Hillary now the only hope for change for Democrats
Despite being a registered Independent voter, I chose to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2008. Three years later, I am certain I made the right choice and the country has paid the price for allowing corrupt election practices to steal the election from her and give it to Obama.
As 2012 looms, I ask myself: Is there anyone more prepared, more knowledgeable, and more capable than Hillary of leading this country out of the morass the clueless one has lead us into? For me the answer is clear: no. I would like to see her run again (selfish perhaps, as I would have to vote for anyone or thing rather than vote for Obama).
If you voted for Hillary, would you do so again? If not would you vote for her in 2012?
Vote and add a comment if you are inclined.
Rod Blagojevich convicted of all counts
Jury convicts ex-US Gov. Blagojevich at retrial. AP HERE
No word about whether anyone else was involved.
Oh NO! NATO troops spotted in Libya
The only thing about this post title that should surprise you is that they were spotted (of course they went away ASAP). Whether you call them spies, spotters, or advisers, “Western men” have always interfered in the events of countries whose policies do not please the politicians or corporate powers. Usually such interference is justified as necessary to protect our “way of life,” even though it is not always necessary to explain their role to their own citizens. But you can find them if you read Western history
Salvador Allende, the first democratically-elected Socialist, was opposed by Richard Nixon who feared the spread of Communism and ordered the CIA to do anything they could to stop Allende. HERE foreign involvement section. Advisors (and yes they had weapons) were in Viet Nam as early as 1962. The CIA set up the rebels in Afghanistan in an effort to destroy the USSR, my previous post HERE
Find your own example of any western insertion of troops despite government or international regulations against them and post it in the comment section here for others to read.
dandelions and poppies
I’ve just come in from weeding dandelions in my front garden. It’s been neglected for about a year and a half. Where there were once native California wild flowers from spring to fall, there are now just a few stragglers struggling to survive in the tall grass and dandelions. The poppies, however, are growing stronger each spring and spreading far beyond their original position in the garden. I look forward to seeing them trumpet the arrival of spring – even this year.
My father-in-law used to wax poetic about dandelion greens as a tasty side dish and he knew how to make dandelion tea (which he didn’t like), but to me as lovely as dandelions appear at times, they destroy the harmony of my garden so I dig them out. I am not interested in dandelion greens as a meal – though if the economy gets much worse I might.
Unfortunately, the dandelions developed a survival technique (not consciously of course): they grow close to the poppies and dig their long hard roots right into the roots of the poppies, making it extremely difficult to dig them out. I took my long digging tool out to the yard, bent down and started carefully loosening the wet soil – thanks to the long rainy days it was easier than usual. One poppy plant came up when I tugged on the dandelion root, but I patted it back into the ground and hope it will survive. If it doesn’t, it’s roots will still throw up more “offspring” next year.
While working in the garden, I thought of the two drivers who gave me dirty looks while they were breaking the laws of traffic and civility, one stranding me in oncoming traffic and the other simply running a red light as I began my left turn. I’m no prude and I don’t mind occasionally bending rules that don’t endanger anyone’s life and property, but I couldn’t help thinking of them today as an example of the dandelions in the fabric of our society.
This country’s Constitution is based on respect and dignity, and on the value of human life. Without these ideals, I fear we will degenerate into dystopia – a society far worse than Orwell imagined.
On the other hand, I suppose others view poppies as a weed.
Feminism and Gender Equity.
This is how I finished part five of my posts on Patriarchy”
What did/do women want? To be equally valued and equally free to make decisions for themselves. Society and religion still stand in the way of most women. Women also stand in the way of other women, depending on their own social mores and religious upbringing to criticize and demean other women for their choices. Many women have achieved independence and success in their careers. Many have achieved independence and success in their marriage. But there is still much unhappiness about the pace at which this has been accomplished.
I had intended to come back to the subject before my “real” life interfered again. Today, when I discovered this post at Forbes, I thought I would let it raise some of the issues I’d meant to discuss. It seems that women are beginning to realize that “equality” does not mean we all think or act alike; rather it means that we are free to pursue our own dreams in whichever direction they lead us. Not every woman needs to burn her bra nor “break a glass ceiling” to feel empowered.
Thank you to Lisa Quast for writing about the research and to Dr. Hakim for publishing it. You can download the report at the Forbes site.
Interested in feminine equality?
click here
Bernanke – the rising deficit crisis is the fault of the old folks.
