Monday, August 31, 2009

FANDOM

I am a New England sports fan: a boisterous fan (UCONN women's and men's basketball), a hapless fan (pre-2004 Red Sox), an exuberant fan (2004 to the present and a proud member of Red Sox Nation, always was), a loyal fan (Celtics and Patriots)...Bruins (not so much.)

And, now I have added teams from my adopted state so I am also a Diamondbacks fan, a Cardinals fan, a Phoenix Mercury fan and an Arizona State University football and basketball fan.

It's like having kids. Your heart expands when you keep adding to the mix.

However, I am the HUGEST fan of all of my two sons. One is a renowned photojournalist and one is a talented post-production audio engineer/guitarist. They have chosen professions in which they excel and which they love dearly. Years ago, when discussing what they might be doing as adults, the advice from us was that they should do something they really, really love. Holy mackeral, they took the advice!

Sometimes we think they succeeded despite our best intentions but seriously, we could not be prouder, not only of their accomplishments but of the way they conduct their lives, with honesty and integrity, lots of good humor, intelligence, caring and all the wonderful adjectives I could string along for the next several lines.

I see in these two wonderful guys (and many of their friends) a generation who will take care of the earth and all that is in it. And I know that they will make the world a better place. So I continue to lead the cheers for the guys because it's what I do best!!!!

Friday, August 28, 2009

STUPIDITY 101

The RNC is now inferring that Democrats will use health care reform to deny Republicans medical treatment. And Mike Huckabee suggests that Senator Kennedy would have been urged to "go home and die" under health care reform. And "death panels" to knock off the elderly. And "I don't want government to run health care but keep your *&^ hands off my Medicare."

I think the Republican ultra-conservative wing nuts and all their followers have taken stupidity as their major class. It is beyond comprehension that the words uttered by these idiots are taken seriously by anyone who isn't comatose.

In 2000, intellectual integrity fled the White House only to be replaced by stupidity, muddling up of facts, greed, craziness and downright maliciousness. Yes, I could go on but you get the idea. So for eight years the country was brainwashed with the fallout of all that crap.

Now, we have an intellectual in the White House who has the capacity to actually think things through and present solutions for debate to the American people in a rational, open and respectful manner and the Republicans stamp their feet, cry and whine and distort with complete silliness everything they do not agree with.

The Republicans have not offered any solutions to any of the problems facing the country. They have no idea how to fix the mess they got this country into and they refuse to accept any responsibility for the mess.

They are the dumbing down of America. And I watch with baited breath as they continue to talk themselves deeper into the black hole of hell with each ensuing bit of idiocy.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

THE LION OF THE SENATE

I am a Massachusetts native. So, on this day of news of Ted Kennedy's death I feel devastated, as though I have lost a good friend. I never met the man but I always knew what he was about. No matter where I lived, Kennedy was always my Senator.

There will be those who denigrate Kennedy, personally or as a Senator, but I'd say they should look to the myriad of do-nothings who have been and still are in the Senate and compare their records to his. A few may have done more, most have literally done nothing but obfuscate, delay and offer nothing of any consequence to make US citizens' lives easier. I do not condone, nor does anyone else, his actions at Chappaquiddick. But I'd say this Senator has done more good during his lifetime than bad and those who belittle his accomplishments are angry, bitter curmudgeons!

Here are just some of Kennedy's accomplishments:

More than 300 bills that Kennedy wrote have been enacted into law, and he is known for his ability to work with Republicans and to find compromises among Senate members with disparate views. Kennedy has played a major role in passing many pieces of legislation that have affected the lives of all Americans, including the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the National Cancer Act of 1971, the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974, the COBRA Act of 1985, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Ryan White AIDS Care Act in 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act in 1996 and 2008, the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009. During the 2000s, he was a leader of several failed efforts at immigration reform. (with help from Wikipedia)

May he rest in peace.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

PRACTICING MEDICINE WITHOUT A LICENSE

Health care for all. Certainly an idea whose time is long overdue. I paid the bills as an office manager in a law firm. I cringed every time the health insurance bill came in. And I literally sweated bullets every September when our 'new' year started and the health insurance bill arrived with its rise in rates and the wonderful booklet telling me what would no longer be covered.

