June 1st begins this year's Hurricane Season.
Isn't it sad that we are over 8 trillion dollars in debt due to this administration but those devastated by LAST year's hurricane season have not received enough Federal Funding to even return to their homes? I have to wonder where Americans would rather see their limited tax dollars spent...here in America...or overseas where every step forward meets with a bomb of destruction.
I was raised to believe it is never wise to continue funneling good money into bad. We have been in Iraq how many years now...? Hmmm...let me see...one?...no...two?...no...three?...four?...no...four PLUS years. In all those years have we REBUILT Iraq?
Judging from the pictures that appeared on last night's news...you know...the news that told us about two CBS employees being killed and one more critically injured...Iraq is LESS rebuilt despite the trillions of dollars wasted there, than the Katrina ravaged States here in America.
The winds are about to begin blowing again. There can be no denying that American citizens will be struck by the fury of Mother Nature. New Orleans still has not had her levees repaired. (Would it take trillions of dollars to repair our levees?) But the administration says it is not going to rebuild those places demolished by Katrina. It IS, however, going to continue sending money and resources to Iraq.
Good money for bad.
There are those who say we MUST stay the course in Iraq...WHY? Perhaps there HAVE been SOME improvements in SOME areas in Iraq, but let's face it...they've got oil...and since we all know how expensive it is to buy gas for our cars and homes, having oil is a pretty acceptable way for them, the Iraqis, to pay for their OWN rebuilding. They are now out from under the hand of Saddaam...(BTW...does anyone wonder why we were able to find Saddaam in his hole in less than a year but have been unable to find Osama, the TRUE mastermind behind 9/11, in FIVE years?)...so isn't it time they start acting like an independent country and start paying their own way? I mean, really, Bush got most of the world to erase ALL of Iraq's accumulated debt, so they are basically starting their government with a clean financial slate.
I cannot help but wonder what will happen when the next devastating event takes place here in America.
Think about it.
All those displaced people and businesses from Katrina last year. How many of them are unable to work and/or pay taxes? Isn't that cutting into the Country's bottom line? What if there is mass destruction in other parts of the Country that leaves even more people without homes and/or jobs. Rebuilding should and NEEDS to begin at home.
We are never going to understand the enmity that exists among the Iraqi people. The religious differences...which considering they are all supposed to be Muslim, seems REALLY strange to me...I assumed truth is ALWAYS truth...right? How can the Suni, Kurds, and Shiites have DIFFERENT truths when they allegedly all believe in the same Koran? Since they have this difference, isn't it up to them to figure it out...and pay for that process?
America has enough of her own problems that need the resources she is pouring into Iraq. We have gang violence with its collateral innocent bystander destruction and fear. We have hurricanes and tornadoes getting ready to do their worst. We have high gas bills and cars that make a mockery of the term "conservation". We have our own third world Country right here...(No one who saw the most impoverished victims of Katrina can deny we have a third world Country right here in the good old U.S. of A.)...we have borders that are open to infiltration FIVE years after 9/11.
Imagine how secure our borders would be if we had spent some of the trillions spent in Iraq on our own security?
We got Saddaam...but the mastermind of 9/11 still is free...WHY? He is NOT in Iraq...and has not been there...not even ONCE since 9/11. Saddaam kept Osama out...(can you imagine these two megalomaniacs being willing to SHARE power with each other?...The idea is psychologically LUDICROUS!)...He WAS in Afghanistan, but for reasons that history is going to criticize harshly, we left Afghanistan for the Al Qaida leader in Iraq, Saddaam? Don't you find it strange that Al Qaida only became active in Iraq AFTER America and its coalition went in there to remove Saddaam and his two arrogantly sadistic sons?
The wind is a-blowin'. Hurricanes and tornadoes ARE going to wreck paths through the American dream...will America help restore the dream, or allow the continued mess we're supporting in Iraq to turn OUR dream into a nightmare of total loss?
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Memorial Day Ramblings
Today is the day we celebrate Memorial Day...although the original day is tomorrow. I watched the photo op of the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown soldier and I felt my heart twist. I listened to the speech telling us that the way to honor the many brave men and women who fell during the wars this Country has engaged in is to STAY THE COURSE.
Am I being hard on the man when I snort and think about how he honored this Country during HIS time to serve by first getting into the National Guard and then going A.W.O.L. from that cushy service?
