Saturday August 27, 2011...How did we get into this mess?

Why do I feel like the country is being run by the Tories ('God, King and Country' )and I am one of the rebels?

25 million Americans don't have a full-time job. 46 million Americans don't have health insurance.

American schools are at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations in education. 15 million children live in families who are below the poverty level. 15 million unemployed people. 3½ million homeless people. All this in one of the richest countries on Earth.

This country feels more and more like a monarchy with the wealthy acting as the aristocracy and their puppets running the country per their wishes. I understand that the Tea Party is upset, but I think they are mad at the wrong people. They should be angry with the rich and powerful who are taking over the country. The rich and powerful control politics, finances, business and the armed forces. They have instituted a police state with their Patriot Act and are trying to extend their empire to the corners of the earth through wars and trade acts. The politicians see the polls and know what the people really want, but they act in accordance with their wealthy controllers.

The average citizen holds no control over his elected official. The press is owned and controlled by the elite and they only present the news that they are allowed to. We are given the choice of which of their politicians we want to elect, but they have already financed both parties and win control no matter how we vote. Our choices are diminishing and so are our rights and privileges. The government is eradicating the unions and slowly erasing our social safety network.

Global society is dividing into two blocs: the plutonomy and the rest. Growth is powered by the wealthy few, and largely consumed by them. Then there are the 'non-rich,' the vast majority, now sometimes called the global precariat, the workforce living a precarious existence. We rebels are the precariat. We are definitely the non-rich and the non-powerful.

Maybe when enough people see what's happening we can institute a change in direction and see about helping ALL of the people find the blessings of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. After all, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed and whenever those governments become destructive of the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, those people have the right to alter or abolish those governments to effect their Safety and Happiness. These thoughts were so eloquently expressed in the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution and should never be forgotten.

Now that the blessings of our society are being accumulated in the coffers of the very few, we find our life styles diminishing and our choices narrowing. We stand on the outside, looking in, on the benefits of our society and wondering how we got here.

Friday August 19, 2011...Interesting tax facts

A great site to review the individual tax structure from 1945 to 2011

http://www.remappingdebate.org/map-data-tool/new-interactive-tool-puts-tax-rates-historical-context

 So the Billionaire reduced his taxes from 90% to 35% and increased his net pay by 650% from $100 million  to $650 million and the Millionaire reduced his taxes from 66.4% to 32.7% and increased his net pay by 103% from $336 thousand to $673 thousand, while the person earning $100,000.00 reduced his taxes from 28% to 22% and increased his net pay by 8.3% from $72,000.00 to $78,000.00.

It's not hard to see who benefited the most from the changes in the tax laws and who has the most money to influence the lawmakers and the media.  They cry crocodile tears while they pick our bones and take away our earned benefits.

Monday August 15, 2011...Unforgettable sayings

You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me.

Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

Procrastinate Now!

I smile because I don't know what the hell is going on.

I'm starting to wonder how bad four years with no president would be.

Sunday August 7, 2011...Entitlements vs Insurance

Let's not confuse entitlements, paid for by the government, with Social Security and Medicare which are federal insurance programs paid for by the participants.

An entitlement is a guarantee of access to benefits based on established rights or by legislation. A "right" is itself an entitlement associated with a moral or social principle, such that an "entitlement" is a provision made in accordance with legal framework of a society. Typically, entitlements are laws based on concepts of principle ("rights") which are themselves based in concepts of social equality or enfranchisement.



Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others.
Actuaries define social insurance as a government-sponsored insurance program that is defined by statute, serves a defined population, and is funded through premiums or taxes paid by or on behalf of participants. Participation is either compulsory or the program is subsidized heavily enough that most eligible individuals choose to participate.
In the U.S., programs that meet this definition include Social Security, Medicare, the PBGC program, the railroad retirement program, and state-sponsored unemployment insurance programs.



Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other special criteria. Medicare in the United States somewhat resembles a single-payer health care system, but is not. "Original Medicare" plans (when Medicare Advantage has not been elected) cover 80% of the Medicare-approved amount of any given medical cost; the remaining 20% of cost must be paid by out-of-pocket via the patient's own personal funds (check, money order, cash, etc.). Medicare Advantage plans are not Medicare Supplements, but take the place of "Original Medicare". In return for a premium, these plans share costs and cap out of pocket expenses.
The Medicare program also funds residency training programs for the vast majority of physicians in the United States.

So when pundits start talking about getting entitlement costs under control, they mistakenly include Social Security and Medicare (which are not entitlements) in their discussions. These insurance programs are paid for by the participants over the years and are a contract between the citizens of the United States and their government.

The Federal government has been taking in our payments for these programs for years and years, just as any insurance company would, but instead of investing that money wisely and having it grow and grow into a large reservoir of money from which to pay the premiums they have bought treasury bills and spent the money on other things. Now we have a stack of treasury bills from which to pay the premiums. And now the politicians are starting to complain that they don't have enough money to pay off the treasury bills. They just need to get some of the tax money back from the people who received large tax reductions over the last 30 years.  They need to honor their contract!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011...The Financiers of the Tea Party

Americans for Prosperity

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ of billionaires +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

You can trust in us!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011...Someday is Now!

For years we've been saving our pennies and dollars and giving them to the government to save in the various trust funds - Social Security, Medicare, Roads and Highways, etc. (our own piggy banks for the future). Our representatives have said “Thank you very much. Trust us, we will save your money for you. It will all be there for you someday.” Someday is now!.

It turns out that they have spent every cent we ever gave them and borrowed as much money as they could get away with to fund all of their “special” friends interests. They reduced the taxes of their very “special” best friends and acquaintances and borrowed more. They reduced our inspectors and lifeguards who were overseeing the waters and the air and the forests and the food so that their “special” friends could more easily profit without spending more for stupid safeguards. They didn't have to worry about who was going to clean up the mess – leave that for the “help”.

After spending all the money and then some, they are now realizing that where they should have been saving at least some for the pensions and the health care and the education they will now have to either borrow more or reduce or even eliminate the pensions and health care and education. After all, it isn't as though there was a signed “contract” for these promises and besides, they just don't have the money to do all of that any more. It's all gone.

