"My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,
Or else my heart concealing it will break." - The Bard....
“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of a Republic.”
- Plutarch....
Need Little. Want Less. Love More.
"Steve's final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.
Before embarking, he'd looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life's partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.
Steve's final words were:
OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW."
Sorry, but that's pretty cool. And so sixties of him. Amazing guy.
Friday, October 28, 2011
I woke up at 4 a.m. today and headed right for the cartoons. If I had a tv I would have found some old ones on Nick. Instead I found these lovely drawn ones and laughed til I thought I'd burst. Are we not a generation conditioned to perform this morning ritual from the time we could toddle? Bowl of cereal and milk in hand, on our knees, assuming the position, rapt with attention, before the early morning toons, hopeful mum and dad didn't wake up before we'd got our fill? It's an endorphin laden, positive start to what will inevitably be another futile day of meaningless "adult" activity ...
A personal fave....
This one is very era appropriate...
To celebrate the new moon, let's lighten up and have a good laugh. I suggest frequent trips to the Toothpaste for Dinner archives. In seconds you'll be laughing hysterically. And laughing while trying not to make a sound at ungodly hours of the morning so as not to wake the whole house up is twice as funny.
Laughter: the best medicine. Treat yourself to a dose of hysteria today. Sure beats feeling this kind of Depressed. The very word has all the heft of a major piece of industrial machinery, something that could grind the life out of you... Anyway, it takes a genius to make depression this funny. truly. check it.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
This is what democracy looks like!
The very first Elizabeth Warren for Senate volunteer meeting last night in Framingham, Mass. WE are talking the FIRST meeting of volunteers here. Doesn't it do your heart good to see so many folks still believing they can make a difference?? Truly. I'm putting this on my wall. Imagine what the last meeting will look like when they celebrate her victory and a Dem takes back Ted's seat. If you haven't sent her money, do it today. Put your money where your complaining mouth is, even if you live in Idaho. This is a big one.
Elizabeth for President??
I'd wait in line for that one... Maybe I should move to Massachusetts?
Advent coming... I have an idea. Let's decide Advent is a kind of Lent II and give stuff up, like we give up ho-hos for Lent. We're all too fat anyway. And now that we're losing – again, Cuz They Don't Want Us There – let's give up war for Advent. Oblimey will lead the way, abiding by the agreement W signed back in the early days of the the pre emptive strike meme, and have troops out of Iraq by end of year. Whoop-de-do. One Less War. Course it's likely all those troops will eventually wend their way to the border of Pakistan, but carpe diem! Let's celebrate the superficial end of one war anyway. Certainly some troops' families will rejoice their folks got home in one piece. Course all those Friends of Boosch and Cheney contractors and weapons salesmen will hang in, supplying the next oppressors, rebuilding what we bombed, making money hand over fist. Why here's one now...
I'd like to sound more cheerful, but I just don't have it in me. Not that anyone cares. But hey, it's my blog. I'm in a city with the highest population of homeless in the state. There isn't one single job opening posted on a local college website. Not much on craigslist either, and if you have no computer, SOL, guy. The library PCs are packed with desperate folks. Everyday some guy, usually black, wanders by punching the air and raving (and I don't mean that gay kind of rave) about his plight, or about how fucked up it is that you're sitting on a porch and he's looking to make five bucks cleaning up your yard or mowing the lawn so he can eat. And every single time it happens I want to ask the guy, "How did you get here? What happened? What is your story?"
I recalled yesterday that during the Great Depression this happened all the time. Men stopping at a back door, asking for work, will work for food. Not junkies. Just hungry despairing people. None of them are fat or lazy. They walk for miles and all look like decent people, but their very presence shames those they approach for help, Including me. And I'm not sure from what I've seen that Americans are ready to really deal with them, to share one on one like folks did during the Depression. And the numbers will only grow. Why did I not offer yesterday's guy some of my hog jowls and mustard greens? I had plenty.
I know I feel ashamed I didn't give whatever I could because I was afraid. Of what? His fury at having been left out, deceived by the american dream. And why not believe if you work hard you'll be rewarded fairly in the richest country in the world? It's only fair. The growing sense that nothing's fair anymore fills the Occupy camps all over the country. They've awoken to the unfairness of it all, not just unfair but rigged against them, workers, people who will never inherit anything, who must work to eat, a growing majority of americans who want work with dignity but who are more likely to die anyway because their odds of bad health are five times that of the One Percent. It's a bummer when you believe lies because you're hopeful, bet everything you've got on the wrong horse. Then find yourself standing there, gape- mouthed, flat broke, in debt, wondering how you could be so stupid when your faith and heart and hard work was so huge. And you, a grown up too. Really....
Just goes to show. Like Chakha sez: this world's fulla liars...
Ever wonder about a connection between the war machine and Hollywood ? Here are Chris Hedges, Oliver Stone, and Michael Moore to tell us all about it. Again, Kudos to AlJazeera for this series.
And here's a little ditty about the amazing expanse of top secret military government work (from the Washington Post) that is so vast it's almost too much to take in. click on 'need help' to play guide video. Your tax dollars at work.
I plan on giving up my suicidal tendencies for Lent if I can manage to live that long. If I can't manage that, no one will wonder who's to blame. They'll know.
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard,
and it's a hard rain's gonna fall.
miss irene below
No doubt about it, there's a bad wind blowin' out there, and it's bound to get worse as the walls of injustice begin to crumble around the bastions of corporate power while the Fed and other PTBs (Powers That Be) - scroll down on link to "Houston, We Have A Problem - persist in bailing out those who have while trampling the right to exist of those who don't. Times like these it helps to listen to folks who can inspire us to carry on despite the apparent coming tempest. If you haven't seen this one, I recommend it.
No doubt about it... he will always carry on.. the ghost in the machine...
Move over Matt Damon. This is a Mindblowing account of what really happened, why it happened, and is continuing to happen to the world economy. Kudos to Al Jazeera for doing its homework fearlessly.
Meltdown: The Secret History Behind the Global Financial Collapse
I've watched everything out there on the 08 Meltdown, and this is beyond comparison the most thorough reportage on the whole financial mess, including the current euro crisis, how it came about, who's responsible (not just banks but individuals), and what we can expect in future. Frankly, this four part video blew my mind. Easy to see why US cable providers don't want Americans watching this stuff. Ever wonder why Dubai seems to be immune from all this? Well, they're not. In this refreshingly honest series you'll find none of that pussy footing around you get on PBS. AlJaz gives us the whole story, and not just the watered down, censored, whiny white boys' version.
Get ready to be blown away... it's nearly four hours long, four parts @ 42 mins or so each. And if you hit a glitch, just forward the timing cursor a few seconds. You can also watch it on AlJazeera English, but sometimes it glitches.
Maine People's Alliance Fights Back Against Voter Suppression!
This is one inspiring video. Hey! There's Paul Weyrich! Remember him? The wacko Republican genius who sees Polish Catholicism (read "Pro-labor movements") as an international threat requiring focussed US response right along with radical Islam? Founder of the powerful ALEC in the 70s? (Take a look at their board members, and don't say you can't vote with your pocketbook.) Big kahuna at the right wing Heritage Foundation? Yes, Paul Wyerich, the eighties politico behind the current right wing voter suppression campaign?