As we got older, our premiums shot through the roof even though not one person in the firm ever was unhealthy enough to need a doctor except for the annual exams everyone goes through.

I always thought that if we had taken the premium amounts and invested them in CD's, we would have amassed, over the years, enough money to pay for catastrophic incidents, should that ever happen.

As it is now, health insurance companies decide the exams, procedures and doctors you may have or go to. That's practicing medicine without a license and, frankly, that's a felony. How do we let them get away with this?

Screw the insurance companies. Wouldn't it be fun if everyone in the country filed a lawsuit alleging that they ARE practicing medicine without a license and watch them melt down trying to answer ALL those cases????

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

BITTERSWEET VISIT

Once again the adage comes true: You travel to see family when there is a wedding or a funeral.....never just to visit. This time it was for an unveiling of the gravestone of a beloved uncle. Family came in from Arizona, Denver, Chicago, Florida, New York and New Jersey. It was a bittersweet trip but we had the chance to really visit with family we rarely get to see.

And along the way we got to fall in love with two wonderful 13 year olds, twins, a boy and a girl, who are secure enough in their own skins to be easy to talk to, were so gracious, funny, smart and conversed easily with all the adults. How cool is that???


But the point of the visit was never very far away from our thoughts. How do you say goodbye to someone you loved and then leave those who are left behind. This country gets even bigger when you have to fly to such occasions.

Living far away from family sucks.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A HEADLONG RUSH TO DESTRUCTION

I am having a rather good time watching the Republican party implode. The screamers spitting out the lies they have been fed look and sound like deranged lemmings after sniffing crack. And they don't realize their handlers are raking in huge sums of money for giving them the lying talking points to yell about.

What I'm not happy about is how easily led so many people are, led by despicable and ruthless Republican politicians and handlers toward an abyss of lies, invention and misinformation, in an effort to mislead the vulnerable, the elderly and the simple to believe their government wants to knock off grandma and grandpa, among other stupid-ass ideas. They yell about "wanting my America back." What they rally mean is they want their WHITE America back.

If this isn't blatant and shameless racism, I don't know what is. I would not be surprised if the Republicans start handing out the white sheets. And when they do the last nail goes into the coffin.

Does this sound harsh? It's what I'm seeing and hearing on TV, and reading all over the Internet. I don't have to embellish this stuff. The wing nuts are prancing front and center. But I still believe the saner and more intelligent heads will prevail and eventually those who are moderate, thoughtful and concerned about the country and not just themselves will overcome the sideshow .

God, let's hope so.

Monday, August 10, 2009

PLEASE, MAKE HER GO AWAY!

For a year we have been sucked into listening to and reading the rantings of Sarah Palin. But this individual has had way more than her time in the spotlight and needs to go away and disappear from ever uttering a word in public.

She lacks intelligence (definition of stupid); is dense (implies an inability to understand simple facts); and is slow (a lack of quickness in comprehension and/or reaction.)
The woman cannot put together a coherent sentence, much less a thought. But she is quick on repeating Republican "talking points" and "sound bites" no matter how meaningless and inaccurate they are. And she has become really good at back-peddling.

Her latest ranting is about "a death panel" which would be included in President Obama's health care plan. Obviously such a thing is nowhere to be found in the proposed health care plan. Her comments are now being labeled as "crazy" by other conservatives. As a result she now says the debate should be civilized.

That's the problem with Sarah. Shout the lies repeatedly and when you are caught, back-peddle so you won't be blamed for uttering such nonsense.

I blame John McCain for this. He sicked this incredibly unqualified, self-absorbed, unintelligent, unworldly person on us and our collective angst continues as long as Palin opens her mouth in public.

