Tuesday October 30, 2007....Better now than never

Bush never vetoed a spending bill when Republicans controlled Congress, but he's itching to do so now to demonstrate toughness on spending. He's a few trillion dollars late in doing so.
Bush warned Congress not to bother sending him another version of a children's health insurance bill that he will not sign. Why help the poor children with taxes on the wealthy?
Bush said he would veto a potential Democratic bill that would bundle together three massive spending bills for defense matters, veterans affairs and the labor, education and health departments. He thinks it's his ball and he wants to make up the rules for the game.

He really believes it is HIS government and that HE should be in complete control. He doesn't want to recognize that he is the head of just one of the three branches of government. Congress should have as much power as he does and the courts should have stopping power over both him and Congress when they pass laws or perform functions outside the parameters of the constitution. For the past six years he has pretty much done what he wanted to do without anyone stopping him. Finally we have a congress not completely under his control. I just hope that they stand up to him and keep standing up to him. They have to make the man blink first. He is on such a power trip and doen't recognize his mistakes and won't listen to others – they need to make him sit up and take notice. Without controls, he has pushed this country far off the path they should be following. It's time to correct our course.

But, other than that, it's a fine autumn day and the leaves are turning from green to gold. Sunny days and cool nights. I really need to quit reading the newspaper and quit watching the news. What's left of the woodlands and streams are lovely this time of the year and should be enjoyed while they still can be. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

Monday October 29, 2007....Sounding like a broken record

I know, I know. I sound like a broken record.
Does anyone even know what a broken record sounds like anymore? Maybe I should say I sound like a scratched CD – saying the same thing over and over again. Sorry about that.

I just get so discouraged when supposedly intelligent people repeat stupid mistakes. People who spent millions of dollars convincing us how well they will run our country then spend billions of dollars wastefully. Instead of shouting into the wind, which always upsets my neighbors, I use this blog to vent my frustration.

I keep thinking that somewhere there is a perfect world where everyone is looking out for everyone else and no one is selfish or hurtful. I haven't found it except in my closest family members. I wish the leaders of the world could be as friendly and unselfish as my family. Won't happen! Over the years I've seen the special interests become more and more blatant with their demands and more and more selfish in their desires. It seems that politeness has been forgotten and now everyone has grown grabby. Take what you can when you can and let others look out for themselves. In the process, we lose a bit of our humanity and become statistics.

I miss the days when we at least tried to keep up the appearance of civility and decorum. Those days are now of the past. I'm not sure why we lost them but we are now the Ugly American that we dreaded many years ago. My hope is that life will recycle and that what goes around comes around and someday we will see a better world.

I am not foolish – I won't hold my breath – I'll just keep hoping.

Friday October 26, 2007...Life isn't always fair

I said it on September 5, 2007 and it bears repeating now.

If you build on an earthquake fault line, you better build earthquake proof.

If you build in the middle of a forest, you better build fireproof.

If you build next to an ocean, below sea level, you better build floodproof.

If you build on top of a volcano, you are stupid and deserve what you get.

Many of the homes that were destroyed in California were built in an arid area with forests all around. Many homes out there are also built near an earthquake fault line. These homes were just setting there asking to be destroyed in one manner or another. In some of the interviews, it appears that many homeowners were warned to clear out low lying shrubs for a distance from their homes after the fires of 2003. Some of those that did were spared damage, but those that didn't were consumed. Hopefully the replacement houses will be built responsibly with some effort to protect them from fire and earthquake. There are ways now to construct homes so they act as a unit and are not completely shaken apart when an earthquake hits and there are obvious ways to help keep a fire from starting using the correct materials and building in the correct location.

OR you can leave it up to chance and hope that you're just dumb and lucky.

Who is responsible for someone else's stupidity and irresponsibility? Will all of our insurance rates increase because of hurricane damage on the coast line or forest fire damage in the forests or earthquake damage near fault lines? Those of us who build our homes above the flood plain, away from forests, clear of fault lines, far from coast lines and try to protect our homes have seen our insurance increase many times over the years, even though there have never been any claims on our part. Some part of this doesn't seem fair. Well, nobody guaranteed that life would always be fair. Sometimes, it's just being in the right place at the right time - or vice versa.

Thursday October 25, 2007....Back from Vacation

I've been on vacation for the last few weeks. I was camping in Missouri state parks near the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. It was nice enjoying nature and ignoring all the trials and tribulations that mankind seems to create. Out in the woods, life goes on much as it has for millennia with complete disregard for the news of the day. Squirrels are preparing for winter and deer are gorging themselves on acorns. The leaves are just now starting to show their autumn glory and I was able to become a “rock” in the woods and observe. Peaceful and pleasant.


Now that I'm back I see that the globe is still heating up and massive fires are consuming large areas of our forests while the polar regions melt. Not a nice story.

I see that the hawks are beating the drums again with MMDs this time (missles of mass destruction) instead of WMDs like last time. We have certainly turned Iran into a paranoid state with our rhetoric and our threats. If I were Iran, I would be looking at protecting myself by whatever means possible against the big bully on the block. They only have to look at 2 of their neighbors, Iraq and Afghanistan, to see what is the next probable action against them. Last time, we excused ourselves for premptively invading another sovreign country with the “weapons of mass destruction” excuse which turned out to be a lie. Now we are rattling our sabers with “missles of mass destruction” as an excuse and the threat of nucular holocaust as backup. We don't seem to take notice of the larger threat of North Korea which already has nucular weapons and missles and a huge army and hostile intent. No, we seem intent on involving ourselves in the mideast - where the oil is. They now predict that the total cost of our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq will amount to 2.4 Trillion dollars. What a waste! What noble purpose could that same money and those same lives have been applied to? Think of all the things wrong in our country that could have been helped with that money and that effort. Why in the world are we still wasting our time over there with our failed strategy and our misguided leadership? I thought that, somehow, our new congress could curb the stupidity and wastefulness, but they seem to be ineffective and unable to consolidate themselves.

Perhaps I can return to the woods and bury my mind in nature and ignore the stupidity and wastefulness until the forest burns down around me.

Saturday October 6, 2007.....A wonderful opportunity!

I got an investment letter in the mail noting that the artic thaw is a new multibillion-dollar opportunity.

Yes folks, this major earth catastrophe is a golden opportunity for the rich to get richer. The sea route running along the Artic coastline of North America is nearly ice free for the first time since records began. Now the Russians, United States, Canada and Denmark are all rushing to lay claim to the Artic.

Yes, thanks to global warming, deposits of natural resources once covered with impenetrable ice are now easier to get at and now icebound shipping lanes are opening up. There are large troves of undiscovered oil and gas and minerals like copper, zinc, cobalt and diamonds. Whoopee. We can be thankful for global warming!

Shipping from China to Europe will be 5,000 miles shorter than going through either canal. And now Canada and Russia will be able to ship their resources and products to anywhere in the world much faster.

Also, think of the new tourist spas opening up near the Artic circle once the rest of the world gets too hot to handle. Everyone will be dying to go north where the weather is great. Perhaps Greenland will actually be a green land now. With the middle west drying up and turning to a semi-arid desert-like region, the new wheat and corn belts will be up north in Canada, if there is enough top soil to handle it.
And thanks to global warming, bottled water will be worth much more as the lakes and rivers diminish and the snow pack no longer fills the reservoirs. There will be new investments for all to make a buck on, thanks to the miracle of global warming – at least for the survivors.

See, it's all in the way that you look at it. A catastrophe for many is an opportunity for others. A pot of oil at the end of the rainbow.