational system that was envied by many. In the 60's, after coming home from a stint in the Navy, I became a Union Carpenter and work was so plentiful that I had only one week long vacation in  the 13 years that I stayed in Southern California. Life was good! We bought a house and then disaster struck; Ronald Reagan became Governor. We simply thought him a fool and didn't realize how evil he really was until it was too late. The State began to slide downhill. And slide. And slide. Now here we are in the 21st century and the state is close to bankruptcy. Our educational system is in tatters.
Why did I start this rant? Because I just read that our state court system has given up on trying to digitize their records so that paperwork can be exchanged between courts and prosecutors statewide in a computer system.  I can't even begin to name all the corporations, states and nations that have done this and yet we have failed. In the state that is (was) synonymous with computers and innovation. How sad. And that's why I don't like to dwell in the past.

Just wondering if...

This election season has made a difference; I think I want to change my mind...I'm all for Secession now. And I get to pick the States that will leave.

Men in Black, indeed

Maureen Dowd says it all this morning in the NYT.

Noted in the comments section of that column was this...

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.” Louis D. Brandeis, 1941.


Louis Brandeis was on the Supreme Court from 1916 to 1939.

Curse you, Blogger!

I hate, absolutely hate, the anti-spam device that Blogger offers for the comment sections. It takes an average of 5 tries before I get one I can see and understand. I'll tell you what it does...if I see that the two words are unintelligible, I stop right there and will not leave a comment. I suppose that's a good thing; sometimes.

From Tom Degan's blog

"Blaming the Negro: this is not just a matter of rationalizing and verbalizing. It has become a strong emotional need of the white man. Blaming the Negro...gives the white a stronger sense of identity, or rather it protects an identity which is seriously threatened with pathological dissolution. It is by blaming the Negro that the white man tries to hold himself together...The Negro could really wreak havoc in white society by psychological warfare if he knew how to use it. Already the psychological weapon of nonviolence has proved effective as an attack on the white man's trumped-up image of himself as a righteous and Christian being."

- Thomas Merton, 1948


says it all, doesn't it?


Read what else Tom has to say...

10 Myths About Introverts from Carl King

CarlKingdom.com :: Writer. Director. Artist.:

An interesting blog. As an Introvert of long standing I couldn't help but notice the title of this article...

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

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Wind Map

Wind Map:
Yes, it's fascinating! Right now I can see the 30mph+ winds flowing up from the south as the storm increases.

I've always had a dream where winds were colored...you could see light blue winds and red, angry looking winds during a storm.

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From PolitiFact

Want to invoke our Lie of the Year? Get it right:

Republicans were caught lying about the lies...why am I not surprised?

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New Video From Chris Mooney

 7 Studies Showing That Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed:

I didn't need a study to know this...but I digress; Chris Mooney has a great blog!

From 'It's Okay To Be Smart'

I knew there was a reason...they (conservatives) are definitely handicapped.

Quandary

Yes, I want the war in Afghanistan to end. To bring our troops home. (where our government will conveniently forget about them...but that's another story; a true one) But the alternative to ending the war is a terrible one. I think it's obvious that the Taliban (an arm of the Pakistan army) will take over just as soon as we leave. Another alliance of Afghanistan/Pakistan will be forged and the Taliban currently in Pakistan will take over that government as well. A government with a stockpile of nuclear weapons. Once that happens, the Saudi's will jump into the nuclear game as they don't want two nations, Syria and Pakistan, to be armed while they aren't. Now what will Israel do when faced with another nuclear enemy, making it a total of three. Israel, just just like Syria, won't reveal that they have a nuclear weapon (s). And Israel has a tendency to act first and think last...

The Election

...but first a word about the Supremes. From what I have read, it isn't going well for the Affordable Health Care law as the 'anti-humanity' lawyers serve up the arguments that the majority of the Justices love. You can almost hear Scalia salivating, his mind made up a year ago. Thomas hasn't asked one question as is 'normal' for him. Absolutely mindless and an embarrassment to us all. I think the decision has already been made and this is just another act in the ongoing Supremes drama, similar to the first act...the election of Bush.

All of which brings me to the elections and just how important it is that we elect President Obama for the vital second term. During which, he may have a chance to name another (or two) justices to the Supreme Court. Who knows? One can always hope. Lightning perhaps?

And then there are all of the other races; Senate and House. We need to take back the House and although there is a numerical Democratic party advantage in the Senate...you would never know it. So it's time to take back the Senate as well...

Even if you disagree with a lot of our President's decisions, it's time to reunite and re-elect. Consider the alternative...

Sigh...

