Enjoy
RT
Sunday, January 15, 2012
"Much Ado about Nothing"
The title of today's post is pretty much what I think about this presidential primary season. The current crop of alleged "conservative" nitwits filling our airwaves with right wing banalities is both scary and boring. The only bright spot so far has been Stephen Colbert's attack ad on Mitt the twit.
Enjoy
RT
Enjoy
RT
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas
I wrote a short poem for the Daily Husband today, you can read it here. It pretty much says it all for us this year. Vicki and I feel very blessed to be able to celebrate the season in good health and spirits. It was much different this time last year.
We even celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Vegas this last week as well. While there we saw a performance of the "Lion King" at Mandalay Bay, gambled and rambled the strip till 4:30 AM one morning, enjoyed a very late room service breakfast the next day while overlooking the strip from the 31st floor of our hotel and just generally had a great time. We also took the opportunity to go downtown on the double-decker bus and see Fremont Street and the whole scene down there.
Now back home in Sun Lakes we're looking forward to an evening service tonight and Christmas day at our oldest daughter's house in Mesa.
My wish is that all our friends and relatives find the same peace and happiness this year that Vicki and I have.
Vicki and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
RT
We even celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Vegas this last week as well. While there we saw a performance of the "Lion King" at Mandalay Bay, gambled and rambled the strip till 4:30 AM one morning, enjoyed a very late room service breakfast the next day while overlooking the strip from the 31st floor of our hotel and just generally had a great time. We also took the opportunity to go downtown on the double-decker bus and see Fremont Street and the whole scene down there.
Now back home in Sun Lakes we're looking forward to an evening service tonight and Christmas day at our oldest daughter's house in Mesa.
My wish is that all our friends and relatives find the same peace and happiness this year that Vicki and I have.
Vicki and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
RT
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thanksgiving Day 2011
I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year.
First and foremost is Vicki's being Cancer Free. This time last year we were deep into her Radiation and Chemo treatments. I had researched everything I could about her cancer and I was deeply worried about the outcome of the treatments. The process was grueling, but we were fortunate to have the best of the best on her treatment team.
So... I am thankful that there are still people willing to make the sacrifices necessary to work in our health care system. Most have terrible schedules, end up working weekends, nights, Holidays, you name it. I am very thankful that an extraordinary group of these folks worked so diligently to fight the cancer in Vicki's head.
I am very thankful to have a partner who is able to meet the challenge of cancer and maintain her sense of humor, her great attitude and her love for me. I am likewise thankful to learn that we have the kind of marriage that can not only survive a fight with cancer but get better.
I am also thankful to have a wonderful support group of friends and family that prayed for us, helped us, and was always there for us when we needed them.
I am thankful that in spite of the recession, the awful job market and our government's indifference; that we have jobs, a roof over our heads and some hope for future prosperity.
I'm thankful that this Thanksgiving my wife and I were able to spend time with our family and friends to celebrate this day.
And last but certainly not least, I'm thankful to still be here on this magnificent planet and to look at each new day as the blessing it truly is.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,
RT
First and foremost is Vicki's being Cancer Free. This time last year we were deep into her Radiation and Chemo treatments. I had researched everything I could about her cancer and I was deeply worried about the outcome of the treatments. The process was grueling, but we were fortunate to have the best of the best on her treatment team.
So... I am thankful that there are still people willing to make the sacrifices necessary to work in our health care system. Most have terrible schedules, end up working weekends, nights, Holidays, you name it. I am very thankful that an extraordinary group of these folks worked so diligently to fight the cancer in Vicki's head.
I am very thankful to have a partner who is able to meet the challenge of cancer and maintain her sense of humor, her great attitude and her love for me. I am likewise thankful to learn that we have the kind of marriage that can not only survive a fight with cancer but get better.
I am also thankful to have a wonderful support group of friends and family that prayed for us, helped us, and was always there for us when we needed them.
I am thankful that in spite of the recession, the awful job market and our government's indifference; that we have jobs, a roof over our heads and some hope for future prosperity.
I'm thankful that this Thanksgiving my wife and I were able to spend time with our family and friends to celebrate this day.