I had a brother who ALSO enlisted rather than go to Viet Nam in the Army. He enlisted, though, in the Navy and saw duty in Viet Nam...six years to be exact.
My father...well...Dad was NOT the bravest of soldier. He was drafted at the beginning of the second World War. To say that he spent most of his time doing KP rather than training to carry the weapons of war would be a modest understatement. Dad was NOT cut from soldier cloth...but he did NOT evade the call to put his civilian life on hold...and although he was, for the most part, a coward, he served by taking care of the feeding of those who WERE a bit braver than he. He did NOT go A.W.O.L. from his cushier position. He did not circumvent his duty to serve as the government saw fit to require his service.
I have a son who enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard that is by its very definition contracted to police OUR Coasts. He fulfilled his tour JUST before 9/11 and this administration's declaration of war on Iraq. When that declaration was made, my son wanted to re-enlist. DID HE? He was married by that time with a step-child. Back when this administration first threw its collective hat into the ring to run for the Presidency, I saw in Dubya's eyes the truth that if elected, we would go back to Iraq and finish what Bush Sr. did not...so I implored my son NOT to re-enlist. Something told me that a man who evaded service in the war of HIS generation would not have any idea what conducting a war involved...Sadly, time has proven my premonitions right.
My heart aches for the men and women placed in harm's way. They are heroes each and every one of them. I honor them on this day and EVERY day because they have EARNED my honor and respect. I am too old to serve and have to admit that were I not, I am not sure I would have the courage to place myself in their armor...any more than the offspring of this administration who ARE of the right age to serve, seem to be.
Perhaps that is the worst hypocrisy of this war. STAY THE COURSE...but none of HIS or his MINIONS have any stakes in the wellbeing of those who are FIGHTING this Course he and his minions push us to honor. None of Dubya's, Cheney's, Jeb's, Rumsfeld's offspring felt this conflict worthy of THEIR service.
To all those who DID step forward and all those who have stepped forward and served, I thank you. To those who have lost loved ones in ALL our conflicts, thank you. To those who have yet to see combat, Bless you for bravery that shines so bright and courage that supercedes anything I have done in my 50 plus years.
Am I being hard on the man when I snort and think about how he honored this Country during HIS time to serve by first getting into the National Guard and then going A.W.O.L. from that cushy service?
I had a brother who ALSO enlisted rather than go to Viet Nam in the Army. He enlisted, though, in the Navy and saw duty in Viet Nam...six years to be exact.
My father...well...Dad was NOT the bravest of soldier. He was drafted at the beginning of the second World War. To say that he spent most of his time doing KP rather than training to carry the weapons of war would be a modest understatement. Dad was NOT cut from soldier cloth...but he did NOT evade the call to put his civilian life on hold...and although he was, for the most part, a coward, he served by taking care of the feeding of those who WERE a bit braver than he. He did NOT go A.W.O.L. from his cushier position. He did not circumvent his duty to serve as the government saw fit to require his service.
I have a son who enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard that is by its very definition contracted to police OUR Coasts. He fulfilled his tour JUST before 9/11 and this administration's declaration of war on Iraq. When that declaration was made, my son wanted to re-enlist. DID HE? He was married by that time with a step-child. Back when this administration first threw its collective hat into the ring to run for the Presidency, I saw in Dubya's eyes the truth that if elected, we would go back to Iraq and finish what Bush Sr. did not...so I implored my son NOT to re-enlist. Something told me that a man who evaded service in the war of HIS generation would not have any idea what conducting a war involved...Sadly, time has proven my premonitions right.
My heart aches for the men and women placed in harm's way. They are heroes each and every one of them. I honor them on this day and EVERY day because they have EARNED my honor and respect. I am too old to serve and have to admit that were I not, I am not sure I would have the courage to place myself in their armor...any more than the offspring of this administration who ARE of the right age to serve, seem to be.
Perhaps that is the worst hypocrisy of this war. STAY THE COURSE...but none of HIS or his MINIONS have any stakes in the wellbeing of those who are FIGHTING this Course he and his minions push us to honor. None of Dubya's, Cheney's, Jeb's, Rumsfeld's offspring felt this conflict worthy of THEIR service.
To all those who DID step forward and all those who have stepped forward and served, I thank you. To those who have lost loved ones in ALL our conflicts, thank you. To those who have yet to see combat, Bless you for bravery that shines so bright and courage that supercedes anything I have done in my 50 plus years.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Bifocals...