Senator Inhofe Believes Global Warming is Hoax Because "Only God Can Change the Climate" | AlterNet:

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My momma told me there would be days like this...double sigh!

Blather

I'm looking through my closet and I've found that I own four 'Hoodies'. In fact I will put one on in a few minutes  because it's cold outside and that's where I will be...outside. Will I be in any danger. Of course not, I'm white.

Florida never fails to astound me. Yes, I know that there are Floridians that are sane but they appear to be in the minority. I would guess that elderly white folks and 'crackers' are in the majority and that's why they have an abomination of a law called 'Stand Your Ground'. Please! This is the 21st century and not the 19th. Grow up!

I have to congratulate myself for not taking a cheap shot about the recent surgery on you know who.

What's with the people who think that the Keystone pipeline project is a domestic venture? It's FOREIGN oil folks! Canada is a foreign nation and they will charge us the market rates for that oil.

And why aren't we looking at alternative energy? I'm reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman and it makes for a sobering read.Is climate change happening? You betcha!

What will I do?

What a bummer! I was happily addicted to using Pinterest, the image sharing site, when I read a small piece in the NY Times that talked about the fact that the site was used primarily by women! I have to admit that I noticed that there weren't many masculine names attached to the images, but I didn't let that worry me. But now, what will I do? If it's in the NY Times, everyone will know about it and they will see that I'm a user on a 'women's' website. There goes my masculine image!

The Greatest Hoax

 The Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future:

'via Blog this'

I really need to start working on my book; The Stupidity Epidemic and How it Threatens Your Future. I can see a real need for it.

Truth is, the greatest hoax occurs every month when members of Congress and the Senate draw their paychecks.

Global Rich List

Global Rich List:

Check this out and see where you stand...

'via Blog this'

What's that noise?

We were sitting quietly and reading as is our wont (yes, I'm being pretentious)...when a loud crash brought us to our feet and running into the study/office/spare bedroom. (that's just one place) There were books everywhere! A full shelf of books had become unattached from the wall and the shelf and books had fallen onto that portion of the desk that my wife uses. And had used just minutes before. Also lucky for us was the fact that she had just pushed the monitor to the back of the desk and so it was unscathed by the cascade of shelving and books.
How could this happen? The shelf material was massive (a full 2x12) and appeared so sturdy. But a quick look revealed that the shelf had been held up by plastic inserts into the drywall. No screws went into the studs behind. And right above the failed shelf was another, just like it in construction. That one we took down. What was the previous owner thinking? The fasteners were barely enough to hold the shelf up, let alone a load of books.
Okay, the wall is repaired and has been repainted. Now we need to find a sturdy shelving system. In black to match the decor.
Until we get the shelving up, a pile of books will remain in the corner of the room. Except for the books I'm reading. I have painted myself into a virtual corner surrounded by these books. Hot, Flat, and Crowded/T. Friedman, A Hole in the Gospel/R. Stearns and That Used To Be Us/T. Friedman&M. Mandelbaum. I should complete one and move on. I don't. I read a little bit of each one every day. Hanging out around the appetizers when I should be sitting down for dinner.  
We're off to the hardware store to buy shelving...

Why an MRI costs $1,080 in America

and $280 in France - from The Washington Post:

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As usual...follow the money.

Charming

I ran across this video yesterday. It's Vimeo video and I suppose I could have embedded it here...but I didn't. Even so, you should 'click' on the link above and watch it. I have no idea as to how the video was made but for some reason it bewitched me. I could watch it over and over and over.

Santorum’s Gospel of Inequality

Santorum’s Gospel of Inequality - from the NYTimes.com:

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"...Then again, charitable giving doesn’t appear to be high on Motor Mouth Santorum’s list of priorities. As The Washington Post pointed out, based on Santorum’s tax return disclosure this week, he has given the least amount to charity of the four presidential candidates who have disclosed their tax returns. (Ron Paul has not.) His charitable giving was just 1.8 percent of his adjusted gross income."

The Obamas were the highest, giving 14.2 percent, even though their income was second lowest.

Maybe that’s the imbalance we should praise.

Truth, lies and Afghanistan

February 2012 - Armed Forces Journal - Military Strategy, Global Defense Strategy

August 1908:

August 1908: Hamburger’s Opens

A little bit of personal history here...back when I was still wearing my tools and a hard hat, I was sent to work on the remodeling of this great old store. It was probably around 1970 and the building was just half a century old. And badly in need of the remodeling work. In an abandoned stairwell we found gas light fixtures and a mountain of pigeon poop. Somewhere in the stairwell was a broken window and all the smart LA pigeons made this their home. The building had a wooden stepped escalator (moving stairway) and the elevators required an operator. Ah! The good old days!