And last but certainly not least, I'm thankful to still be here on this magnificent planet and to look at each new day as the blessing it truly is.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours,
RT
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Out of Iraq
After 10 years, over 800 billion dollars and just under 5,000 fatalities our president announced that we will be withdrawing all troops from Iraq by January of 2012. It's about time. Since we never should have been there in the first place, one wonders what took us so long. But bad things happen when you displace a government and attempt nation building. You'd think we would have learned our lesson in Viet Nam, an action in which in I was involved. But it has not happened. Our country has been blithely engaged in two wars for the last decade with little or no protest from the populace.
The old saying about "those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it" applies to our foreign policy for at least the last 40 years. Now, with the factually challenged warrior wannabes in charge of the congress and perhaps the senate as well (in spite of a supposed Democratic majority) we continue on the path of waste and destruction with little or no thought to the outcome or consequences.
From my perspective our leaders have lost the ability to think big enough to help the majority of the people. Most seem tied to some cause or worse, to some corporation whose only goal is profit. Witness the exodus of middle class jobs in the last 30 years. Where did these geniuses think our citizens would work when they sent hundreds of thousands of jobs to China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Whereeverthefuckistan? They didn't care then and they don't care today.
This country has been divided into two distinct classes; the investment class that owns 40% of everything and 50% of all stocks and bonds. These folks constitute just %1 of our population. The other 99% of us make up the other class. Most of us depend on employers, the government and the cycles of the economy for our well being. Since 1980 and the conservative revolution headed by Ronald Reagan our government has made it easier and more profitable for corporations and the wealthy while making it much harder for the other 99%.
This has been accomplished by applying the science of Madison Avenue (marketing) to political dialogue, with devastating effect. "Framing" has become the modus operandi of the pundit and media class. No longer are issues reported on and discussed without some variety of "framing" involved. The majority of the electorate remains ignorant of what is being done to them and this allows them to continually vote against their own self interest. Amazing!
As just one example of the duplicity of the factually challenged in power is the current buzz word "Job Creators". What a Crock! These very people are the ones responsible for millions of jobs lost, not the ones that remain. After all, someone has to do the work on the ground, don't they? The lucky folks still have jobs, though they pay less and have fewer benefits than just 5 or 10 years ago. I guess the Corporations and Wealthy think it's OK if the people who made this country what it once was, who fought in its wars, and continue to lay down their lives to this day, should struggle to make a living in the richest nation on the planet.
I applaud all those in the "Occupy Wall Street" protest for at least identifying the enemy within. It is too bad they lack a spokesman to articulate the anger and frustration felt by so many and the injustice of supplying the financial sector with over 13 TRILLION dollars in bailout money while continuing to decimate the middle class. The Greed of the ruling class in our nation is so apparent and ever present that one wonders why it took so long for the people to rise up in protest.
Perhaps it will come to something, but I remain cynical that any action will be taken to right the wrongs done to us.
Of course we are now in the election season or "silly season", where we will be bombarded with BS from all parties. Most if not all of this will be a smokescreen to divert our attention from the real and most pressing issues.
For comic relief I recommend any so called Republican debate, but only if you can turn off your critical thinking and need for facts. Just sit back and laugh for a bit. Oh, and wait for the news of our next invasion of a foreign country, its just around the corner. My guess is somewhere in Africa this time.
RT
The old saying about "those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it" applies to our foreign policy for at least the last 40 years. Now, with the factually challenged warrior wannabes in charge of the congress and perhaps the senate as well (in spite of a supposed Democratic majority) we continue on the path of waste and destruction with little or no thought to the outcome or consequences.
From my perspective our leaders have lost the ability to think big enough to help the majority of the people. Most seem tied to some cause or worse, to some corporation whose only goal is profit. Witness the exodus of middle class jobs in the last 30 years. Where did these geniuses think our citizens would work when they sent hundreds of thousands of jobs to China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Whereeverthefuckistan? They didn't care then and they don't care today.
This country has been divided into two distinct classes; the investment class that owns 40% of everything and 50% of all stocks and bonds. These folks constitute just %1 of our population. The other 99% of us make up the other class. Most of us depend on employers, the government and the cycles of the economy for our well being. Since 1980 and the conservative revolution headed by Ronald Reagan our government has made it easier and more profitable for corporations and the wealthy while making it much harder for the other 99%.