Of course, the “special' friends have been piling up lots of money and acquiring more and more of the wealth of the country due to the assistance of “their” government and they don't want to give any of it back to help the “common” people. They have the power and the money to influence the politicians and the media and just about anybody else they want to, so you can't make them do what you think is right. In fact, many of these “special” friends have pulled up stakes and moved on to other countries that are ripe for exploitation. They don't consider the United States as anything more than a special police force for them to exercise when dealing with “foreigners”. They have moved their plants and their offices to other countries so that they can avoid paying burdensome taxes to the United States. It was nice while it lasted.

We have been building up to the present moments for many years and it seems that now is the right time for these “special” friends to use their muscle to reduce or eliminate the unions and social security and medicare and medicaid and public education and just about any other program that detracts from their profits. They have become much more strident in their messages and much more blatant in their activities. They show little interest in the “common” man and try to flavor the perception of their work as morally correct and fiscally responsible. They take from the poor and give to the rich and are proud of it.

The nation has been sold and now belongs to them.

Until the sheep look up, there will be little change.

Monday August 1, 2011...Who can we turn to?

So now that Obama has shown himself, by his actions, to be a moderate Republican, the question is: “Who can the DEMOCRATS run for President in the next election?”. It has been assumed all along that Obama will be the Democratic candidate in the next election, but why must this be so? He didn't push for the public option and he caved in quickly to extending the tax cuts for the wealthy and he hired the wall street gurus to run his treasury department, even though they had been instrumental in the collapse of the financial institutions. He didn't push back against the tea party when they held the nation hostage in the debt limit debate and gave into their demands for cuts in spending without any increase in taxes from the wealthy or corporations. He has shown himself to be a weak negotiator and way too willing to compromise way too early. He folds his poker hand before all the cards have been dealt out. He will never win a tough contest, and the more he caves in the more the opposition will push. He apparently is willing to throw in much of our safety net – social security, medicare, medicaid, education, unemployment, etc – to the party of “NO!”.

We need to find a candidate who will negotiate and hold out for the basic interests of the common man. We need someone strong and firm in their beliefs like Bernie Sanders or David Kucinich.

Monday July 25, 2011...Debt limits and talks

If you read your Constitution, you’ll find that Congress is responsible for the debts, the spending, and the taxes, not the President. 

The President can ask for a budget, but it's up to Congress to appropriate the money. All debts and deficits that have accrued have originated in Congress. All taxes that are in place originated in Congress. 

They made the laws and it's up to them to change the laws if they want to. That's where the debate starts. Right now they passed a budget that spends more money than we have and they need to approve borrowing that money or change the law that they made that requires the money. 

They need to sit down and decide which part of the budget that they passed shouldn't have been passed. It's up to them to change the law or to borrow the money. The question is: which law and which funding is to be changed.

When the little boys, inside the men, decide to walk out on meaningful talks it's like saying “It's MY ball and I'm taking it home”. It's hard to debate the issues with only one debater. Any agreement made cannot be all one sided, compromise is necessary to reach a workable solution.

Saturday July 16, 2011...A Note to the President

I sent a note to the White House today.  I hope somebody reads it.

From the White House Blog 07/16/2011:
One quote stuck with me: “the nature of our democracy and the nature of our politics is to marry principle to a political process that means you don't get 100% of what you want.”
This is a President who believes searching for common ground is the right way to approach solving our problems.

–

Over the years I have been involved in many construction project negotiations. What the President says is a good philosophy to keep to himself for the final decision, but going into the process of negotiations, he needs to draw a firm line from which he initially isn't prepared to go further. If you go into negotiations offering immediate sacrifices, the opponent will push further and further to force more compromises.

If you want to settle for a one dollar increase you ask for two and the opponent asks for none so that you can both win with an agreement of one dollar. If you start at one, the opponent will assume that you are willing to settle for half that or less and won't agree to the one.

The President has started negotiations with the House and Senate for health care and budget reconciliation from what he hopes is his final settlement and naturally the opposition will reject this and try for a lower settlement.

President Obama is sometimes too nice of a guy and too willing to compromise at the beginning. He definitely needs to present a firmer stance and show that he is not that easy to manipulate. We need him to be our strong leader and stand up for us low and middle class voters against the power and finances of the wealthy.

Friday June 24, 2011...This guy made a great speech

Al Franken, Senator, used to be a comedy writer.  
Who would take this guy seriously?  
Why in the world would Minnesotans vote him in as Senator?  
I didn't know, either.  Today I read the speech that he just gave to a conference in Minnesota and was notably impressed.  He stated his (and my) beliefs clearly and understandably.  

His speech is well worth reading.  Here it is:
======================================

The Attack on America's Middle Class, and the Plan to Fight Back

Netroots Nation 2011, welcome to Minnesota!

This is the state that sent Hubert Humphrey, the middle-class son of a pharmacist, to the U.S. Senate, where he cheerfully waged - and usually won - great battles in the name of the young and the old, the poor and the vulnerable, the oppressed and the disenfranchised.

This is the state where Walter Mondale - who, at the age of 20, had helped to organize Humphrey's first Senate campaign - rose to become the living embodiment of common-sense Midwestern progressive values.

And this is the state where Paul Wellstone, a professor down at Carleton College in Northfield, became my hero - and the hero of a generation of progressives who believed, as he did, that we all do better when we all do better. We all do better when we all have health care. We all do better when we all can get a good education. We all do better when we all can earn a fair wage at a good job. We all do better when we all can find a good home and economic security and justice when we're wronged.

Today, 100 years after Hubert Humphrey was born, nearly half a century after Walter Mondale began his legendary career in public service, and two decades after Paul Wellstone won his first race for the Senate, we gather in Minnesota to take stock.

We all believe that we all do better when we all do better. The question is: How are we doing?

And if we're talking about the fate of ordinary families, the answer is clear: We're losing.

The American middle class is in trouble. Median family income is down. Jobs are scarce. Opportunities people thought they'd earned through hard work are disappearing before their eyes. Working families are falling further and further behind.

And that means it's hard for progressives not to feel like we're losing, too. Our movement is about putting the concerns of those working Americans at the forefront of our national agenda.