Benjamin Franklin invented the bifocal LOOOONNNNGGGG before the PC was invented. I am sure that had Mr. Franklin KNOWN the PC was coming he would have created bifocals that did not make you feel like one of those bouncing dogs people put in the back windows of their cars. I ALSO believe he would have created a lens that did not distort the screen we must look at while reading/writing, AND he would have created a lens that pinpointed printing errors like little laser beams so you would never miss typos or scripos.
I thought I had made ALL the corrections to the scripos from transferring my story from MS Word here to my blog, but my bifocals did not laser beam ALL the errors and it seems I missed one. What I learned from rechecking my story, is that the scripos are where apostrophes should go. (Good thing I didn't write using all those fancy curlicues, and color changes that are available on MS Word.)
Bifocals are a regrettable sign that we are aging, as are creaky knees, chest muscles that try and valiantly ALMOST succeed in KISSING those self-same creaky knees, hair that turns intriguing shades of gunmetal gray, snowy white, a slushy-side-of-the-road yuck. Another sign of aging...Well I went to Walmart today to pick up a few things AND the prescription my doctor felt important enough to call in for me last night. I REMEMBERED the few things!
I know, I know some of you are saying that I COULD dye my hair back to its striking blonde, pre-old-age hues, but I figure I have earned the right to show the signs of a life well led...but I will ALWAYS wish for SMART bifocals...And a little birdie to sit on my shoulder and whisper in my ear GET YOUR MEDS!!! There's NEVER a trusty parrot around when you need one! :>)
I thought I had made ALL the corrections to the scripos from transferring my story from MS Word here to my blog, but my bifocals did not laser beam ALL the errors and it seems I missed one. What I learned from rechecking my story, is that the scripos are where apostrophes should go. (Good thing I didn't write using all those fancy curlicues, and color changes that are available on MS Word.)
Bifocals are a regrettable sign that we are aging, as are creaky knees, chest muscles that try and valiantly ALMOST succeed in KISSING those self-same creaky knees, hair that turns intriguing shades of gunmetal gray, snowy white, a slushy-side-of-the-road yuck. Another sign of aging...Well I went to Walmart today to pick up a few things AND the prescription my doctor felt important enough to call in for me last night. I REMEMBERED the few things!
I know, I know some of you are saying that I COULD dye my hair back to its striking blonde, pre-old-age hues, but I figure I have earned the right to show the signs of a life well led...but I will ALWAYS wish for SMART bifocals...And a little birdie to sit on my shoulder and whisper in my ear GET YOUR MEDS!!! There's NEVER a trusty parrot around when you need one! :>)
Friday, May 19, 2006
Me...a PUBLISHED WRITER?
Six years ago I had an agent/editor working diligently with me to get my writings published. After years of family and friends...(the ones I was haphazardly writing for)...urged me to get my work published. Since writing has always come easily to me, I never thought of myself as a writer...just a thought transcriber. For an entire year we worked on the many transcripts I had already written so we would have a large body of work to present to publishers. (When you haven't attended Writing Conferences, it is really hard to get your writing published.)
We were on the verge when my agent/editor's wife suffering from a deep period of depression, got into her car and drove herself into a tree. Her death sent my agent/editor into his OWN tailspin. He literally walked away from everything and everyone.
I assumed that he would eventually return...but alas, he has not. I hate the idea of trying to start all over again, but the muse inside me will not stop forcing me to write...and once again, friends and family are nipping at my heels urging me to again go for the gusto...as in get myself another agent and get published.
It won't be easy to find the time to deal with the intricacies of publishing, but perhaps it will give me something to focus on other than my daughter's seizures and my failing lungs.
SO...I thought perhaps I might post a short story here and see if I get any kind of feedback...Are you ready then, to be my guinea pig?
THE END
By
Lin Holmes
December 26, 2000
With a flick of her wrist, she opened the barrel. Carefully she removed the spent cartridges, letting them drop to the floor where they ricocheted in all directions. The box of bullets was on the table to her right. She reached for a handful, lining them up, sentinels of power, destruction, and release, on the coffee table in front of her.
For a long minute she stared at them, her tummy fluttering, her heart beat thundering inside her chest, her resolve, absolute. Taking a deep, steady, methodical breath, she picked up the first bullet and slid it into one of the six chambers.
The sound of metal scraping against metal seemed loud in the deafening silence surrounding her. Her mind was empty. She did not think. All thinking had been exhausted hours, days, weeks, months ago.