This has been accomplished by applying the science of Madison Avenue (marketing) to political dialogue, with devastating effect. "Framing" has become the modus operandi of the pundit and media class. No longer are issues reported on and discussed without some variety of "framing" involved. The majority of the electorate remains ignorant of what is being done to them and this allows them to continually vote against their own self interest. Amazing!
As just one example of the duplicity of the factually challenged in power is the current buzz word "Job Creators". What a Crock! These very people are the ones responsible for millions of jobs lost, not the ones that remain. After all, someone has to do the work on the ground, don't they? The lucky folks still have jobs, though they pay less and have fewer benefits than just 5 or 10 years ago. I guess the Corporations and Wealthy think it's OK if the people who made this country what it once was, who fought in its wars, and continue to lay down their lives to this day, should struggle to make a living in the richest nation on the planet.
I applaud all those in the "Occupy Wall Street" protest for at least identifying the enemy within. It is too bad they lack a spokesman to articulate the anger and frustration felt by so many and the injustice of supplying the financial sector with over 13 TRILLION dollars in bailout money while continuing to decimate the middle class. The Greed of the ruling class in our nation is so apparent and ever present that one wonders why it took so long for the people to rise up in protest.
Perhaps it will come to something, but I remain cynical that any action will be taken to right the wrongs done to us.
Of course we are now in the election season or "silly season", where we will be bombarded with BS from all parties. Most if not all of this will be a smokescreen to divert our attention from the real and most pressing issues.
For comic relief I recommend any so called Republican debate, but only if you can turn off your critical thinking and need for facts. Just sit back and laugh for a bit. Oh, and wait for the news of our next invasion of a foreign country, its just around the corner. My guess is somewhere in Africa this time.
RT
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Made to Order
Seems like there is no party, administration or person you can depend on in our current political environment. Somehow our government, which of course is really just a surrogate for corporations, keeps screwing up. This is another sad example. Of course it's almost funny when explained by Jon Stewart.
Enjoy,
OK, that's all I've got to say about that.
RT
Enjoy,
OK, that's all I've got to say about that.
RT
Monday, September 5, 2011
Blah, Blah, Blah
The nonsense that passes for political discourse in our country has both disappointed and disgusted me. Also we've just suffered the hottest August in history here in Phoenix.
So.... I offer this bit of creativity. If you miss the rain as badly as I do, just sit back and listen.
RT
So.... I offer this bit of creativity. If you miss the rain as badly as I do, just sit back and listen.
RT
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Is 8 Enough?
So...... The Iowa Straw Poll for the Republicans has a winner. And the winner is....
Michele Bachmann, really, I'm not kidding. Seriously; the Iowans who participated preferred the queen of Wackyworld to any of the other candidates who were in the running.
Amongst those were a faux news contributor, a governor from the Midwest, a gospel singer and probably a couple of flat earthers, perhaps even a birther or two. All sought to out right wing the other making the whole thing imminently unwatchable and pretty ridiculous.
To make the point here a couple of videos from "The Daily Show" on the subject.
All this fun and then Rick Perry ( another Texas Governor) (cause we all know how good the last one did, right?) announces he's running. To make the whole event totally rad Sarah Palin, serial butcher of history and all things factual rides into town on her bus of BS.
My heart goes out to those in Ames.
RT
Michele Bachmann, really, I'm not kidding. Seriously; the Iowans who participated preferred the queen of Wackyworld to any of the other candidates who were in the running.
Amongst those were a faux news contributor, a governor from the Midwest, a gospel singer and probably a couple of flat earthers, perhaps even a birther or two. All sought to out right wing the other making the whole thing imminently unwatchable and pretty ridiculous.
To make the point here a couple of videos from "The Daily Show" on the subject.
All this fun and then Rick Perry ( another Texas Governor) (cause we all know how good the last one did, right?) announces he's running. To make the whole event totally rad Sarah Palin, serial butcher of history and all things factual rides into town on her bus of BS.
My heart goes out to those in Ames.
RT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
