So there I am, interviewing yet another potential roommate. I am thinking, "Well this is going OK...we both enjoy conspiracy theories, think the Corporate Government is essentially evil, find some ironies of injustice just plain hilarious..." but something felt off.
I couldn't put my finger on it. Sure, he was maybe more into the paranoia thing that I am (I don't believe total control freaks will ever "win" because that is completely contrary to the essence of unpredictable, creative, wild LIFE) but there was something else.
Finally, thanks SO MUCH to the protective forces in the universe, the guy blurts out, "You know I sleep in the nude."
I grimaced and said, "What?!?" I mean, I don't care one way or the other HOW my roommates sleep--I just don't need to hear the details.
He gestured to the roommate room, which is right next to the bathroom.
"So I would probably pop out of my room in the morning to use the bathroom, nude."
I shook my head. "Uh, no. You wouldn't. You would need to put on a robe first. I am really NOT interested in seeing my roommate's naked body, thanks."
He looked disappointed. For foch's SAKE!!! Do I LOOK like a perv nudist type, seeking men I've never met on the internet to wander around my apartment naked? I don't THINK SO...and if you DO, shut up! You're wrong.
Yuck Yuck Yuck Yuck. I'm glad he finally helped me put my finger on what was really wrong. He's a NUTCASE. But still, yuck yuck yuck yuck. I need a shower, NOW.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Bad Boys I Have Known and Loved and Hated, Installment Number 1
I have decided to work on a "series" about various bad boys (and some girls) I have known in my life. This will be a sporadic series, but always exciting, I'm sure! Look for it!
Some of these boys (or girls) really were bad as in horrible, nasty human beings. Others may have been bad in the really delicious sense of the word.
But I will start with one who was really bad as in horrible, even at the tender age of SIX!!!
OK, I was in grade one or two, in Arlington, Texas. I had a crush on a really cute older guy, Jack, who was seven and one grade ahead of me. His brother, Tim, who was in my class, knew I preferred his sibling. But Tim had a crush on ME, and as boys are wont to do, this pissed him the hell off. So Tim was always trying to make me cry. I don't get the logic in that, but I have noticed that even adult bad boys have tended to behave the same way. When somehow I am not doing just what they want, they seem to want to make me cry. What the hell is that all about? Maybe some adult bad boy out there can explain that to me some day.
Anyway, I was a pretty tough-minded little girl. Tim would punch me in the arm. I would just hit him back. He would call me names. I would chant, "Sticks and stones, blah blah" and Tim would turn red with rage. Sometimes he would laugh at me, but I would just laugh harder. As I say, I really did NOT understand WTF was going on with Tim, but I DID understand that he was trying to hurt me. It wasn't until many years later that I realized Tim knew I preferred his older brother, and in his innate boyness, could not find any other way to deal with that reality than to try to hurt me.
So one day, Tim finally realized he was never really going to make me cry. But MAYBE he COULD make my eyes water. When the teacher was writing on the chalkboard, Tim, who sat in the seat just ahead of me, turned and smacked me RIGHT in the eyes. A real sucker-punch. I didn't even see it coming.
Well, hell yes, that worked. My eyes watered--a natural physical reaction. But I wasn't sad, I was now mad as a snake.
Someone recently pointed out to me that I may have been devious, even as a child. I never thought that was true, until I recalled this story with Tim.
When Tim saw my eyes water and tears well up, he shouted with GLEE!!! He had WON! He had made me CRY, even if it wasn't real crying, but my eyes reacting to being hit. He whooped and hollered and jumped up and down. I sat still as a stone, fury flooding every cell in my body. I seethed, I hated Tim, and I plotted.
A few days later I invited Tim over to my house for a visit.
The visit started innocently enough--and I still have a hard time believing I planned what occurred, but you know, maybe I did. I think maybe I just did.
Tim and I played a game of "jacks", rode bikes, drank some cherry Kool-Aid. Then we lazed around on the back porch. Feeling confident and full of himself, Tim casually mentioned his "victory" over me. "Hah hah! I made you cry, didn't I?" He was taunting me. I looked through the window into the kitchen. My mother was busy at the stove. She had the radio tuned to the local station, the volume up high. I looked at Tim's snarling laughing lip, and glanced one more time at my mother. She had her back to us. The coast was clear. I knew just what I had to do.