Now, you can argue that Democrats in Congress should be doing more to win legislative battles - although, as someone who is in the room every day, I can tell you that I don't doubt for a second my colleagues' commitment to moving our country in the right direction.

And you can argue that the Democratic Party should be using different tactics to win elections.

But the fact remains: We as a progressive movement are losing the argument. On issue after issue, we're playing defense.

We're ready to fight for cap-and-trade. But instead, we're forced into an argument about whether global warming even exists.

We're ready to fight for the Employee Free Choice Act. But instead, we're forced into an argument about whether workers should have any rights at all. As proud as we all are of the fight our movement has shown in Wisconsin and around the country in the face of Republican efforts to end collective bargaining, we know that these aren't the conversations we should be having in the year 2011.

And instead of having a debate about what the government should be doing to help the struggling middle class, we're having a debate about what parts of the social safety net we should sacrifice in order to preserve and extend giveaways to the wealthiest few, and to well-connected corporations.

We can urge Democrats in Congress to stand stronger when Republicans hold our government hostage. We can urge each other to work harder to win elections. And you won't hear any disagreement from me on either count.

But if we're going to win these fights, we have to start by reclaiming the upper hand in the argument over what our country should be about. And I want to suggest that conservatives might just have given us the playbook.

For decades, their argument against progressive policies hasn't just been about the substance of our ideas, but about the scope of our vision. They call us radicals. They say we want to do too much, too fast. They accuse us of wanting to remake the fundamental fabric of American society, as if we were proposing to rip a few dozen stars off the flag.

They understand that Americans don't like radical change. We love our country, and are rightly proud of its traditions. We revere our past.  And it's easy to offer people a return to the "good ol' days" - when the economy was growing, everyone was optimistic, and we went to bed at night secure in the knowledge that our kids would have better opportunities than we had.

What conservatives miss when they talk about those "good ol' days," of course, is that they were good for a reason.  Some of you might have heard me talk about my childhood here in Minnesota. My dad never graduated high school. He was a printing salesman. We lived in a two-bedroom, one-bath house in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. We weren't rich - but we felt secure.

I felt like the luckiest kid in the world. And I was. I was growing up middle-class in a time when growing up middle-class in America meant there would be jobs for my parents, good schools for me to prepare myself for a career, and, if I worked hard and played by the rules, a chance for me to do anything I wanted. Including being a comedy writer and then a Senator. In that order.  Between 1947 and 1977, we experienced three decades of incredible growth - growth that flowed to the middle class.

And as we grew, we grew together. Everyone benefited. Income for the top fifth of Americans grew by 99 percent, and the income of those in the bottom fifth rose by 116 percent. I know that's hard to believe. The wages of the bottom fifth grew more than the wages of the top fifth. Really. That happened.

Meanwhile, the middle class could afford to buy more, so there was more demand - and that meant there were more jobs.

And with the tax dollars that came from all this growth, the government built 40,000 miles of straight freeways that greatly reduced the cost of transporting goods, invested in education that prepared kids for the workforce and innovations that created entire new industries, and strengthened the social safety net so that everyone could aspire to the middle class.

Oh. And we sent a man to the moon. Actually, a number of them.

Which brings me to my wife, Franni. When she was seventeen months old, her dad - a decorated veteran of World War II - died in a car accident, leaving my future mother-in-law widowed at age 29 with five kids.

That family made it because of Social Security survivor benefits.

Every single one of the four girls in Franni's family went to college, thanks to Pell Grants and other scholarships. My brother-in-law, Neil, went into the Coast Guard, where he became an electrical engineer.

My mother-in-law got herself a $300 GI loan to fix her roof, and used the money instead to go to the University of Maine. She became a grade school teacher and taught poor kids, and so her loans were forgiven.

She and all five of those kids became productive members of society. They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps - but first, they had to have the boots. And the government gave Franni's family the boots.

These are stories about security and opportunity. These are stories about the American dream. These are stories about the country we are so proud to call our own, the one we all want to protect and preserve.

But they are also stories about a progressive America, one in which the government adopts the principle that we all do better when we all do better.

It was our vision that government should provide economic security for the middle class and provide the boots for people looking to pull themselves up into it. 

It was our vision that America should be in the business of making things, and that we should invest in innovation and infrastructure so that we could have an economy where there's enough for everyone.

It was our vision that American workers should earn enough to buy what they produced.

It was our vision that everyone should have basic rights at work, no matter how powerful their employer, and that the law should be a place where anyone could turn for justice.

And although that vision has always remained a work in progress, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale and Paul Wellstone and generations of progressives made this country what we dreamed it could be for millions and millions of families.

And while our vision was broad, the policies we fought for - from the social safety net to workers' rights to investment in our manufacturing sector - were grounded in values that began as "progressive," but have become simply American.

And having built that America we're all so proud of, it's now up to us to save it.

Progressives, in a way, are the new conservatives. We want to conserve what we fought to build. And the right-wingers who call themselves conservatives are the ones who want radical change in the way our government works, and the way our country works.

Newt Gingrich went on "Meet the Press" last month and said that the Ryan plan that would end Medicare was "right-wing social engineering," that it was "too big a jump." He has spent the month since apologizing - but for once in his life, Newt was right.

Actually, that's not fair. He was calling for electronic medical records years before the rest of the country got on board with the idea. So he was right the one other time. Gotta give a guy credit.

But ending Medicare, like privatizing Social Security, is astonishingly radical.

Part of the middle class promise is that, after a lifetime of hard work, you'll be able to retire and enjoy the fruits of that labor. Medicare was established to secure that promise. There was no private insurance market for people over 65 back in 1964. And if Republicans destroy Medicare, there won't be one now. The average Social Security benefit is $15,000. The average out of pocket health care cost for seniors under the Ryan plan would be over $12,000.

So if Republicans eliminate Medicare, America will become a country in which you can never retire - and once you physically can no longer work, you are desperately poor until you die. That is a radical change to our society.

The Republican agenda is a radical vision in which Medicaid is slashed to the bone - in which we start to balance the budget on the backs of, literally, our most vulnerable citizens. Say you have a parent who suffers from dementia and lives in a nursing home. If Republicans pass these Medicaid cuts, you'd better be ready to take that parent in. That is a radical change to our society.