During the last presidential election, Bernanke went to Congress to warn of a financial crisis which as we all found out was due to credit default swaps and unfettered improper bank activity, especially by AIG. Congress was convinced that a major bailout was needed to keep the “too big to fail” banks from collapsing under their own dead weight and taking the whole economy with it. The TARP came into being – a cover-up of how Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, et al created a massive ponzi scheme which they sold to banks in other countries and which then provided them with “funny money” to bail out those foreign banks. It didn’t work of course and the world economy reeled on the verge of collapse. Some of that money bailed out/bought up auto companies; some went to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and some went to shore up mortgages for folks who couldn’t afford them in the first place. This is all old news right?
Today, Ben has changed his tune (just as the assault on the ObamaCare plan is about to begin in earnest). We have been plunged into crisis by the “aged and ageing.” Oh, and the rising costs of healthcare. Here
This is a story full of contradiction.
US government budget deficit, which rose sharply during the crisis, was “unsustainable”.
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This was because the underlying reasons for the deficit were not additional government expenditure during the crisis, but “the ageing of the population and rapidly rising healthcare costs”, he told the Congressional Committee on the Budget.
I wish all you old folk would return that Tarp money or the money the government keeps borrowing to keep you alive. Follow the old ways and die young.
However, he said government cutbacks needed to be long-term in nature, and that dramatic spending cuts now could jeopardise the economic recovery.
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He said it would take roughly 10 years to return to a sustainable unemployment rate of 5%-6% at current economic growth rates – in the final three months of last year the economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.2%.
So let me get this straight. People will either have temporary jobs or no jobs for ten years. Young people who are bearing the brunt of current unemployment figures may not be getting steady jobs for years to come, their lifetime earnings will be curtailed because of the fewer years they will spend in the workforce, and the ageing will still be costing the government more. Who is going to pay the taxes rises that will be needed to sustain the economy in the meantime? And if the deficit is going to be “unsustainable,” why the hell do we have to wait to introduce spending cuts?
However he said moderate growth and reluctance among employers to hire new staff meant “it will be several years before the unemployment rate has returned to more normal level”.
Are these the same employers who are going to be hit with higher costs for healthcare? The same employers who are trying to sell to people who have no jobs and/or little saving. The same employers who will be hit will tax increases, higher fees and more expensive production costs?
Bernanke is like Janus, the Roman two-headed god with faces looking (and in this case talking) in opposite directions, except that Bernanke has nothing good to offer the household.
Anyone have a different take on Ben’s latest offering to Congress?
Patriarchy vs. Value Part V
For most of human history, male and female had a role to play to ensure the survival of their “familia.” There must have been those who rebelled against the established role, but for the most part life was brutal and short and the species was driven, like all species to do their part. The Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity deeply codified those roles and embedded them so deeply into the minds of their followers that to disobey brought shame to the follower, shunning, and sometimes death. This pattern begins with the idea that Adam was God’s first choice and that his inability to resist either Lilith or Eve was still somehow their fault and the cause of the expulsion from Eden. All three religions challenge women to keep modest, bear children, stay at home. Oh, and to be subject to their menfolk.
Women had little choice; what options were there for them. What is now called “woman’s liberation” came at a slow pace, if it came at all. And the price paid for it was steep. Even when the Industrial Revolution began to free women from their assigned role and women could actually earn wages of their own, women were not all free to enjoy their benefits. Some remained single – “old maids” or spinsters. Married women usually still had household chores to do and babies to have and raise. Birth control, even by natural means, and abortion were strongly forbidden by church and society. Many women died trying to exercise those options.
What did/do women want? To be equally valued and equally free to make decisions for themselves. Society and religion still stand in the way of most women. Women also stand in the way of other women, depending on their own social mores and religious upbringing to criticize and demean other women for their choices. Many women have achieved independence and success in their careers. Many have achieved independence and success in their marriage. But there is still much unhappiness about the pace at which this has been accomplished. Why? – religious beliefs in the strength of men and the fallibility of women in all three Abrahamic religions (The U.S.is just as much a religious patriarchy as Israel and all Muslim countries).
How often do you hear or read women criticizing the way other women dress and intimating that they are “asking for trouble” as though they are to be blamed for being assaulted, raped, or murdered because they enticed the male “beastie?” Why should a woman have to pretend that being beautiful isn’t as much a gift as being smart, or talented, or wealthy, or driven by a need to success? Why do women enable the idea that women is the cause of all evil in the world?
It will take more than an argument or rational discourse or even a blog rant to undo the mind-warping effect these two beliefs have had and will continue to have. We need a 12-step program to help the adults and we need to do the very best we can to empower young women to believe that they can and will be the best at whatever they choose to be.