I jumped up and grabbed the broom I had left leaning against the side of the house just that morning. Tim looked up in shock. I screamed like a wild banshee and started chasing him around the porch. WHACK!!! I hit him once, hard, with the straws of the broom. Tim cried out in pain. He tried to run away from me, but I ran faster. WHACK!!! I hit him again. Now Tim started to shed a few real tears. Finally I was whacking and screaming, right behind him, as Tim stumbled and cried, "Stop, stop!" My mother came out to see what all the ruckus was about.
I got sent to my room and Tim got sent home. Once I calmed down, I was pretty damned pleased with myself.
I STILL find it hard to believe I PLANNED such a sophisticated revenge at the age of SIX, but I always have been pretty much of a genius.
Suffice it to say, Tim changed seats the following Monday in school. He sat right up front near the teacher. And he never bothered me again.
I tell you what. I WISH I had taken this approach with some of the other bad (as in nasty, horrible) boys I have met in my life. Most of them got away with their crap scot-free. What a shame. What a damn shame. I really am good with a broom.
Some of these boys (or girls) really were bad as in horrible, nasty human beings. Others may have been bad in the really delicious sense of the word.
But I will start with one who was really bad as in horrible, even at the tender age of SIX!!!
OK, I was in grade one or two, in Arlington, Texas. I had a crush on a really cute older guy, Jack, who was seven and one grade ahead of me. His brother, Tim, who was in my class, knew I preferred his sibling. But Tim had a crush on ME, and as boys are wont to do, this pissed him the hell off. So Tim was always trying to make me cry. I don't get the logic in that, but I have noticed that even adult bad boys have tended to behave the same way. When somehow I am not doing just what they want, they seem to want to make me cry. What the hell is that all about? Maybe some adult bad boy out there can explain that to me some day.
Anyway, I was a pretty tough-minded little girl. Tim would punch me in the arm. I would just hit him back. He would call me names. I would chant, "Sticks and stones, blah blah" and Tim would turn red with rage. Sometimes he would laugh at me, but I would just laugh harder. As I say, I really did NOT understand WTF was going on with Tim, but I DID understand that he was trying to hurt me. It wasn't until many years later that I realized Tim knew I preferred his older brother, and in his innate boyness, could not find any other way to deal with that reality than to try to hurt me.
So one day, Tim finally realized he was never really going to make me cry. But MAYBE he COULD make my eyes water. When the teacher was writing on the chalkboard, Tim, who sat in the seat just ahead of me, turned and smacked me RIGHT in the eyes. A real sucker-punch. I didn't even see it coming.
Well, hell yes, that worked. My eyes watered--a natural physical reaction. But I wasn't sad, I was now mad as a snake.
Someone recently pointed out to me that I may have been devious, even as a child. I never thought that was true, until I recalled this story with Tim.
When Tim saw my eyes water and tears well up, he shouted with GLEE!!! He had WON! He had made me CRY, even if it wasn't real crying, but my eyes reacting to being hit. He whooped and hollered and jumped up and down. I sat still as a stone, fury flooding every cell in my body. I seethed, I hated Tim, and I plotted.
A few days later I invited Tim over to my house for a visit.
The visit started innocently enough--and I still have a hard time believing I planned what occurred, but you know, maybe I did. I think maybe I just did.
Tim and I played a game of "jacks", rode bikes, drank some cherry Kool-Aid. Then we lazed around on the back porch. Feeling confident and full of himself, Tim casually mentioned his "victory" over me. "Hah hah! I made you cry, didn't I?" He was taunting me. I looked through the window into the kitchen. My mother was busy at the stove. She had the radio tuned to the local station, the volume up high. I looked at Tim's snarling laughing lip, and glanced one more time at my mother. She had her back to us. The coast was clear. I knew just what I had to do.
I jumped up and grabbed the broom I had left leaning against the side of the house just that morning. Tim looked up in shock. I screamed like a wild banshee and started chasing him around the porch. WHACK!!! I hit him once, hard, with the straws of the broom. Tim cried out in pain. He tried to run away from me, but I ran faster. WHACK!!! I hit him again. Now Tim started to shed a few real tears. Finally I was whacking and screaming, right behind him, as Tim stumbled and cried, "Stop, stop!" My mother came out to see what all the ruckus was about.
