Time to Make My Mark!

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advertising, Election 2012, Entertainment, life in the meadow, lifestyle, Madison Avenue, Mitt Romney, Occupy Wall Street, Politics, Women's issues

I hate to tell you this, but I’m approaching 62.

Frightening, I know.

One wants, or at least I think one wants to leave some sort of legacy in the world. It may be as mothers, or wives, or corporate raiders, but we want something.

I came to the conclusion that for some people, the only avenue for that is eccentricity.

Not the type that comes from a Madonna or Lady GaGa. That is an eccentricity molded to build a career upon. Nothing wrong with it, but different.

There is the type that is simply inborn–the six-year-old who is determined to wear the most outlandish of wardrobes as a statement of independence from the herd. This is life-long and extends to an outlook that is askew in every respect upon the world at large.

No, I’m talking about the “I’m gettin’ old and I want to be noticed” kinda eccentricity. It is the eccentricity that results in a yard full of “lawn ornaments” of every size and shape. It causes one to paint one’s house with polkadots, or drive a scooter at age 80. It causes people to wonder, “has she tipped” or is she just being eccentric? And the trick is, you never let them get the answer. You smile, you wink, you whistle, and you move on.

Trouble is, I now live in a place where eccentricity is pretty much taken as the norm. There are plenty of examples around Troy. When too many are eccentric, well, they are NORMAL. And that defeats the entire purpose.

Problem too, is I don’t have any idea of what to do to be eccentric. I could collect salt and pepper shakers, but heck, nobody would know. I could engage in expert bird and animal mimicry, but who would hear? I could wear nothing but things I knit, but, whoa, I think that has already been done by Carla at the Dam Bar up town. I’m stymied, you see.

How to make my mark in New Mexico? How to stand out from the crowd and be recognized as a true “free spirit”. See, that is what I yearn for. To be the person everyone wishes they had the guts to be if they had the time.

If you have any suggestions, and you guys seldom do, I’d appreciate it. I’m collecting bird feathers. I have a lot of them. Well, not a lot, lot, but a lot if you don’t have ANY. I have a lot then. Can I do something with them that would be eccentric? Quick. Set me on my path before senility sets in and I’m eccentric without realizing it. That would be unfortunate, and defeat the purpose. Do you see? Or am I being eccentric?

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I think the GOP race has now reached it nadir. It is a huge bore now.  They slog on, and the same rhetoric, the same crap will be resurrected in the state of South Carolina. *Yawn*. For a political blogger, like moi, this is not good news. Or am I being eccentric?

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I suppose I could write short stories and write them intentionally badly. Would I know I was writing them so? Or do I write badly and think I don’t, now? It can get quite confusing in my head at times. It may be that I am on to something. Or am I being eccentric?

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One of the drawbacks to having the ability to record television for later watching, is that in February I’m still watching Jared ads for Christmas chocolate diamonds. God they are awful aren’t they? And those Target girls romping in fake snow with their perky little mittens. An innovation in recording would be to do it minus the ads. But then, sigh, an hour, would be 52 minutes, and 30 would be 22, and how can one order one’s life without  strict adherence to 30 and 60 minute segments. I mean all of life is rationed this way. It would be too bold. Or am I being eccentric?

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If you have nothing much to think about today:

 “they” does not agree with a singular, gender-neutral referent by the single feature of number, “he” also does not agree with its singular, gender-neutral referent by the single feature of gender.”

Got that? Well it refers to the statement:

  I saw someone, but I don’t think they saw me.”

Up until about 200 years ago, they was correct, even though someone is singular. But it was changed to “he” and is now claimed to be generic which it is not. It’s he. So should we change back? I actually think I’m being a bit eccentric here, now.

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 When is redistribution good?

As the New York Times points out.

The OWS says that we are sick and tired of the 1% redistributing all wealth only to the top.

The 1% calls this a call for “redistributing wealth”.

 Or is it merely returning it to the lawful owners?

Surely, I’m being eccentric now.

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Maureen Dowd has a rather fun little piece about our Mittens.  And there is no eccentricity about that at all.

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The Anatomy of a Movement

Tags

corporate America, economics, editorial, Occupy Wall Street, OWS

The Occupy Wall Street movement continues. And those of us who are sympathetic, and in fact feel connected to those who camp in New York and cities throughout the land, hope that their determination does not flag.

The Right heaps all manner of garbage on the movement, demanding a “manifesto” which if given, would only cause them to proclaim that this was nothing more than a communist plot. Claims that various groups, Acorn, Van Johnson, George Soros, and all the usual suspects are put forth to wild-eyed wingnut TeaNutz® reassuring them that they are true patriots while these “unwashed” protestors are anarchists who “hate democracy.”

Of course, other than their soul-dead followers, the Right’s arguments fall on deaf ears. The average American is inclined to look favorably upon those who claim as their mantra, “we are the 99%.”

There is no manifesto, precisely because this collection of dissatisfied Americans, come from all walks of life, with all manner of complaint. For some it is unemployment, but even that is divided between older workers and just-graduated youth. There are those who are burdened by college loan debt and see no way to ever pay it back. There are those who are losing homes through foreclosure caused by Wall Street machinations that most certainly were illegal. Then we have those who have found their pensions looted and those who are facing cuts in medical care and wages in order to hold on to the lousy job they do have.