The second bullet penetrated the waiting chamber in the barrel.
She'd already dispensed with six of the lethal projectiles, but was confident no one would learn of her perfidy until she had completed her mission. Her stomach muscles contracted and fluttered. She spread her hand across the slight curve, wishing things could have been different.
Her fingers shook ever so slightly as she placed the third bullet. She would not think! She COULD not undo what had already been done. Retreating now was not a possibility because she could never again be the woman she'd been just a few short months ago.
The fifth bullet slid in with a bit more decisiveness than had the one before it.
The clock on the mantle bonged the half-hour. Thirty more minutes to go. She had to be ready.
Bullet six filled the barrel. She closed it with a soft, but final snick, placed the loaded gun onto the coffee table, rose to her feet and headed for the bathroom. She stripped the bloody clothes from her body, leaving them in a careless pile on the floor.
The shower cleaned her, leaving her body scented, not in spattered metallic blood, but in the rich perfume of her favorite soap. This was the part she had not planned for because she had not meant to get blood on the clothes she'd worn for the first phase of her mission. What would she wear for the final confrontation?
Her closet was not huge, but it held an ample wardrobe to choose from. Should she dress in silk and satin, or appear as usual when at home, denim and fleece?
Comfort won out over elegance.
She brushed her long golden brown hair until it crackled. Laying the brush back on her vanity, she surveyed herself in the triple mirror. She looked peaceful. How deceptive, she thought, rising to her feet with practiced grace.
She looked around her bedroom, not allowing herself to see anything but her possession and effects. For the last four months she'd forced herself to continue living here, but hadn't been able to feel at HOME here. That feeling had been ruthlessly taken from her, and nothing would ever give it back to her.
Flipping off the light she returned to the living room. In the corner sat her computer. She went to it, booted it up and then called her last word processing file to the screen. She needed to check it for spelling and grammar errors. There were none.
Her eyes went to the clock above the mantle. Five more minutes. She knew she should be nervous, scared even, but she wasn't. All she felt was relief. Soon she'd be able to put it all behind her.
She went to the couch, settled herself so she was looking directly at her front door. Her belly fluttered. She ignored it, reaching for the gun. The metal felt cool against the palm of her hand. She removed the safety and waited.
The clock struck the hour. She lifted the gun, aimed the sight at the target, and pulled the trigger.
A 911 call by a neighbor had the police there within twenty minutes. The suicide/confession note she'd typed using her word processor was found blinking on the screen of her computer.
The file read:
In my bathroom are the clothes I wore when
I shot and killed John Latham earlier tonight.
Scattered on the floor of my apartment are the
Spent cartridges from that murder.
Four months ago, John Latham broke into
my apartment and savagely beat and raped me.
Now I'm pregnant.
John Latham, a known and repeat sex offender,
was caught and admitted his crime, but the
District Attorney's office reduced his charges.
He served EIGHT weeks for destroying my life,
and the lives of the other women he raped before
Me.
Something HAD to be done.
This child growing in my stomach carries
Latham's seed. Living with the memory and
emotional death of what John Latham did to
me is more than I can handle. A child conceived
in that violence and Latham's light sentence
were the final straws.
To that end, I determined that the best thing for
the three of us, John Latham, the habitual
predator, myself, changed forever by what he
did to me, and this child, who very well might
grow up to be the next generation of John
Latham, was to take our lives.
I feel no remorse for killing John Latham.
He was and always would be an animal
feeding off of the fear and harm of others.
I did what the law refused to do. I
PERMANENTLY ended the crime spree of
this sadistic beast!
I chose not to be found wearing the clothes
I wore when I killed John Latham because
I did not want to die with his blood tainting
my body.
I wish the Law had done its job, but since it
refused to, I had no choice.
Sincerely,
Senator Elizabeth Ann Morrow
Fifth District.
We were on the verge when my agent/editor's wife suffering from a deep period of depression, got into her car and drove herself into a tree. Her death sent my agent/editor into his OWN tailspin. He literally walked away from everything and everyone.
I assumed that he would eventually return...but alas, he has not. I hate the idea of trying to start all over again, but the muse inside me will not stop forcing me to write...and once again, friends and family are nipping at my heels urging me to again go for the gusto...as in get myself another agent and get published.
It won't be easy to find the time to deal with the intricacies of publishing, but perhaps it will give me something to focus on other than my daughter's seizures and my failing lungs.