I got sent to my room and Tim got sent home. Once I calmed down, I was pretty damned pleased with myself.
I STILL find it hard to believe I PLANNED such a sophisticated revenge at the age of SIX, but I always have been pretty much of a genius.
Suffice it to say, Tim changed seats the following Monday in school. He sat right up front near the teacher. And he never bothered me again.
I tell you what. I WISH I had taken this approach with some of the other bad (as in nasty, horrible) boys I have met in my life. Most of them got away with their crap scot-free. What a shame. What a damn shame. I really am good with a broom.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Healing on the Full Blue Moon Lunar Eclipse, 13th Moon, WOW!!!
New Year's 2009, last New Year's in this decade, and we have a Full Moon, a Blue Moon, 13th Full moon this year, 2nd full moon in December, AND a partial lunar eclipse, visible in Europe. WOWOWOWOWOW!!!
Time for something special. Fall in love, have beautiful visions of the future, heal yourself, laugh, be kind to yourself and others, experience real inner peace, joy, passion, warmth. See the truth, tumble through the reality of your own pain into that indescribable joy that comes when the weight is lifted. Climb into that universal creative energy field, the basis of all life, or better yet, THROW yourself into it, and see where it takes you.
Let's hope for miracles! A sudden, world-wide change of consciousness--no more greed, no more war, no more cruelty, no more exploitation. Suddenly all of us seeing that we live in a MOST amazing paradise, and all the animals, fish, birds, trees, stars, weeds, wind, clouds, storms and sunshine are manifestations of the most intense joy and beauty possible. Let's worship the earth, bowing down to the beauty, protecting the beauty, loving the beauty, taking care and protecting from harm. Let us all Honor our Mother Earth and all her creatures, with all of our hearts.
And for those too wounded and damaged to love this earth, let's have compassion for them, but keep them from further harming the earth in a calm, caring spirit. When a person is healed, he or she no longer wishes gain for simple gain, or wants to harm for the sake of harm or the sake of power or the sake of revenge or the sake of old painful memories. So let us help the extreme greedy, war-mongering, cruel power-mongers among us to HEAL, and once healed, they will use their abundance for the common good, the good of all humanity and all the beautiful creature who cohabit this planet with us.
We have done tremendous damage to our planet, our nest. Maybe it is too late, and maybe the human species is doomed to extinction, along with so many other species who have simply been swept along in this tsunami of destruction.
But maybe it is NOT too late, NOT too late to save the beautiful species of birds, mammals, fish, insects, plants, amphibians, microscopic and macroscopic beings that inhabit this earth. Let's try to live according to this hope, and heal ourselves, and heal the earth.
I once saw a brief segment of a PBS program. It showed the most incredibly fantastical, strange creatures, ever-evolving, and inhabiting the very depths of the oceans. For no discernable reason, these creatures, all inhabiting the same environment, had evolved into a multitude of the most beautiful, remarkable unpredictable creatures—such variety the creatures could not be catalogued by science.
It was then that I fully understood that unpredictable, fantastic, incredibly BEAUTIFUL creativity is the ESSENCE of life. Those who try to control life, to bring the life force into predictability, to harness creativity and energy, to stomp out joy and spontaneity, to force homogeneity in Humans and other creatures, will never succeed. And the simple reason is that all of their efforts are contrary to the essence of Life itself. The very essence of life is creativity, spontaneity, unpredictable, fantastic beauty, passion, joy, untamed intensity.
A truly wild, crazily whirling spirit inhabits us all. We only need to touch it to see, really see, that so much of the "security" we have created for ourselves is nothing but a shadow of reality, a sham, a silly, unnecessary crutch. We can FLY!!! Really fly, in our dreams and in our lives. We only need love and joy and freedom to truly be happy in this life. And that is within our reach if we only open ourselves to it and release the pain within us.
I’m wishing love and beauty for myself and every other living creature in this New Year. And courage to speak up, to organize, to foster change, to reach out, to break barriers blocking peace in this world. Happy New Year’s to Everyone, especially all the wild and crazy spirits out there. Yes! I am talking to you. I always am, because you of all of these, you understand.