The Republican vision is one in which we cut billions from job training and education and infrastructure - the things that enable ordinary Americans to find good jobs, enable businesses to find the customers and trained workers they need to grow, and enable middle class families to build real economic security. All these cuts, just to fund more tax cuts for people who are richer than any people have ever been in the history of the world.

It's a vision in which workers have no protections from their employers, ordinary Americans have no access to the courts when they're wronged, and big corporations control everything from our media to the Internet to our democracy.

After decades of fighting against any interpretation of the Constitution that secured basic rights for all Americans, conservatives have somehow found in that text special First Amendment rights for oil companies.

The growing gap between rich and poor, the failure of our generation to leave our kids the America we inherited from our parents, and the inability of our political system to respond to these crises - for today's Republican Party, these are features, not bugs.

The right wants America to be a nation of social Darwinism in which the powerful are protected by the government, and the rest of us are on our own.

To achieve it, they'll say things they know aren't true, disown ideas they used to support, contradict themselves on everything from how the legislative process should operate to how weather works. They'll let the government shut down, let us default on our debts, bring our country to its knees to fulfill their ideological fervor.

So how do we stop them? Well, I haven't been in politics my whole life. But I think we always win when we work together and stand on our values. Medicare, and Medicaid, and investment in infrastructure, and public education, and workers' rights, and civil rights, and equal rights under the law - these aren't just good progressive ideas, they're examples of traditional American values.

And when Republicans talk about destroying these things, they're talking about turning their backs on the America we've built. They're talking about ripping apart the fabric of our society. They're talking about a transformation of our country - about undermining our tradition so radically, they might as well be tearing stars off the flag.

And we should say so.

Here in the home of Humphrey and Mondale and Wellstone, I urge you all to stand up for the America our movement helped to build. Stand up for the principle that we should grow together instead of growing apart. Stand up for the principle that we all do better when we all do better.

Be proud to stand for Medicare and Medicaid. Be proud to stand with workers. Be proud to stand for a government that invests in America, a legal system that respects the rights of all individuals, and the progressive values we've fought so hard to defend. Be proud of who we are and what we've built.

We have a tough fight ahead. But it's one we have to win. It's not just the Democratic Party that's depending on us. It's the American middle class. And it's the American tradition, one that we helped to create - and one that we must now protect.

Thank you.

Sunday June 11, 2011...Government

I and my neighbors and friends don't have time to perform all necessary functions in our community while we struggle to do our jobs and follow our chosen professions. We got together in a community group to form a government to hire those specialized functions to be done by others. We chose our teachers and police officers and sanitation workers and street repairers and a myriad of other function doers to help relieve us of those duties. On a national scale, we got together in a national group to form a government to hire those national functions to be done by others. We chose our military and our foreign relations people and our security people and hired watchdogs to make sure that those of us who wanted to cheat or steal from the rest of us were prevented from doing so. We chose to have standardized regulations set forth so that everyone would understand the limits and know the penalties for cheating. We chose our delegates to represent us in the national meetings and present our views and requirements so that our government can administer our state correctly. The whole idea was for us all to get along under common principles and common laws and regulations so that we could continue to follow our professions with the least amount of bother. This is our government that we chose to create to help us. In effect, we are the government. We choose how and why and what regulations we want to have in our society to help us and how we want it administered.

To do without that administration would allow the meanest of us to take control. We need our regulations administered to keep control. Somehow, the whole process of choosing who will represent us and what regulations we want administered has been taken away from us by those who would use us to their advantage. They have wrested control away from the rest of us and have tried to remove our regulations and safety nets and have tried to have us hire only their people to perform the functions that they sell by privatizing the public work. It's all about how much control they can take away from all of us and how much they can use the whole system to their financial advantage.

I can only hope that we, collectively, will take back the administration of our own functions and revitalize those controls that we need to provide for our own common good.

We don't want to get rid of government. We need government. We just need OUR government to represent US and our wishes.

Saturday June 11, 2011...Aftershock

Afterthoughts and reflections after reading “Aftershock” by Robert Reich

He clearly drew a picture of what happened to cause the Great Depression (1929-1946) and what brought us out of that financially burdensome time into The Great Prosperity (1947-1975). Marriner Eccles chaired the Federal Reserve Board from 1934 to 1948. His advice and actions inspired the correct financial response by our political leaders and pulled the economy up from the depths. He clearly saw that money had to be available for the common man and his family and that with a healthy financial community the manufacturing would also benefit. He inspired Franklin Roosevelt to help and encourage the poor, the elderly and the working man with jobs and safe banks and secure homes and social security in our old age. Herbert Hoover and the previous administration had been following the old ways and assumed that the economy would self correct. He was wrong to trust the special interests and big bankers. Eccles clearly saw that their way would not stimulate the economy. They wanted to cut government services and let business find the way just as the current Republican Wall Street bankers are advising now. Luckily we had Mr Eccles then. Now is a different story.

The monied interests now control the political system and the business systems and they have no consideration for the poor or the middle class. They are greedy to the extreme and would deny sharing their wealth with the system that gave them this wealth. Even though the very wealthy have more wealth than they can spend, they still reach for more. The politicians need huge amounts to run their campaigns and know that they owe their jobs now and after leaving government service to those with the big bucks. Republican and Democrat alike respond to the desires of the wealthy. They are unlikely to bite the hand that feeds them. We look forward to diminished government services and a much lower standard of living, unless you're wealthy.

One scenario that Mr Reich put forth as an extreme backlash to the present situation was really quite frightening in its implications. A mythical third party wins the presidential and congressional election with a message of zero tolerance of illegal immigrants, a freeze on legal immigration, increased tariffs on all imports, a ban on American companies moving operation overseas or outsourcing abroad, withdrawal from United Nations, World Trade Organization, World Bank, and IMF, refuse to pay any more interest on our debt to China and stop trade with China. They would prohibit profitable companies from laying off workers or cutting payrolls. The federal budget would be required to be balanced. The Federal Reserve would be abolished. Banking would be restricted to deposits and loans. No investment banking. Capping personal income at $250,000 per year – everything above $500,000 to be taxed at 100%. – The stock market crashes, the dollar plummets, banks close, economic calamity.