I ran across a website that delvers hundreds upon hundreds of old Los Angeles photos and stories and it appears that although you might take the boy out of LA, you can't take the LA out of the old guy...me.

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M.I.A?

I didn't see it. Nope. I was in the other room, busy cooking. I had to read about it in the paper the nest morning. But now that I know about it, I'm outraged! Appalled! Sure, it only lasted a second and most people didn't even see it while they were watching the show, still, I have to join with them in my feelings of disgust! I need to write letters to my congressperson and Senator! The President needs to become involved in this. If this kind of behavior is allowed, people everywhere will be 'flipping the bird'...what? they already are? Oh, the humanity!

A lie

When will we, as a nation, finally understand that the wealthy do not create jobs? They never have and never will. The worlds greatest entrepreneur will starve if he has no customers. And where do the customers come from? Yes, it's the 99%. If the 99% can't afford the product, they won't buy it, no matter how attractive it is. And how can they afford it? When the wealthiest 1% part with some of their wealth and pay a decent wage; that is when! This was something that Henry Ford knew over a hundred years ago. He paid the highest wage in Detroit because he knew he had to sell those Model T's to his own workers if he was going to survive. You can link the decline in prosperity to the decline of the labor unions and you can link that to Ronald Reagan and his assault on labor. That and his 'voodoo economics' where the wealthy are supposed to allow their wealth to 'trickle down'. Well, it never got very far while it was supposedly trickling. And every republican since Ronnie has clung to his failed model. And now, if we as a nation, fall for the great lie and elect another republican, we certainly deserve what we will get...more pain and misery.
Why am I so heated up about this and the election is still months away? I think it's because of Romney's view that the poor don't need help...that and Paul Krugman's NYT column for today where he takes apart Romney's own words so that we can see him for what he really is. 

Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts' : NPR

Quiet, Please: Unleashing 'The Power Of Introverts' : NPR:

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Code in my node

I have a cold this morning. Lots of sneezing. World class...I try to do everything 'world class'. Anyway, back to the subject at hand; colds and how to prevent them. First; don't hang around schools where children are found. I've been doing that for the past week or so. I'm painting a mural on the corridor walls and I only have 200 feet of blank wall left to do. And children love to come and talk to me. And to cough on me. Oh, I'm digressing as usual...so take a look at this webpage where germ killers are displayed.

The Web Urbanist

More Quiet, please

I'm still reading Quiet and enjoying it thoroughly. And I've decided to recommend it to our pastor, Steve. Steve is a great guy, very warm and personable. He's also an ENFP where I'm an INFP. Once every three months he has a class for new members and as part of the class, he offers the MBTI Assessment. He is 'licensed' for this just as I am. While we were taking the class, we didn't bother taking the Assessment, as we had done this more than once. This free time gave me a chance to listen to an Extrovert in action. Like all Extroverts, he really didn't know anything about Introversion and simply rattled off the usual data about us. Ho hum.

If I can get him to read the book, I think he may have his eyes opened. Especially since he is big fan of Rick Warren and the Saddleback Mega Church. The author of Quiet, Susan Cain, visited this church and writes about her experience there. If I tell Steve about that chapter I may have him hooked.    

I started

to read 'Quiet; The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'. by Susan Cain. A very rewarding book. Sure, it's filled with a lot of things I already knew... instinctively. But it is nice to read this and to be validated.

I'm so confused

As the fight moves to Florida I am struck by the inconsistencies of the candidates. Aren't they all professing Christians? So where in the Bible is it said that you can lie? Is there some exception made for politicians?

What I would like to see...

As the political rhetoric has turned even uglier (and we have month's and month's left in this race) my thoughts turned to PolitiFact, the fact finders for political discourse. They research what has been said and can reach the Truth in a matter of minutes. I've never heard of any PolitiFact decision being overturned. Though some outright lies have been downgraded to 'Pants On Fire', the lowest of the low. And what I really like about PolitiFact is their impartiality; Republican, Democrat or Libertarian, if they lie...they are exposed!
With this great fact checker available, wouldn't it be great, if at a televised news conference, the liars would be expected to defend their lying with facts. Congressman, Senators and Presidents should be forced to do this under penalty of law. Isn't lying by a public official a crime? Well, it should be!

Pain free?