SO...I thought perhaps I might post a short story here and see if I get any kind of feedback...Are you ready then, to be my guinea pig?
THE END
By
Lin Holmes
December 26, 2000
With a flick of her wrist, she opened the barrel. Carefully she removed the spent cartridges, letting them drop to the floor where they ricocheted in all directions. The box of bullets was on the table to her right. She reached for a handful, lining them up, sentinels of power, destruction, and release, on the coffee table in front of her.
For a long minute she stared at them, her tummy fluttering, her heart beat thundering inside her chest, her resolve, absolute. Taking a deep, steady, methodical breath, she picked up the first bullet and slid it into one of the six chambers.
The sound of metal scraping against metal seemed loud in the deafening silence surrounding her. Her mind was empty. She did not think. All thinking had been exhausted hours, days, weeks, months ago.
The second bullet penetrated the waiting chamber in the barrel.
She'd already dispensed with six of the lethal projectiles, but was confident no one would learn of her perfidy until she had completed her mission. Her stomach muscles contracted and fluttered. She spread her hand across the slight curve, wishing things could have been different.
Her fingers shook ever so slightly as she placed the third bullet. She would not think! She COULD not undo what had already been done. Retreating now was not a possibility because she could never again be the woman she'd been just a few short months ago.
The fifth bullet slid in with a bit more decisiveness than had the one before it.
The clock on the mantle bonged the half-hour. Thirty more minutes to go. She had to be ready.
Bullet six filled the barrel. She closed it with a soft, but final snick, placed the loaded gun onto the coffee table, rose to her feet and headed for the bathroom. She stripped the bloody clothes from her body, leaving them in a careless pile on the floor.
The shower cleaned her, leaving her body scented, not in spattered metallic blood, but in the rich perfume of her favorite soap. This was the part she had not planned for because she had not meant to get blood on the clothes she'd worn for the first phase of her mission. What would she wear for the final confrontation?
Her closet was not huge, but it held an ample wardrobe to choose from. Should she dress in silk and satin, or appear as usual when at home, denim and fleece?
Comfort won out over elegance.
She brushed her long golden brown hair until it crackled. Laying the brush back on her vanity, she surveyed herself in the triple mirror. She looked peaceful. How deceptive, she thought, rising to her feet with practiced grace.
She looked around her bedroom, not allowing herself to see anything but her possession and effects. For the last four months she'd forced herself to continue living here, but hadn't been able to feel at HOME here. That feeling had been ruthlessly taken from her, and nothing would ever give it back to her.
Flipping off the light she returned to the living room. In the corner sat her computer. She went to it, booted it up and then called her last word processing file to the screen. She needed to check it for spelling and grammar errors. There were none.
Her eyes went to the clock above the mantle. Five more minutes. She knew she should be nervous, scared even, but she wasn't. All she felt was relief. Soon she'd be able to put it all behind her.
She went to the couch, settled herself so she was looking directly at her front door. Her belly fluttered. She ignored it, reaching for the gun. The metal felt cool against the palm of her hand. She removed the safety and waited.
The clock struck the hour. She lifted the gun, aimed the sight at the target, and pulled the trigger.
A 911 call by a neighbor had the police there within twenty minutes. The suicide/confession note she'd typed using her word processor was found blinking on the screen of her computer.
The file read:
In my bathroom are the clothes I wore when
I shot and killed John Latham earlier tonight.
Scattered on the floor of my apartment are the
Spent cartridges from that murder.
Four months ago, John Latham broke into
my apartment and savagely beat and raped me.
Now I'm pregnant.
John Latham, a known and repeat sex offender,
was caught and admitted his crime, but the
District Attorney's office reduced his charges.
He served EIGHT weeks for destroying my life,
and the lives of the other women he raped before
Me.
Something HAD to be done.
This child growing in my stomach carries
Latham's seed. Living with the memory and
emotional death of what John Latham did to
me is more than I can handle. A child conceived
in that violence and Latham's light sentence
were the final straws.
To that end, I determined that the best thing for
the three of us, John Latham, the habitual
predator, myself, changed forever by what he
did to me, and this child, who very well might
grow up to be the next generation of John
Latham, was to take our lives.
I feel no remorse for killing John Latham.
He was and always would be an animal
feeding off of the fear and harm of others.
I did what the law refused to do. I
PERMANENTLY ended the crime spree of
this sadistic beast!
I chose not to be found wearing the clothes
I wore when I killed John Latham because
I did not want to die with his blood tainting
my body.