Time for something special. Fall in love, have beautiful visions of the future, heal yourself, laugh, be kind to yourself and others, experience real inner peace, joy, passion, warmth. See the truth, tumble through the reality of your own pain into that indescribable joy that comes when the weight is lifted. Climb into that universal creative energy field, the basis of all life, or better yet, THROW yourself into it, and see where it takes you.
Let's hope for miracles! A sudden, world-wide change of consciousness--no more greed, no more war, no more cruelty, no more exploitation. Suddenly all of us seeing that we live in a MOST amazing paradise, and all the animals, fish, birds, trees, stars, weeds, wind, clouds, storms and sunshine are manifestations of the most intense joy and beauty possible. Let's worship the earth, bowing down to the beauty, protecting the beauty, loving the beauty, taking care and protecting from harm. Let us all Honor our Mother Earth and all her creatures, with all of our hearts.
And for those too wounded and damaged to love this earth, let's have compassion for them, but keep them from further harming the earth in a calm, caring spirit. When a person is healed, he or she no longer wishes gain for simple gain, or wants to harm for the sake of harm or the sake of power or the sake of revenge or the sake of old painful memories. So let us help the extreme greedy, war-mongering, cruel power-mongers among us to HEAL, and once healed, they will use their abundance for the common good, the good of all humanity and all the beautiful creature who cohabit this planet with us.
We have done tremendous damage to our planet, our nest. Maybe it is too late, and maybe the human species is doomed to extinction, along with so many other species who have simply been swept along in this tsunami of destruction.
But maybe it is NOT too late, NOT too late to save the beautiful species of birds, mammals, fish, insects, plants, amphibians, microscopic and macroscopic beings that inhabit this earth. Let's try to live according to this hope, and heal ourselves, and heal the earth.
I once saw a brief segment of a PBS program. It showed the most incredibly fantastical, strange creatures, ever-evolving, and inhabiting the very depths of the oceans. For no discernable reason, these creatures, all inhabiting the same environment, had evolved into a multitude of the most beautiful, remarkable unpredictable creatures—such variety the creatures could not be catalogued by science.
It was then that I fully understood that unpredictable, fantastic, incredibly BEAUTIFUL creativity is the ESSENCE of life. Those who try to control life, to bring the life force into predictability, to harness creativity and energy, to stomp out joy and spontaneity, to force homogeneity in Humans and other creatures, will never succeed. And the simple reason is that all of their efforts are contrary to the essence of Life itself. The very essence of life is creativity, spontaneity, unpredictable, fantastic beauty, passion, joy, untamed intensity.
A truly wild, crazily whirling spirit inhabits us all. We only need to touch it to see, really see, that so much of the "security" we have created for ourselves is nothing but a shadow of reality, a sham, a silly, unnecessary crutch. We can FLY!!! Really fly, in our dreams and in our lives. We only need love and joy and freedom to truly be happy in this life. And that is within our reach if we only open ourselves to it and release the pain within us.
I’m wishing love and beauty for myself and every other living creature in this New Year. And courage to speak up, to organize, to foster change, to reach out, to break barriers blocking peace in this world. Happy New Year’s to Everyone, especially all the wild and crazy spirits out there. Yes! I am talking to you. I always am, because you of all of these, you understand.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Holiday Miracles and of Course at least one Snark
A Few Nice Things Happened Recently—don’t worry, I will be back to my snarky ways really soon. I intend to write a blog about insane therapists, since I just saw yet another nut-case, passing herself off as a healer. Really, that profession should be better regulated.
Here’s my happier stuff. Enjoy it, cuz I guarantee I WILL be back to snarky SOON!
I left my wet laundry in the washer, as I often do, and went shopping at Star Market. When I came back, about 90 minutes later (I got side-tracked, as I sometimes do...) my clothes were washed AND dried. WOW!!! A laundry room good fairy!
My daughter came for Christmas, and after almost six months of refusing to see her in person, she really made an effort! So THAT’S what it takes to get decent behavior???? Just keep saying, no no no no no I can’t see you? I wish someone had told me that years ago.
Anyway, it was nice. We had a great dinner of seasoned pork chops with sautéed apple and onion, rice, rappini, baked sweet potato and Ginger-Spice Christmas pudding with brown sugar sauce and crème anglaise. Seriously! I’m not kidding, and we cooked it all, except for the pudding, which was found at Whole Foods and IS amazing!