"Palinology" - the science of opening your mouth and confirming that you paid absolutely no attention in class throughout all your schooling.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

QUEEN OF KLOTZES

As a kid I was pretty athletic. Played all the kids games: tag, dodge ball, stick ball, “half-ball," baseball, softball, touch football with my brother and his friends….they tried regular football but stunk at it. Besides they didn’t have a field to play on, just the street. And I climbed trees. I once climbed some kind of metal tower but I can’t recall how in hell I got to that. During college I played tennis and basketball.

So I expected to remain a ‘player’ as I got older. And I was…. for a while. But ‘tripping’ became a sport I was getting really good at. Senior year in college, the Friday before I started student teaching on Monday, I tripped getting out of a car and went down on both knees. There was nothing to trip over. Started student teaching with gobs of makeup smeared over the torn skin of both knees. Sixth graders can be so cruel.

During the first few months of marriage I tripped over the stove (trying to get a too huge turkey into it), tripped up the stairs to our third floor garret and tripped into the refrigerator when it was open. An inkling of how my life was going glimmered in the background.

Over the years I have ‘tripped’ over too many items to mention and over too many ‘nothing’s there’ to mention. It was becoming a comedy routine, earning me the nickname, “Queen of the Klotzes” bestowed on me by a myriad number of friends.

It happened again this morning while walking the dog…. tripped over a curb that was not there.

When asked to describe what sport I do best, I now say, “I trip over light beams.”

Thursday, August 6, 2009

STUPID ACTS-PART 1

How stupid does one have to be not to understand that texting while driving is hazardous to your health, let alone mine. The debate rages on here in Arizona whether to pass a law which prohibits texting while driving. So many are against passing the law....another way for government to get in your face. Well, stupid people, we wouldn't have to even discuss having a law if all you nuts would just stop doing it. It just doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's dangerous and that you have NO RIGHT to put my life in danger when you toodle down the highway with your eyes glued to your freakin' phones while you send meaningless and insignificant messages to your equally stupid friends.

It would be so much better if, before you leave the house, you check to see if your brain is present and in gear and then try to use it while driving.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

THE BIRTHERS ARE COMING AND THEY’RE USING THE SWIFT BOATS!

Viciousness has reared its ugly head and stupidity reigns supreme! A few nuts one can contend with. But this ‘birther’ conspiracy group has not only become obnoxiously vocal, they have grown in numbers to the point where everyone with an ounce of intelligence and who has the ability to read must be scratching his/her head and wondering how this group’s brains disintegrated into mulch.

Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959. Apparently, though, the ‘birthers,’ those who question President Obama’s legitimacy, never paid attention in history class! And they didn’t learn how to read, much less think. The State of Hawaii has produced the President’s birth certificate. The announcement of his birth was in the local paper.

And yet, there are those nuts who still think he was born somewhere else. But what is more galling is the way Republicans in Congress feed the paranoia. How can they not know how stupid they sound? Like the Swift Boaters lied about Senator Kerry, the birthers are lying about this issue. And the louder they scream, the more attention they get.

What are they snorting?

Saturday, August 1, 2009

DIDN'T YOU PAY ATTENTION IN ENGLISH CLASS?

When I was growing up my mother, who majored in English, corrected every misuse of speech that came out of my mouth. As a result I have tried to use words correctly. Since I worked in education, radio news broadcasting and in a law office in my earlier life, it was an absolute necessity that I speak clearly and correctly. I cringe today, though, when I hear people speak with mangled tongues.

There is an insurance commercial on TV now in which an actor uses the word (which is NOT a word) "alls," as in, "Alls I can say is...." What company/ad agency would let that get out to the public?

Then there are the news pundits who are obviously very shaky in grammar when they use the words "myself'' instead of "me" or "I;" or "yourself" instead of "you" as in "My friend and myself are going;" and "Someone such as yourself can do the job." You don't say "Myself is going." It doesn't take a genius to make the correction.

When letters came into the law office, inevitably there would be grammatical mistakes. How any self-respecting professional would allow a letter to be sent that way is beyond me. I had all I could do to stop from circling and underlining the mistakes in red pen and returning the letter to the sender with an admonition to go back to the fourth grade and listen this time!

Miss Fenwick would be proud of me!