I wish the Law had done its job, but since it
refused to, I had no choice.
Sincerely,
Senator Elizabeth Ann Morrow
Fifth District.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Cow Pies...
...or in other words...HERE'S THE BEEF
I have several beefs I want to write about today and unfortunately ALL of them current.
Where to begin?
How about ARCs? For those of you who don't know what an ARC is, let me explain. ARCs are ADVANCED READERS COPIES of books sent to readers contracted with the publishing companies to read these Unedited copies and NEVER to sell them. (Boy do I WISH I was on those lists, because as I stated in my Profile, I LOVE TO READ)...But I have gone into eBay and found sellers who sell NOTHING but ARCs. ARCs do not give the authors, the CREATORS of these jewels, ANY credit, or acknowledgement. Yesterday, an ARC of Janet Evanovich's upcoming book TWELVE SHARP sold for a staggering $611.04. (On June 20th, the book can LEGITIMATELY be purchased for $16.17 via Amazon.com.
To the seller AND the buyer I say "SHAME ON YOU". What you have done is no different than if you had held the author up by gunpoint. The seller, who did nothing but accept the contracted PRIVILEGE of receiving book titles LONG before they are available to the masses, FREE, your windfall is nothing short of sacrilegious. To the buyer...I don't care if you purchased this book as a COLLECTOR'S ITEM...it is no different than receiving STOLEN GOODS. You have stolen from the author...you have stolen from the Publisher...you have stolen from all of us who love books and respect them as the crown of creative genius they are. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
On to my next "PIE" in today's sky.
Senator John McCain...I really respected and LIKED you before. You were a man of honor and compassion. Had you won the nomination for President over the current man back in 2004, I would have happily voted for you. I was appalled by the attack the Bush Campaign waged against...not you...that would have been, although dirty, I suppose given the contentious atmosphere that overcomes supposedly decent people when they are politically driven...acceptable...but to attack your wife and family? That was abhorrent to me. I gave you kudos for defending your loved ones. So what happened? Why did you forget the slings and arrows slung by the Bush Campaign and literally climb into their snake infested bed? Where is your honor? NO ONE ATTACKS MY FAMILY WITHOUT FOREVER ASSUMING THE ROLE OF AN ENEMY! Attack me all you want, but don't EVER take on my family. What happened to YOUR honor? How can I, as a loving family member EVER entrust someone who would place his political ambitions over his family? Politicians speak loudly about "Family Values" but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty they will jump off the family bandwagon if it means slithering their way into the political morass. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME to all you politicos who forget that family is far more important than the intrigue of politics.
Cow Pie Three...I have a 30 year old daughter who is permanently disabled. Because of this she is one of the millions snagged in the Medicare disaster. I tried this weekend to get a prescription filled for her only to be told I could not because her Medicare provider number was not valid. I had to spend ALL of Friday and half of Saturday unwinding this latest of the Medicare D screw up before I could get her the medications she needs. I am only in my 50's yet dealing with the Medicare prescription plan caused me to tear out chunks of my hair and mutter words that my Granny, bless her beloved soul, would have washed my mouth out for. I cannot imagine being a frail elderly person having to deal with this debacle. Why is it everything the current administration places its seal on turns out so wrong?
Cow Pie Four...To those people who believe that we went into Iraq to LIBERATE the people from a vicious tyrant...I say...we have an equally vicious tyrant...judging from the number of people who set sail on rinky boats, or flimsy rafts hoping to defeat the violent currents to reach our Country...right off the tip of Florida. If liberation really WAS the excuse, wouldn't it have been much more cost effective to have liberated Cuba?
Cow Pie Five...For those who really think the current Administration has kept us from being attacked again I say this...why should Al Qaeda attack us here? They have easier access to Americans IN Iraq. We lost over 3000 people in the 9/11 assault. How many of our brave and honorable Americans have we lost in Iraq? we have not been protected from attack...we have just made the attack field for killing Americans much easier over there.
Cow Pie Six...The tax cuts that this administration is so proud of did nothing for the masses. We got a total of $8.00. (Thank God McDonald's is a cheap place to eat out at.)
Cow Pie Seven...We cannot rebuild New Orleans and the other towns devastated by Katrina, but we MUST rebuild Iraq? Why? Considering all the money that has already been spent in Iraq it seems to me the terrorists who had been kept OUT under Saddaam, bomb and shoot up those efforts on a daily basis. I doubt the victims of Katrina would shoot up their rebuilt territory. SO where is the American taxpayer most likely NOT to be squandered?