I skipped my annual “New Lyrics” pilgrimage to a local religious establishment. “Joy to the World, Our Queen has come! Let earth receive her joy!” I belt out my words pretty loud, offering a nice alternative, I think. “Joy to the World, Mother Nature reigns.” Virgins become “women”, and sin becomes “fun”. Darn I guess I’m kinda sorry I missed this. I always have so much fun—I especially enjoy the glares of the good god-fearing folks around me.
FINALLY a couple of “women-folk-films” after all this crap about women who just love being treated horribly (“Knocked Up”, for example) and movies where everything gets bombed to smithereens and the teenage boys in the audience shout out, “AWESOME!” I went to see the Queen Victoria movie and the Meryl Streep-Alec Baldwin movie, and I enjoyed BOTH of them. So there!
Alec Baldwin may be chubby and have a bad marital history but wow he definitely has got some kinda charisma! I’d accept a date with that man for SURE. I think...
And the roommate I really could NOT stand, one of the most aggressive passive-aggressive obnoxious boy-men I have ever met, left a week ago!!! YAY!!!! I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GLAD not to have his weird negative button-bushing energy around. Shoulda kicked him out months ago. Oh well, he’s gone, and I am HAPPY for that!
I have been missing someone I really enjoyed hanging out with last summer. It’s pretty special when you finally meet someone you can really connect to, you know? Someone you can tell some weird story to, a story about being a sugar shack tour guide for one day only, for instance, and they will get it, unlike some people, who would simply look at you like you are out of your friggin mind.
Both women movies I saw were really about that. Made me sad, kind of. Even if you can see the roadblocks and potential disasters straight ahead of you, and even if both parties are pretty much clearly off their rockers, it really is NICE to have a truly connecting laugh once in awhile. Especially in Boston, where it seems people are mostly bound and determined to NOT get what I am talking about most of the time.
At the Meryl Streep movie, a few women wanted to get into a fist fight with me, because I was on the phone for a minute. But I was calling the manager to let him know there was a problem with the sound! Instead of letting me explain that I was really trying to HELP, these bitches just got nastier and nastier.
Ooopppssss—well I guess that’s reassuring, isn’t it? I’m back to snarking again, without even trying.
Happy holidays, in any case. At least don’t let the family stuff get on top of you, or the insane buying frenzy. The SUN is coming back!!! That is really what it’s all about.
Here’s my happier stuff. Enjoy it, cuz I guarantee I WILL be back to snarky SOON!
I left my wet laundry in the washer, as I often do, and went shopping at Star Market. When I came back, about 90 minutes later (I got side-tracked, as I sometimes do...) my clothes were washed AND dried. WOW!!! A laundry room good fairy!
My daughter came for Christmas, and after almost six months of refusing to see her in person, she really made an effort! So THAT’S what it takes to get decent behavior???? Just keep saying, no no no no no I can’t see you? I wish someone had told me that years ago.
Anyway, it was nice. We had a great dinner of seasoned pork chops with sautéed apple and onion, rice, rappini, baked sweet potato and Ginger-Spice Christmas pudding with brown sugar sauce and crème anglaise. Seriously! I’m not kidding, and we cooked it all, except for the pudding, which was found at Whole Foods and IS amazing!
I skipped my annual “New Lyrics” pilgrimage to a local religious establishment. “Joy to the World, Our Queen has come! Let earth receive her joy!” I belt out my words pretty loud, offering a nice alternative, I think. “Joy to the World, Mother Nature reigns.” Virgins become “women”, and sin becomes “fun”. Darn I guess I’m kinda sorry I missed this. I always have so much fun—I especially enjoy the glares of the good god-fearing folks around me.
FINALLY a couple of “women-folk-films” after all this crap about women who just love being treated horribly (“Knocked Up”, for example) and movies where everything gets bombed to smithereens and the teenage boys in the audience shout out, “AWESOME!” I went to see the Queen Victoria movie and the Meryl Streep-Alec Baldwin movie, and I enjoyed BOTH of them. So there!
Alec Baldwin may be chubby and have a bad marital history but wow he definitely has got some kinda charisma! I’d accept a date with that man for SURE. I think...
