Archive for October, 2007

In an speech to the State Department on Cuba, the President called for support to help Cubans prepare for a democratic transition.

When questioned on the timing of this speech, the President was cited as being “aggressive” about Cuban and responded that he was “aggressive about promoting human rights”.

What happens to human rights as applied to those people accused of terrorist crimes? What happened to “innocent until proven guilty” ? Why does he support torture-like interrogation tactics? Where does “support of human rights” come into play when talking about how the US performs?

The perception of the US by foreign governments has gone from admiration of our high standards to disgust with our perversity and the too obvious double standard our government is operating under.

We want fair treatment for US Citizens in other countries — treatment that matches our laws and rights given us by our Constitution, but we don’t want to apply those same laws and rights to non-citizens within our own country. Until we change that; apply our laws and the very tenents upon which this country was founded to EVERYONE, we have no right to ask much less demand that other countries treat our soldiers and citizens who are in their country and who have violated their laws any differently.

Grow up George — quit being a bully.

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I’ve been mulling this over for some time now — there’s something about the push for “insurance for the uninsured” that is striking a discord in my mind.

I’m not totally against insurance — but I do think that it’s a scheme that only makes money for the insurance companies and/or their investors and really doesn’t save the consumer anything.

I mean, stop and think about it. Someone has to be paying for the services you receive when you go to the doctor and the insurance pays for the visit. It may be that it’s your own premiums paid in over the course of years that provides the funds (if you’re relatively healthy at any rate) or it could be someone else’s premiums that are funding those services. It’s certainly NOT the insurance company OR it’s investors!

It’s really sad that we (self included here) do not have the self discipline to take that insurance premium money and put it away in a savings account instead of giving it to an insurance company for them to take a chunk of it for themselves and their investors. I know it’s the American way, but that doesn’t make it the smart way.

All this talk of life insurance for kids is just a way for the government (read we, the taxpayers) to pay an insurance company to manange those dollars, negotiate a lower fee for the services provided and set up all these rules that limit those services to ensure their investors are paid top dollar for their investments!

Isn’t there a better way???

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A post or two ago, I wrote about people with their hands out. Well, this post is about someone who is extending a helping hand to another.

Drew has extended a helping hand to a couple who are battling cancer in their lives. Becky Machinski and her husband Mike have both had battles with Cancer. Becky has been Cancer free for some time but Mike is still battling. The Machinskis have three beautiful little girls who have had to pack up their lives to go where their mother and father could get treatment. They do not complain and are very sweet. The family has, in essence spent all of their savings and income on getting both Mike and Becky well. They cannot get insurance and so the rising cost of Mike’s treatments compounded over the years has been astronomical. The Machinski’s keep an online journal, with updates on Mike’s condition. He has had over 120 radiation treatments since 2004. Suffice it to say the family could use a little financial help.

Drew’s trying to get them some help in the form of a calendar he’s created of the beautiful photographs he’s taken over the year, that the profits from the sales of which will be donated to the Machinskis at Drew’s Reunion in November. Please help Drew out by purchasing a calendar. They’re beautiful, reasonably priced and will help someone who needs it.

I bought one. Why don’t you?

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I am a HUGE Beatles fan and have the opportunity to win an album that I’ve been coveting. So, here is my entry in this contest.

A positive echo in the void.
It sighs, it laughs, it repeats.
More than silence, less than voice
Am I the source of this noise?

Silence is eloquent.
Words left unsaid do not hurt
And the arms of love ward off
The noise of yesterday.

You owe me no apologies
for things you left unsaid.
Don’t try to say them now.
Just walk away.

I have a number of things I must tell you.
But I can’t seem to find a way
My eyes meet yours of cornflower blue
And I forget all I wanted to say.

So I will begin with saying
Things I think you should know.
Not that anything will be swaying
Your mind which is set just so

I think of culture
and studied hopelessness
and careful optimism
and settle on apathy

I sit here meditating on what I could say
that would ever reach you, Mr. President.
I don’t believe you can relate, sir,
to what the world’s people are enduring.

I wouldn’t have done it that way
Seems quite a tedious chore
I’m all for the old fashioned way.
These flowers were running riot in my yard
So I thought I’d bring them to you
To prove I’m no blackguard, only a blowhard
With these mums, in my heart, admiration doth imbue

They are beaten, they are battered, they are bruised.
They are caged, they are killed, they always seem to lose.
These precious dogs have often done no harm.
They can’t help themselves; they look to us to keep them safe and warm.
How can we stand by letting sweet dogs die?
Their biggest challenge is simply to stay alive.
Adopt one, hug one, love one, do….
The biggest reward is that they will love you too…

Mama
A smile that makes all things better.
A touch that takes pain, gives love.
A healing word that saves the day.
Unconditional love.

She brought me a pet, a very strange pet,
for it was an anaconda snake!
When Carl went to pet him,
I called out, “You better watch out, he bites!

I can’t always understand
Russia’s black ingratitude for what it’s become.
When it rose, out of the ashes of communism,
didn’t we capitalists take it under its wing?
And if that led to the oligarchs, who spend Russia’s wealth buying football teams,
and a falling life expectancy, and dissatisfied youth,
well, then they must still be commies.

Keep trying to move on,
While reaching out for my old life,
Have to cut all of the strings,
I can’t be your future as his wife.

You open your eyes.
You see what’s there
It was there all along
the words of this song