Robert Reich sees the problem and offers his suggestions on how to solve them without destroying the country, but even he acknowledges that no change will probably occur until the systems crashes and forces reforms. The Great Recession that we are in the midst of wasn't quite strong enough to bring about the required resolve. The future holds the answer.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011...The scale is tilted

We live on an island in space.

One very small group representing less than 5% of the total population of the island own 95% of the land, produce and resources of the island. The rest of the islanders work and toil to help create more wealth for the 5%. The 5% control the politics and all communications and all produce and all the wealth of the island. The 5% think that this is the way things should always be and they control who gets to be the representatives of the people. The 5% have the 95% convinced that all is well with the world and that there is no reason to complain. They tell us that we are all in the same boat and that they care about us and only wish us success. 

You believe them, don't you?

Interesting, but discouraging facts

Total War Funding by Operation

Assuming an annual level of the current Continuing Resolution (H.J.Res. 44/P.L. 112-4) and

based on DOD, State Department/USAID, and Department of Veterans Administration budget

submissions, the cumulative total appropriated from the 9/11 for those war operations, diplomatic

operations, and medical care for Iraq and Afghan war veterans is $1.283 trillion including:

• $806 billion for Iraq;

• $444 billion for Afghanistan;

• $29 billion for enhanced security; and

• $6 billion unallocated 

Of this total, 63% is for Iraq, 35% for Afghanistan, 2% for enhanced security and 1/2% is

unallocated. Almost all of the funding for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) is for Afghanistan.

This total includes funding provided in all appropriations act including the FY2010 Supplemental

(H.R. 4899/P.L. 111-212) enacted July 29, 2010, and the 6th Continuing Resolution for FY2011

For example, between FY2005 and FY2009, average annual operational costs per troop were $525,000 for Afghanistan and $462,000 for Iraq.

DOD’s requests for FY2010 and FY2011 generally include sharply higher annual per troop costs for Afghanistan, with operational costs projected to jump from $507,000 in FY2009 to $667,000 in FY2010 and $694,000 in Afghanistan.

COULDN'T THIS MONEY SERVE BETTER PURPOSES HERE AT HOME WHERE PEOPLE NEED HELP?

Saturday May 28, 2011...Remember our Veterans

We seem to continually remain at war.  It isn't the fault of our troops.  They perform nobly as their duty prescribes.  On this Memorial weekend, remember the boys and men who have given their all in our service.

America continues to be engaged in hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, and young men and women will pay the ultimate price while wearing the uniform of our nation. Let us honor the memory of the 4,454 Americans who have died in Iraq and more than 1,595 who have died in Afghanistan. We also honor the sacrifices of our wounded: 32,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 11,400 in Afghanistan.

Since September 2001, 13,957 troops from Missouri have been deployed from the U.S. National Guard and Reserve. Missouri currently has 4,494 troops deployed, and has sent 42,650 since September 2001. In Iraq, 90 have been killed. 754 have been wounded. In Afghanistan, 40 have been killed. 235 have been wounded.

As we remember their patriotic sacrifices, we renew our commitment to keep our promises to the nation’s more than 2 million troops and reservists, their families, and 23 million veterans, including 505,916 in Missouri.

Perhaps we can bring our participation in these struggles to an end in the near future if the powers that be will let them end.  What have we gained from these dead and wounded that couldn't have been gained by negotiation?  Looking back over past wars and seeing our former enemies who are now our allies and trading partners you have to think that war accomplishes little other than enriching the people who supply war materials and profit from both sides of a conflict.  It's been a long struggle in the middle east with no end in sight and nothing gained by our sacrifice.  It's time for this to end.  Let's bring our boys home.

Friday May 20, 2011...A Thought

A thought about thoughts.

Where does a thought come from? What sparks a thought into existence? A completely NEW thought springs from what source? Does it come with a spark or with a big bang? Is a thought comprised of energy? How does it exist and in what form?

We speak about the BIG BANG that started our universe with some form of energy converting itself into all the matter of the universe that we now know in a single instant. Something started that transformation. Before that BIG BANG, there was no matter and no time and all was void. Perhaps we and all that we perceive are nothing more than a thought in the mind of God, whatever or whoever you conceive God to be. From nothing came this instant of creation that brought our universe into being. We are nothing more than stardust leftover from that one instant of creation, that single thought.

Was that thought that created our universe a complete unified and solidified thought or was it something that once started follows it's own course of action?. Can we control our dreams and thoughts and seek solutions to problems or do the dreams and thoughts once started find their own conclusions?

In any event, if we are indeed the result of a thought by some greater force or being, we are a creation of that force or being and our actions, whether controlled or natural, are a direct result of that creation. One can only conclude that any action we take cannot be in opposition to the will of that force or being because we are a consequence of that creation.

The greater question is: What happens to a thought when it has passed? What lies ahead in what we conceive of as our future? Does a thought fade and disappear or does it linger in the memory forever?

Wednesday April 6. 2011...I'm sorry, but I don't understand the logic

Well, maybe I do - if your object is to help the needy rich and corporate america and take from the undeserving  poor, then it all makes sense.  Let them eat cake!  And be sure that we have a tremendous military to enforce our corporate will upon recalcitrant neighbors.  

House Republicans led by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan have unveiled a plan that would spend $6.2T less over 10 years than what President Obama has proposed. With not a sacred cow in sight, except perhaps the Pentagon, Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity' proposes to limit expenditure on Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and scores of other programs. He also wants to cut the top corporate and individual tax rates to 25%. Despite the appearance of radicalism, the GOP plan would still add $5T to the deficit over the coming decade, although it promises to reach 'primary balance' by 2015, meaning that the budget would be balanced except for interest payments on existing debt. The plan wouldn't balance the government's books until 2040.