Cow Pie Eight...No Child Left Behind...Why are our drop out numbers up since the institution of this initiative? I cannot help but wonder if the President would be able to pass the tests he has made a requisite to today's graduating students.
Cow Pie Nine...Stem cell research. Please explain to me how it is playing God to do stem cell research but it was not playing God when the President and his Wife availed themselves of artificial means to have their daughters? In Vitro is not conception by God's methods, is it? So if it is OK to create life artificially why isn't it OK to try to preserve life using similar technology? We treat our pets with more kindness than we do our family of mankind.
I think I'm running out of Cow Pies...no I just can't think of them...but I am sure once I have sat back and thought about this, I will be able to come up with more.
I have several beefs I want to write about today and unfortunately ALL of them current.
Where to begin?
How about ARCs? For those of you who don't know what an ARC is, let me explain. ARCs are ADVANCED READERS COPIES of books sent to readers contracted with the publishing companies to read these Unedited copies and NEVER to sell them. (Boy do I WISH I was on those lists, because as I stated in my Profile, I LOVE TO READ)...But I have gone into eBay and found sellers who sell NOTHING but ARCs. ARCs do not give the authors, the CREATORS of these jewels, ANY credit, or acknowledgement. Yesterday, an ARC of Janet Evanovich's upcoming book TWELVE SHARP sold for a staggering $611.04. (On June 20th, the book can LEGITIMATELY be purchased for $16.17 via Amazon.com.
To the seller AND the buyer I say "SHAME ON YOU". What you have done is no different than if you had held the author up by gunpoint. The seller, who did nothing but accept the contracted PRIVILEGE of receiving book titles LONG before they are available to the masses, FREE, your windfall is nothing short of sacrilegious. To the buyer...I don't care if you purchased this book as a COLLECTOR'S ITEM...it is no different than receiving STOLEN GOODS. You have stolen from the author...you have stolen from the Publisher...you have stolen from all of us who love books and respect them as the crown of creative genius they are. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
On to my next "PIE" in today's sky.
Senator John McCain...I really respected and LIKED you before. You were a man of honor and compassion. Had you won the nomination for President over the current man back in 2004, I would have happily voted for you. I was appalled by the attack the Bush Campaign waged against...not you...that would have been, although dirty, I suppose given the contentious atmosphere that overcomes supposedly decent people when they are politically driven...acceptable...but to attack your wife and family? That was abhorrent to me. I gave you kudos for defending your loved ones. So what happened? Why did you forget the slings and arrows slung by the Bush Campaign and literally climb into their snake infested bed? Where is your honor? NO ONE ATTACKS MY FAMILY WITHOUT FOREVER ASSUMING THE ROLE OF AN ENEMY! Attack me all you want, but don't EVER take on my family. What happened to YOUR honor? How can I, as a loving family member EVER entrust someone who would place his political ambitions over his family? Politicians speak loudly about "Family Values" but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty they will jump off the family bandwagon if it means slithering their way into the political morass. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME to all you politicos who forget that family is far more important than the intrigue of politics.
Cow Pie Three...I have a 30 year old daughter who is permanently disabled. Because of this she is one of the millions snagged in the Medicare disaster. I tried this weekend to get a prescription filled for her only to be told I could not because her Medicare provider number was not valid. I had to spend ALL of Friday and half of Saturday unwinding this latest of the Medicare D screw up before I could get her the medications she needs. I am only in my 50's yet dealing with the Medicare prescription plan caused me to tear out chunks of my hair and mutter words that my Granny, bless her beloved soul, would have washed my mouth out for. I cannot imagine being a frail elderly person having to deal with this debacle. Why is it everything the current administration places its seal on turns out so wrong?
Cow Pie Four...To those people who believe that we went into Iraq to LIBERATE the people from a vicious tyrant...I say...we have an equally vicious tyrant...judging from the number of people who set sail on rinky boats, or flimsy rafts hoping to defeat the violent currents to reach our Country...right off the tip of Florida. If liberation really WAS the excuse, wouldn't it have been much more cost effective to have liberated Cuba?
Cow Pie Five...For those who really think the current Administration has kept us from being attacked again I say this...why should Al Qaeda attack us here? They have easier access to Americans IN Iraq. We lost over 3000 people in the 9/11 assault. How many of our brave and honorable Americans have we lost in Iraq? we have not been protected from attack...we have just made the attack field for killing Americans much easier over there.