I haven't mentioned the fact that I have been pain and narcotic free for the past five weeks. Which is very odd because I am NOT using the Spinal Cord Stimulator that is implanted in my back. I check its battery every once in awhile but it never changes. What a waste of pain and tears that was! I am still using Gabapentin, a lot of it. And I've been told that I will always need it. My PA and I have decided to try cutting back on the Gabapentin and see what happens. It would be great if I could cut the dosage in half.
Back to the pain or lack thereof...I still get twinges of pain but not enough to warrant a Percocet or Norco. Now here's the odd part; since I had pain constantly for four years, I'm not sure that I like its absence. I'm wary of this new situation and would feel better if everything was back to the way it was. I know, it doesn't make sense but the pain was 'mine' and I knew how to manage it. It was familiar and this new feeling; no pain, is suspicious.
I know that nerves can grow new pathways and perhaps that is part of the explanation for the lack of pain. I guess I should just try getting used to it.

More odds and ends

So here I am in the first few days of the New Year and still trying to get motivated. That’s the same thing I was doing last year or last week. I can report that the garage is slowly evolving into the studio space I want. Unfortunately I do have to include space for the car.

          There’s a members show at the Chico Art Center in February and I really want to have a painting ready for it. But will the studio be ready in time? The last time I had to finish a painting, it was Fall and the temperatures were moderate out on the patio. Not now; it’s in the 30’s in the mornings and low 50’s by afternoon. I really need that studio!

          I’ve been reading a lot. Mostly fiction to keep my mind off of the state of the nation and the world. The two non-fiction epics, 1491 and 1493, were the last serious books read. And great reading!

Before the big move we reduced the size of our library considerably; giving away hundreds of books. But I just looked at the shelf here in the ‘Study’ and I see at least a hundred again. That’s not to mention the half dozen or more from the public library. Why can’t we get rid of some of these books? I just know they will spontaneously multiply if we let them. Like rabbits!

The results are in from Iowa and who won? We all did in a sense as we will no longer have to listen to the likes of Perry and Bachmann. Unfortunately, Jon Huntsman will probably give up the race as well. He is definitely preferable over the likes of the three frontrunners, Romney, Santorum and Paul. Of those three wacko’s, I would like Ron Paul to be the candidate chosen by the GOP. President Obama would win in a landslide! Even if Ron Paul or Santorum force their views onto the official ‘plank’ of the party, President Obama has a win.

I didn’t mention Gingrich. Do I have to? No.

The season of lies is full upon us now. I was listening to the ‘Mitt’ the other day and his attack speech was filled with one lie after another. It’s too bad that PolitiFact isn’t part of television news each night and the lies exposed for all to see.

Oops! I spoke too soon. Perry is back in. You really can’t make up stuff like this.

By the by…I was reading Nance’s blog a few minutes ago and she was writing about, among other things, the Highly Sensitive Person; or HSP. She explains it far better than I but I did take the test and came up with a score of 19 which puts me in the camp of the HSPeople. Or Persons. I was borderline on some of the questions and left them unanswered. (You can take the test here)

Some of the questions resonated with me. For instance; I don’t like loud noise. Any sudden noise will make me jump while those around me remain undisturbed. I don’t like to make or receive calls when anyone else is around. So I don’t. God made the answering machine for a purpose. Television or books; if the action gets nerve wracking I am outta there! I’ll leave the room. Or put the book away, only to approach it cautiously the next time I wish to read it. I’m reading one now and I am reading it three pages at a time! As soon as I feel anxious, down it goes.

Okay, so I’m an INFP Type and a HSP and I have Asperger’s. It all makes sense to me now! But wait…you don’t have Asperger’s as if it were an illness. I may have a cold but I don’t have Asperger’s. It’s just part of who I am. Although, my oldest daughter tells me that I'm simply eccentric. That sounds okay to me as well.

Maybe later

I was reading Nance's latest post on her blog, Mature Landscaping. As usual, she writes well about a subject that was already on my mind as of late. My lack of attention to this blog. How does she know these things? I'm not at all certain as to why I feel this way, but I've been tired and depressed for quite awhile. It's been too much effort for me to hit the keyboard with an original thought of more than two sentences. So I told the doctor how I was feeling at my meeting with him the other day. Actually, he is a PA-C and I think quite highly of him. Anyway, he has me on a supplemental drug, Celexa, in addition to the Wellbutrin. It will be at least a week before I feel anything...or not. 
The problem with depression, for me, is the fact that I can't find the inspiration for my art. I miss that. Just yesterday, I sold a painting, but it was one that I had painted a year ago. The customer wanted to know if I had any more like that (Abstract Impressionism) and I had to tell him "No.". I gave him a song and dance about just having moved and perhaps, after I have the studio rebuilt, I would be able to satisfy his request. He was happy with that.
Hmmm...now I just realized that I painted that piece a year ago; when I was heavily into pain medication. I hope the drugs weren't my inspiration!