And the roommate I really could NOT stand, one of the most aggressive passive-aggressive obnoxious boy-men I have ever met, left a week ago!!! YAY!!!! I am SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO GLAD not to have his weird negative button-bushing energy around. Shoulda kicked him out months ago. Oh well, he’s gone, and I am HAPPY for that!
I have been missing someone I really enjoyed hanging out with last summer. It’s pretty special when you finally meet someone you can really connect to, you know? Someone you can tell some weird story to, a story about being a sugar shack tour guide for one day only, for instance, and they will get it, unlike some people, who would simply look at you like you are out of your friggin mind.
Both women movies I saw were really about that. Made me sad, kind of. Even if you can see the roadblocks and potential disasters straight ahead of you, and even if both parties are pretty much clearly off their rockers, it really is NICE to have a truly connecting laugh once in awhile. Especially in Boston, where it seems people are mostly bound and determined to NOT get what I am talking about most of the time.
At the Meryl Streep movie, a few women wanted to get into a fist fight with me, because I was on the phone for a minute. But I was calling the manager to let him know there was a problem with the sound! Instead of letting me explain that I was really trying to HELP, these bitches just got nastier and nastier.
Ooopppssss—well I guess that’s reassuring, isn’t it? I’m back to snarking again, without even trying.
Happy holidays, in any case. At least don’t let the family stuff get on top of you, or the insane buying frenzy. The SUN is coming back!!! That is really what it’s all about.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Time to Speak Up, NOW! Equal treatment for all!
So normally when a blogger finds people are checking out her blog, she should feel really happy, right? Hmmmm...and yet I find myself with mixed feelings.
Why? Well, ever since I wrote a blog about the fatal police beating of Ken Howe of Webster, MA, I have suddenly had a spike in interest. It doesn't take much imagination or intelligence to figure out why I might have mixed feelings.
But last night I saw an interview with his sobbing wife, and images of a bruise from a foot smashed into his back, and I was horrified. And glad that I wrote what I did.
What kind of country is this if we all bury our heads in the sand, and don't believe that decent behavior IS possible, from police as well as politicians or CEOs? And YES, these people NEED to be regulated, just like the rest of us. If you or I get into a bar brawl, even just one on one, with each party ending up with a black eye, there's a pretty good chance we will be arrested and charged with assault.
If someone steals a shirt from the Gap, arrest and charges are pretty darn likely.
So why should police who lose control and beat someone to death be exempt? Or some CEO who is consumed with his own power and decides theft just goes with the job? Shouldn't he be charged?
If I dump garbage on the side of the road, I will at LEAST be ticketed. So what about major corporations that use the ocean, air and land as a dumping ground? Why should they be exempt?
The people in this country NEED to stand up, to speak out, to demand that the people we hire to work for us really work FOR us and not AGAINST us. And let's stop accepting the lie that politicians are working for US, if it is blatantly clear that they are working for the fat cat rich guys.
The health of the earth, our HOME, is in dire distress. If NOW isn't the time to find the courage to speak up, when WILL that time come? Speak up for your children, if it's too scary to do it for yourself. You can do it. Just write ONE letter to the editor and you will see how GREAT it feels to follow in the footsteps of the brave, outspoken founders of this country.
Why? Well, ever since I wrote a blog about the fatal police beating of Ken Howe of Webster, MA, I have suddenly had a spike in interest. It doesn't take much imagination or intelligence to figure out why I might have mixed feelings.
But last night I saw an interview with his sobbing wife, and images of a bruise from a foot smashed into his back, and I was horrified. And glad that I wrote what I did.
What kind of country is this if we all bury our heads in the sand, and don't believe that decent behavior IS possible, from police as well as politicians or CEOs? And YES, these people NEED to be regulated, just like the rest of us. If you or I get into a bar brawl, even just one on one, with each party ending up with a black eye, there's a pretty good chance we will be arrested and charged with assault.
If someone steals a shirt from the Gap, arrest and charges are pretty darn likely.
So why should police who lose control and beat someone to death be exempt? Or some CEO who is consumed with his own power and decides theft just goes with the job? Shouldn't he be charged?
If I dump garbage on the side of the road, I will at LEAST be ticketed. So what about major corporations that use the ocean, air and land as a dumping ground? Why should they be exempt?