Cow Pie Six...The tax cuts that this administration is so proud of did nothing for the masses. We got a total of $8.00. (Thank God McDonald's is a cheap place to eat out at.)
Cow Pie Seven...We cannot rebuild New Orleans and the other towns devastated by Katrina, but we MUST rebuild Iraq? Why? Considering all the money that has already been spent in Iraq it seems to me the terrorists who had been kept OUT under Saddaam, bomb and shoot up those efforts on a daily basis. I doubt the victims of Katrina would shoot up their rebuilt territory. SO where is the American taxpayer most likely NOT to be squandered?
Cow Pie Eight...No Child Left Behind...Why are our drop out numbers up since the institution of this initiative? I cannot help but wonder if the President would be able to pass the tests he has made a requisite to today's graduating students.
Cow Pie Nine...Stem cell research. Please explain to me how it is playing God to do stem cell research but it was not playing God when the President and his Wife availed themselves of artificial means to have their daughters? In Vitro is not conception by God's methods, is it? So if it is OK to create life artificially why isn't it OK to try to preserve life using similar technology? We treat our pets with more kindness than we do our family of mankind.
I think I'm running out of Cow Pies...no I just can't think of them...but I am sure once I have sat back and thought about this, I will be able to come up with more.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Domestic Spying
I do not understand why there is so much approval for the domestic mining of our media sources. If we give up our rights, even for something that seems as important as routing out terrorism, we are giving up the very ideals that supposedly we are trying to bring to Iraq...and once they have been usurped, they will be impossible to regain.
9/11 was NOT the first time America was assaulted by foreign agents. Pearl Harbor was an assault on American soil. We made sacrifices during the Second World War, but we never gave up the basic rights fashioned by the framers of the Constitution. Not as a whole. Yes, we committed unjust deeds on the whole of Japanese Americans...a fact that history reminds us. That stain is one we cannot remove from the ink blotter of America's tapestry. BUT we did not deprive the entirety of the Country of the rights that are our democratic brickwork.
Here we are sixty years later and without a squeal of protest we are blindly going to allow the rights that our Founding Fathers fought a monarchy to gain the right to be free and have the privacy they guaranteed us because the world is filled with evil people?
The world has ALWAYS been full of evil people that wanted to hurt us. We engaged in a prolonged Cold War with people that wanted to harm us. We fought a long and fruitless war in Viet Nam in the name of spreading the democracy that is at the core of our Country's existence.
During the fifties, many INNOCENT people were swept into the nightmare of McCarthyism. They were painted as traitors, pulled before Congress and grilled...in other words...they were put through a government sanctioned witch hunt.
We MUST live by the Constitution. There are AMPLE avenues for the government to monitor those they need to monitor without wiping out the very basic rights our government was fashioned on. There are limits...there are checks and balances...and they are important to protect. Without them, we no longer have a democracy. And if we don't have a democracy, what are we trying to spread in Iraq really?
9/11 was NOT the first time America was assaulted by foreign agents. Pearl Harbor was an assault on American soil. We made sacrifices during the Second World War, but we never gave up the basic rights fashioned by the framers of the Constitution. Not as a whole. Yes, we committed unjust deeds on the whole of Japanese Americans...a fact that history reminds us. That stain is one we cannot remove from the ink blotter of America's tapestry. BUT we did not deprive the entirety of the Country of the rights that are our democratic brickwork.
Here we are sixty years later and without a squeal of protest we are blindly going to allow the rights that our Founding Fathers fought a monarchy to gain the right to be free and have the privacy they guaranteed us because the world is filled with evil people?
The world has ALWAYS been full of evil people that wanted to hurt us. We engaged in a prolonged Cold War with people that wanted to harm us. We fought a long and fruitless war in Viet Nam in the name of spreading the democracy that is at the core of our Country's existence.
During the fifties, many INNOCENT people were swept into the nightmare of McCarthyism. They were painted as traitors, pulled before Congress and grilled...in other words...they were put through a government sanctioned witch hunt.
We MUST live by the Constitution. There are AMPLE avenues for the government to monitor those they need to monitor without wiping out the very basic rights our government was fashioned on. There are limits...there are checks and balances...and they are important to protect. Without them, we no longer have a democracy. And if we don't have a democracy, what are we trying to spread in Iraq really?
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