CUTTING TAXES ON RICH AND CORPORATIONS WHILE REDUCING BENEFITS FOR THE REST OF THE CITIZENS IN THE UNITED STATES. STILL ADDING TO THE DEFICIT UNTIL 2040 AND DOESN'T ALLOW FOR COMING INCREASED INTEREST RATES AND HIGHER INFLATION. ALSO ASSUMES THAT UNEMPLOYMENT WILL REDUCE AND THAT TAXES FROM EMPLOYED WILL INCREASE.   Perhaps there is also a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow which we can use to reduce our debt.  Or, we could hope to catch a leprechaun?  

AND AS FOR REVISING SOCIAL SECURITY

per The House Republicans' 2012 Budget Proposal

"Demographics:

The first is demographic.

This problem is most clearly seen in the financing for Social Security. Social Security is financed through a pay-as-you-go system, which means that current workers' Social Security taxes are used to pay benefits for current retirees. In 1935 when Social Security was enacted, there were about 42 working-age Americans for each retiree. The average life expectancy for men in America was 60 years; for women it was 64. With these demographics, it was easy for the program to generate sufficient revenue to meet its promises to those over 65. The demographic situation has changed dramatically, however, since the creation of the program. In 1950, there were 3.5 million beneficiaries. Currently, there are over 50 million beneficiaries - an over fourteen-fold increase."

per SSA http://www.ssa.gov/history/lifeexpect.html

the average life expectancy at age 65 (i.e., the number of years a person could be expected to receive unreduced Social Security retirement benefits) has increased a modest 5 years (on average) since 1940. So, for example, men attaining 65 in 1990 can expect to live for 15.3 years compared to 12.7 years for men attaining 65 back in 1940.

Obviously the Republican document is in error, although the average lifespan was less back when social security was started, the average lifespan for retiring citizens was approximately the same then as it is now and the tables for computing this were based on this fact. In fact all the demographics were considered and included when computing the actuarial tables for social security. That is why the social security system has built up a surplus over the years of 2.6 trillion dollars and remains solvent for the next 26 years and will only require minimal tweaking to adjust to future situations.

TABLE 1: The Outlook for Social Security (by fiscal year, in billions of dollars)
	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Annual surplus	137	83	91	101	114	131	143	148	148	149	143	132
Surplus excluding interest	19	-36	-26	-13	-2	10	13	8	-4	-14	-32	-55
Holdings	2,504	2,587	2,677	2,779	2,893	3,024	3,167	3,315	3,463	3,612	3,755	3,886
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities based on Congressional Budget Office, August 2010 baseline projections. CBO has not published complete details for its August baseline; CBPP calculated the Social Security surplus as the difference between the total off-budget surplus — as published by CBO — and the off-budget Postal Service deficit, assuming that the latter figure did not change since CBO’s March 2010 projection.

The system has been working well for the last 75 years and is scheduled to continue being successful into the future. Why disrupt a successful enterprise? I can only suppose that private interests wish to somehow gain control of the investing power of this trust fund and are lobbying their representative agents to help them. While this would gain those special interests much income, it wouldn't be in the best interests of the participants. Recessions and bubbles in investing circles come and go but the system works and keeps working. Let's keep this fund out of special interests hands.

Using phrases that sound sensible for new programs often mislead the public.  But seeing that the actual details cause the opposite reactions should warn us that the proposed plans have something else in mind than our own welfare.  It all amounts to a tug of war between the average citizen and the wealthy powers that hope to control our country.  So far, the powers are winning and they are stepping up the action without hiding their true feelings.

Monday March 14, 2011...Words and descriptions

WORDS FOR THE POLITICAL DAY

APPLY THEM TO THE POLITICIAN OF YOUR CHOICE

I personally like the last one. It rolls off the tongue – opprobrious.  and it  has particular appropriateness to the present political situation.  

(reference: Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, etc, etc, etc.)

perfidious: deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful

ignoble: degraded; dishonorable; ignominious; contemptible

ignominious: degrading; disgraceful; dishonorable; shameful; despicable; ignoble

specious: superficially plausible; false; misleading

meretricious: showy; gaudy; spurious; sham; false

opprobrious: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame;

"Man...has written one of his blackest records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat"; "an opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful display of cowardice"

ignominious; inglorious; shameful; disgraceful;

dishonorable - lacking honor or integrity; deserving dishonor; "dishonorable in thought and deed"

Wednesday February 16, 2011...Adventures in Mexico

It was a most interesting daily jaunt.   I crossed over the border into Nuevo Progresso Mexico on Tuesday. 

 

First impression was the presence of the army. They had armored vehicles with machine guns mounted on them. They also had sand-bagged posts with soldiers manning them. They definitely announced their presence to the hundreds of tourists crossing over from the US. 

Second impression was one of a marvelous bazaar with hundreds of small shops carrying all kinds of items for sale. I also noticed many, many pharmacies and dentists. It seemed as though there were as many as 50 of each. Outside of many of the shops were hawkers calling your attention to this pharmacy or that dentist. There were also many sidewalk vendors about. The streets were crowded with tourists and hawkers. People were on the sidewalk and in the streets. Cars and trucks were slowly meandering down the streets. 

I had a chipped tooth and went into a dentist's office. He was able to immediately help me. He took xrays and showed me where the root was exposed and that rather than covering it with a filling that would eventually cause great pain, I needed a root canal and a crown. When I asked him how much it would cost I was told the total would be $300. This was about a third of what I had paid for the last such procedure in the United States. I asked him how long it would take and was told it would be ready in 2 days. This seemed such a bargain that I asked him if he did partial plates. I had lost a partial plate on the left bottom of my mouth some months ago and dreaded paying another $1,000 for a new one. He quoted me $350 and that included a newer base of flexible material instead of the metal plate. It will also be ready this week. He was extremely polite and quite knowledgeable. He spoke Spanish and English and wasted no time. I was quite pleased.. I'm going back Friday for the crown and the partial that would have cost about 3 times what I will end up paying.

After coming out numbly from the dentist, I shopped for a bit at a leather store with my sister and brother-in-law. I noticed that my sister was able to barter the price down on a purse from $20 to $15. Unfortunately I had already agreed to purchase 2 leather hats at the marked price, otherwise I might have saved a few bucks. Oh well, you live and learn. I will shop a bit more when I go back for my teeth and perhaps try bartering. We, in the United States, are not used to arguing the price down on objects – so this will be a new experience.