The people in this country NEED to stand up, to speak out, to demand that the people we hire to work for us really work FOR us and not AGAINST us. And let's stop accepting the lie that politicians are working for US, if it is blatantly clear that they are working for the fat cat rich guys.
The health of the earth, our HOME, is in dire distress. If NOW isn't the time to find the courage to speak up, when WILL that time come? Speak up for your children, if it's too scary to do it for yourself. You can do it. Just write ONE letter to the editor and you will see how GREAT it feels to follow in the footsteps of the brave, outspoken founders of this country.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Drone Attacks are BIG BUSINESS, who cares if they kill poor people?
OK. The issue of drone attacks is something that really makes me nauseous. But I am going to write about it anyway, briefly.
First of all, make no mistake, production of drone aircraft (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) is BIG BUSINESS. Forbes says $55 billion through 2020. And the US controls 77% of the market.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/29/aircraft-drone-market-business-oxford-analytica.html
Maybe this is why we "need" a war in Afghanistan? To pay the makers of these killing machines MORE MONEY from the coffers of US taxpayers?
What IS a drone, for anyone who is not sure? It is an unmanned aircraft loaded with bombs. Smaller unmanned missiles are also drones. With current technology, these drones are very "accurate" in their targets. But of course someone far away is determining the target. And perhaps the "targets" exist primarily to justify expenditures on these killing machines, and thus create more wealth for the people who run these companies.
Meanwhile, who are these drones actually killing? Extremely POOR people, living in mountain villages in the most basic of conditions. No, they will never kill anyone living in a mansion in the Hamptons. Those people COUNT.
Can you imagine sitting in your small village, nursing your baby, or making a simple supper on a fire? You hear the sound of an approaching aircraft, but there is no escaping it. There is no human being to face, to run from. This is not hand-to-hand combat. This is remote killing, cold and "efficient".
Forgive me if I don't believe Pentagon press releases about how the targets are terrorists. We already know that 30 members of a tribe (including women and children) were killed in 2007, and the ensuing outcry insisted the "terrorist target" was actually a wedding party.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/top-judge-use-of-drones-intolerable-1732756.html
We need to stop accepting lies, and start asking ourselves who and what constitutes the biggest REAL threat to our planet. Surely it isn't a few poor tribes people in some mountain community in Pakistan. How about looking at the giant corporations which poison our air, water and soil? Or the thieves on Wall Street and running Banks who steal our money and almost single-handedly bring down an entire economy?
American citizens need to DEMAND that the government reps we elect stop living in the past, i.e. the Endless War past, and start living in a PEACEFUL NOW!!! We need money for schools, health care, food, renewable energy, housing, and healing our natural environment. We do NOT need more WAR!!! Let Boeing, Lockheed Martin and others transition QUICKLY into the renewable energy market. Put the brain power of their employees into HEALING our earth, and STOP THE KILLING.
There are OTHER ways to make money than killing and maiming poor people. Believe it or not. It just takes a LITTLE imagination.
First of all, make no mistake, production of drone aircraft (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) is BIG BUSINESS. Forbes says $55 billion through 2020. And the US controls 77% of the market.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/29/aircraft-drone-market-business-oxford-analytica.html
Maybe this is why we "need" a war in Afghanistan? To pay the makers of these killing machines MORE MONEY from the coffers of US taxpayers?
What IS a drone, for anyone who is not sure? It is an unmanned aircraft loaded with bombs. Smaller unmanned missiles are also drones. With current technology, these drones are very "accurate" in their targets. But of course someone far away is determining the target. And perhaps the "targets" exist primarily to justify expenditures on these killing machines, and thus create more wealth for the people who run these companies.
Meanwhile, who are these drones actually killing? Extremely POOR people, living in mountain villages in the most basic of conditions. No, they will never kill anyone living in a mansion in the Hamptons. Those people COUNT.
Can you imagine sitting in your small village, nursing your baby, or making a simple supper on a fire? You hear the sound of an approaching aircraft, but there is no escaping it. There is no human being to face, to run from. This is not hand-to-hand combat. This is remote killing, cold and "efficient".
Forgive me if I don't believe Pentagon press releases about how the targets are terrorists. We already know that 30 members of a tribe (including women and children) were killed in 2007, and the ensuing outcry insisted the "terrorist target" was actually a wedding party.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/top-judge-use-of-drones-intolerable-1732756.html
We need to stop accepting lies, and start asking ourselves who and what constitutes the biggest REAL threat to our planet. Surely it isn't a few poor tribes people in some mountain community in Pakistan. How about looking at the giant corporations which poison our air, water and soil? Or the thieves on Wall Street and running Banks who steal our money and almost single-handedly bring down an entire economy?
American citizens need to DEMAND that the government reps we elect stop living in the past, i.e. the Endless War past, and start living in a PEACEFUL NOW!!! We need money for schools, health care, food, renewable energy, housing, and healing our natural environment. We do NOT need more WAR!!! Let Boeing, Lockheed Martin and others transition QUICKLY into the renewable energy market. Put the brain power of their employees into HEALING our earth, and STOP THE KILLING.
There are OTHER ways to make money than killing and maiming poor people. Believe it or not. It just takes a LITTLE imagination.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Ancestors, Patriot Act Internet Surveillers and a Funny Thing
So, for any Patriot Act empowered Internet Surveillers (really, there ARE other jobs out there, even in this economy), I thought I would: 1. Remind everybody about the text of the First Amendment (Surely the Bill of Rights is one of the first TRUE original "Patriot Acts"), 2. Recount a brief history of a couple of my ancestors and 3. Just for comic relief (It must get really dull following up all these snarky blogs about injustice and chasing leads based on silly "key words" such as "redheads") I thought I would recount a funny thing that happened at the Grocery store.
So, for starters, here is the text of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Now, as to my ancestors. Well, two brothers showed up in New York harbor in 1732, having traveled all the way from Bavaria, quite a feat back in those days. They set up farms in New Jersey. Their sons or grandsons fought in the Revolutionary War. They are my great-great times ten or so grandfathers. My own grandfather served on the Ambulance Division in World War I. My father served in the Radio Corps World War II. I have put in many hours as a community activist for much of my life. Perhaps true patriots?
And the thanks I get for these members of my family (and me!) serving their country and upholding the ideals of democracy and this country's founding principals is that I get surveilled for expressing concern about a need for greater oversight of the police force? Thanks a lot, guys. Really appropriate.
But in any case, since I am sure you are bored out of your minds with this "work", here is that funny short story.
I went to the grocery store tonight. Wanted to buy some "Boursin Garlic and Herb Cheese". But there was none available, for the second or third day in a row. So I asked the Deli guys about it. They said I should contact Mr. "Ong" the following day. I heard this as a Chinese name, and said, "Mr. Ung. As in H-U-N-G?" The guy smirked at me and said, "No. Ong. As in A-U-N-G." I had to turn away quickly because I started to laugh really really hard.
Only yesterday I was reviewing some photos I took quite some time ago of a very charming (OK, not so charming, but pretty remarkable in other ways) boyfriend I had some years ago. I figure that may have been the reason for this slip of the tongue.
So, for starters, here is the text of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Now, as to my ancestors. Well, two brothers showed up in New York harbor in 1732, having traveled all the way from Bavaria, quite a feat back in those days. They set up farms in New Jersey. Their sons or grandsons fought in the Revolutionary War. They are my great-great times ten or so grandfathers. My own grandfather served on the Ambulance Division in World War I. My father served in the Radio Corps World War II. I have put in many hours as a community activist for much of my life. Perhaps true patriots?
And the thanks I get for these members of my family (and me!) serving their country and upholding the ideals of democracy and this country's founding principals is that I get surveilled for expressing concern about a need for greater oversight of the police force? Thanks a lot, guys. Really appropriate.
But in any case, since I am sure you are bored out of your minds with this "work", here is that funny short story.
I went to the grocery store tonight. Wanted to buy some "Boursin Garlic and Herb Cheese". But there was none available, for the second or third day in a row. So I asked the Deli guys about it. They said I should contact Mr. "Ong" the following day. I heard this as a Chinese name, and said, "Mr. Ung. As in H-U-N-G?" The guy smirked at me and said, "No. Ong. As in A-U-N-G." I had to turn away quickly because I started to laugh really really hard.
Only yesterday I was reviewing some photos I took quite some time ago of a very charming (OK, not so charming, but pretty remarkable in other ways) boyfriend I had some years ago. I figure that may have been the reason for this slip of the tongue.
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