I would also point out that the dentist was located within a block or so of the border checkout, so it was very convenient.  A great place to go for dental work and adventure.

Thursday February 10, 2011...I'm innocent!

It is NOT my fault!! 

Everyone is starting to point fingers and rumors are spreading that I brought the cold weather down here. 

 

I was trying my best to escape before the blizzard of 2011 hit Kansas City. It was right behind me all the way. The folks in Waco were wacko anticipating cold that they weren't prepared for. Warnings were out all along the way. 

The devil was on my tail, but I kept riding south trying to escape his clutches. 

I did get a nice tail wind that improved my mileage, but it still wasn't my fault. The pipes were freezing and the roads closed with ice all around. Probably the crops will fail and people will always remember when Bob came to town. 

Schools and businesses closed their doors and people stood shivering in their tee shirts and shorts. Nobody knew what to do. I see groups of people standing about and muttering and pointing fingers at me. Everybody I meet says “so YOU'RE the one who brought this cold weather down here”. It's frightening. 

All I wanted was blue skies and warm southerly breezes and palm trees swaying and fresh fruit and vegetables growing. Now I've been down here for over a week and last night it again got down below freezing. To me this doesn't seem bad for February, but this is a calamity for these warm blooded folks down here with little heat and no warm clothes. Next week it's supposed to warm up to about 80 in the daytime and 60 at night, but folks will still remember “the man from Missouri who brought down the cold”.

I hope they'll let me stay till March.  I'll try to bring warm weather north with me.  I could use a southerly breeze to help my mileage.

 

Thursday February 3, 2011 SNOW??!! HERE?

Well, here I am in sunny south Texas escaping the artic blizzard that has struck the midwest.

Unfortunately, the artic air has pushed south even to here. It has gotten down to below freezing and the people down here aren't really prepared for that. Tonight it's supposed to sleet, freezing rain, or snow over much of the area which will affect the citrus crop and the vegetable crops if it stays cold very long. I feel sorry for the folks who don't have heat in their houses or warm clothes. It's supposed to be about 30-40 degrees warmer than it is. I drove 1,000 miles south to get away from cold weather and I didn't expect this. Hopefully, in a few days or a week the weather will return to normal and I will be able to enjoy the balmy weather and bask in the sun. 

I'm really good with balmy and basking.

It's been a long cold winter and it's still snowing!

The holidays came and went and were quite a busy time here at home.  My son-in-law came home from the oil fields of Wyoming and North Dakota to spend Christmas and New Years with his family.  We had a lot of family time over the holidays and it was great.  Now Carole has gone south to Texas for the winter and Chuck has returned to Wyoming and it keeps on snowing and getting colder.  I'm really ready for some warmth.  I plan on visiting Carole in Texas during the whole month of February.  It's supposed to be sunny and warm down along the Rio Grande and I won't mind it a bit.  Meanwhile my daughter, Deborah, has gotten her divorce and plans on moving up to Oregon from New Mexico.  It's quite a turmoil for her right now, but she will make the most of it - a fresh new beginning.

I love the changes of the seasons, but I get tired of snow really quickly.  It's beautiful to look at for a day, but after that it starts to look a bit stark and cold and uninviting.  It will be great to see the green grass and orchards of fruit trees of southern Texas.  A warm beach with blue skies and puffy white clouds won't be bad also.

My Minnesota relatives love the snow and cold for all the winter sports and activities, but up there it gets cold and stays cold and once you get out the warm clothes you don't put them away till spring.  Here it's warm one day and cold the next and snowing one day and slushing the next so your body never quite gets adjusted.

I'll let you know how warm it is in Texas when I get there.  Stay warm!

burp! Thanksgiving was great!

Thanksgiving was great - had dinner at sister Janice's house and her whole menu was delicious.  My daughter Beth and grandson Zachary went with me, so it was a good family outing.  We missed my son-in-law Chuck terribly but he is still in Wyoming and North Dakota trying to stay employed with the oil riggers.  The labor market here in town still isn't much, so he has been working far from home and not getting home very often.

Christmas shopping season opened with the plaza lights being turned on.  We put up our Christmas decorations and it's now time to think about how to celebrate the season.  Many of our relatives are having financial difficulties this year, so we intend to keep it simple.  Tonight my sisters and brother and their spouses and I will be getting together for our annual birthday steak dinner at Jess & Jims.  We have been doing this now for about 15 years and everyone really enjoys getting together and having a good meal.

I've been in a candy making mood - never tried that before, but it seems to be not that hard.  You get in the baking mood or the cooking mood or the candy mood every once in a while and the things you make are always so much better than the commercial product.  The only problem is to control your hunger after you make a big batch.  I find it's best to enjoy the making and then to enjoy the giving away to others that works best - otherwise I get saturated with too much of a good thing.

I hope that this Christmas all families can be together and share their love enjoy the season.

Sunday November 24, 2010...Excuses from home

Holy cow!

Has it been that long since I put anything on this blog?  Time slips away so easily.  I was wrapped up in the election and then thoroughly depressed with the results (that's one excuse).  There has been a lot of sickness around this house (Beth, my daughter, and Zachary, my grandson, have been taking turns getting sick with one thing or another (that's another excuse).  It isn't that I haven't been thinking, maybe just not as clearly as usual.  But now that Thanksgiving is coming and holiday season is approaching, I'm starting to make my lists and checking them twice.  Most of the leaves have fallen and the grass has finally stopped growing so I mulched the leaves once and probably need to do that one more time before the winter freeze.

I've been watching the antics of the financial gurus and hoping that they don't completely destroy the economy.  Right now I'm seeing more unemployment in our family than ever before in my lifetime, so that tells me that this recession is dangerous and may have long term effects on all of us.  It would seem that the high-flying days are over for now and everyone will have to tighten up their finances to survive the coming troubles.  It feels like the middle class has really shrunk and that it may not come back very soon.  When I was a kid, a high school graduate could usually find a job in the manufacturing field - here in town we had Ford and GM and Pontiac and Vendo and Armco and Western Electric and many other major manufacturers who have mostly gone.  Now a kid needs a college degree to find any kind of self sustaining job and many of those are going overseas.  For a while it looked like we would have jobs opening up in the service sector but India and China have started taking many of those away.

We are becoming a nation of haves and have-nots with the have-nots growing in number.  Perhaps once the financial disarray clears up and our dollar reaches a lower value, we will begin growing the manufacturing base again?  It may be a painful adjustment till then.  Most of the people today are not aware of the lifestyle changes that had to take place during the depression, in fact many haven't even heard of them.  Life has been so good for so long that everyone expects that it will always continue that way - but the future may be a bit harsher.  Time will tell.  We have had a good run without any serious calamities such as war or famine here in the United States and we have all enjoyed the freedoms and opportunities, so I can't really complain if we hit a snag now.  Just keep a level head and look out for your neighbor.

I'll keep looking for that holy cow and write a bit more often.

Sunday September 19, 2010...Check out new recipe

I made a Taco Casserole yesterday. Very good! Easy and nutritious.
I posted it in the recipes.  Try it out sometime when you're in the mood.

Saturday September 18, 2010...Savor the memories

As more and more parts of me start retiring while the rest of me wants to keep on working and celebrating life, I am reminded of that National Computer Association saying: “They will have to pry my mouse from my cold dead hand” (or something to that effect).

As long as I have strength to sit here at the computer and the sight to see the screen and the ability to type and move the mouse, I will endure. I'm afraid my days of cross country running are over and I'll never swim the English channel or climb Mt Everest, but I will be out there striving to keep up with Facebook and Gmail. It's the little successes that make life interesting.

Enjoy what you can while you can and savor the memories.

Tuesday September 14, 2010...Old Friends, New Friends

What a JOY to meet old friends again!

I met with and visited with several friends from my high school days. It's been many long years since we had the time to sit and visit. John and Ted and I were in high school together and then John and I were in the same fraternity in college. In fact John was my pledge father and we shared an apartment for a while in those good old college days. Ted married Jane, who was the sister of another of my good friends, Charles. These friends grew up to be wonderful people and I look forward to sharing information about the interceding years. It was so good to see them all again. John was fortunate enough to find a wonderful woman, Margo, who also came to visit. In the relaxing retirement years ahead I look forward to renewing old friendships and reviewing memories of long ago. It will be a treat!

And another thing

Thinking about books again and life:

Too often, as we grow older, we look back on the written pages of our life and reflect. We should be looking ahead to the unwritten pages ahead and deciding what adventures we have yet to discover instead of looking back on what has already happened. We seem to be a society of observers now – we watch the actions of others on television while sitting in our air conditioned easy chair with snacks at hand. We admire people who actually get out there and experience life while we vicariously enjoy their activities.

Life slips away while we watch – too soon it's too late.

Monday September 13, 2010...Life is a book

I was thinking about life.

Life may be a comedy. Life may be a tragedy. Life may be a romantic novel. Life may be a series of hardships or of incredible luck. In any case, life is an adventure.

Think of your life as a biographer would write about it. Your life would be a book – it would have a beginning, many chapters and an end. Right now I'm nearing the end of my book and over the years, I have written many chapters. Some chapters were memorable and some are forgotten. The notable ones are worth remembering, even the sad ones along with the happy ones. You learn from your mistakes and from your successes. My book has had some great adventures, though not as wildly adventurous as others. My book has had some tragedies, but not as overwhelmingly sad as others. My book has had some great pictures and great sounds associated with it. My book has been well worth reading.

You never know exactly how your book is going to turn out, but you have some say in what is being written in your book. It's really up to you how you face the adversities of your book and how you deal with them. A successful book will be read well by others and enjoyed by many. A sad book with a lot of mistakes will be overlooked and not enjoyed. You may be in the beginning chapters of your book and haven't decided just where your plot is going – it really is up to you. You may be in the middle chapters and perhaps wandering about without a plan, but it isn't too late to straighten out the plot and redirect the completion of your book to an enjoyable conclusion. If you're in the final chapters of your book, you can do little about how your book has been written, but you still can make sure that the ending is a happy one and enjoyed by others.

I hope my book will leave its readers with a smile on their face and good memories. It has been a book that I have enjoyed writing and sharing with others along the way.

Monday August 23, 2010...Funny Puns

The pun, or paronomasia, is a form of word play which exploits numerous meanings of a statement, allowing it to be understood in multiple ways for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect

Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.

A rule of grammar: double negatives are a no-no.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).

Experts say the cost of funerals have risen by 50%, they blame it on the cost of living.

Math teachers have lots of problems.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

Seven days without a pun makes one weak.

Thursday August 19, 2020...Quote of the day

I was sent this quote by email today and decided to pass it along.

There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.
Henry Ford

A PHILOSOPHY THAT BUILT THE MIDDLE CLASS HAS SOMEHOW BEEN FORGOTTEN.

As we outsource our jobs, creating mediocre products for throw away mass consumption at the lowest price possible while paying the lowest wage possible, we destroy the very market we have come to depend on.

The middle class slowly dies and we are left with the “haves” and the “have nots”. The market economy that helped create this country has given way to the capitalist economy which thrives on separation of classes.

Sunday August 15, 2010...How hot is it?

How hot is it in southern Texas in August? I'm glad you asked.
I just returned from the Rio Grande valley in southern Texas (Down near Brownsville). I had been told that the heat down there is different because it's a “dry” heat – they LIED!

It's so hot the bees sweat.
It's so hot the armadillos are packing their bags and moving north.
It's so hot the surviving cows give powdered milk.

It's HOT! But there is a nice sweltering moist breeze from the ocean that forces you inside most of the day. It's a nice place to visit (in the winter). There are a lot of Winter Texans (who aren't there right now) who know better than to visit in the summertime. You live and you hopefully learn. Without air conditioning, it would really be uncomfortable. As we were returning north we passed just east of Dallas where it was the 13th day in a row over 100 degrees. Our car thermometer hit pockets of heat in certain areas that topped 107 degrees. It was good to get home to our comfortable 95 degrees.

It's so hot the trees are looking for shade.

Hang in there and really appreciate fall.