There is in fact, no end to the complaints. The bottom line: This country no longer works for the vast majority of Americans. People no longer expect that they will do better than their parents, or that their kids will do better than them. Hope is failing, and when hope fails, people get ready to march.

Most of these folks, including myself, are far from proficient in economics. I know the barest amount about supply-side crap, and free markets and all that mumbo-jumbo. I know almost no more about Keynesian theories. I don’t know if Adam Smith had it right. But I do know this, that the economics of the last thirty years or so doesn’t work for me.

It doesn’t work for most people. It seems to work really really well for the rich. It seems to work really really well for corporations. While the rest of us flounder and worry about how we will get by, the massive corporations literally cannot get up from the table, they are so bloated with profits. And a nice portion of that is bled off to the suits in massive salaries and stock options.

Being the lawyer that I used to be, I realize the point about corporate person-hood. In terms of civil law, that declaration allows the little guy to sue the corporation for all manner of tortious behavior. (Of course the current SCOTUS has worked really hard to limit their liability to peanuts.) But that was the point, originally.

It was never envisioned by anyone that corporations would be granted this status in order to allow them to use their unlimited resources to back the candidate that was prepared to be their “spokesperson” in the government. Anyone who thinks this is not what they are doing is simply brain dead.  Corporations have no other reason to give to candidates unless they expect favorable legislation in return. Citizens United in a sense really just brought this out in the open and made “buying the candidate” part of  business as usual in America.

A superb article The Politics of the Poor, explains the movement and what we should and should not expect at this point. I thought a tweet they included said it best:

“Lots saying #ows should occupy Pennsylvania Ave instead of Wall St. Eh? Why speak to middle management when you can go straight to the boss?”)

This is a clarifying statement. It shows that what is clear in the movement, is who is the enemy. While the President may be moving too slow, and Congress not at all, they are not the target here. You hear almost nothing in interviews with protestors about party affiliation.

There  is a recognition that what has gone wrong here is that corporate America, indeed global corporations are close to literally controlling all world governments, if they don’t already.

It’s unclear what these CEO’s who of course, with their boards, ARE the corporations, expect will happen. Do they expect people to just take it? Do they anticipate that they will through armed force make folks do the work at slave wages, living in slums, with poor food and water and air? Do they expect to live in bubbles themselves on islands? They seem to.

Ironic. Corporations, who we think are always looking far down the road in planning, seem to have no end game. Or not realize that it must inevitably blow up.

I find it illogical. But then I find the TeaNutz® illogical.

What about you?

Stop the Presses!!!

Tags

American History, David Barton, economics, evangelicals, gay rights, GOP, homophobia, Humor, Michele Bachmann, Occupy Wall Street, Rick Perry

Okay, Herm’s 9-9-9 economic “plan” may be a little short on  rational theory, but that doesn’t mean that the GOP candidates are devoid of ideas.

In fact, Ricky (oops, I almost got my foot out of my mouth now) Perry, has probably solved our jobs problem all by himself.

And when you think about it, it just makes perfect sense. He’s been teasing us for weeks with his economic recovery plan, tossing us morsels like the dancing dogs he views us as.

Well, another morsel, but this one is very substantial. He says the way to create one million “good paying American jobs” is simply this. Wait for it. . . .

MAKE WHAT AMERICANS BUY AND BUY WHAT AMERICANS MAKE!!!

Wow, now that is so, well, just sensible. It’s so easy. It’s so obvious. It’s so “the American Way”.

So all we need to do folks is start making porn flicks by the zillions and open up about another 100,000 Mickey D’s. Damn, I coulda had a V-8!

Good grief, I’m so glad we have InTeaLek-suls like Ricky around to save the day.

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Jim Morin is a political cartoonist for the Miami Herald. Here are a couple of his latest:

Or perhaps this one:

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Thanks to Joe.My.God. we have this gem:

Um, Mark, confession is good for the soul. Thanks for sharing. You might want to try video games. I think that keeps both of your hands occupied in less dangerous pursuits.

“Masturbation can be a form of homosexuality because it is a sexual act that does not involve a woman. If a man were to masturbate while engaged in other forms of sexual intimacy with his wife then he would not be doing so in a homosexual way. However, any man who does so without his wife in the room is bordering on homosexuality activity, particularly if he’s watching himself in a mirror and being turned on by his own male body.” – Pastor Mark Driscoll of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church.

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It would make you laugh, if it didn’t make you cry:

Paul Krugman’s editiorial in the NYTimes.

And since economic policy has to deal with the world we live in, not the fantasy world of the G.O.P.’s imagination, the prospect that one of these people may well be our next president is, frankly, terrifying.

And rational people are considering voting for any one of these morons?

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Oh my God. Texas is working hard at leading the nation in having the dumbest kids in America. David Barton, pseudo “historian” and all around Christianist NUT, has written a textbook suitable for grades 6-12.

It has been reviewed by a real expert in the field of history and constitutional law. You can read all about it here. You can read the entire review here.

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Our only girl candidate left (damn you Sarah, I was counting on YOU!), Michele is getting the blow back. I have been waiting for this for YEARS.

 I mean, take Phyllis Schafley for instance. That rotten old crow spent a life time making a living at going around telling other women that they  belonged at home tending to the fire and pointing their toes at the ceiling in the bedroom. She reassured men that they were right that their “wimmin” needed nothing more than an apron and a SUV to drive the kids to football practice and “Miss Princess” contests. Never mind that the wacked out woman was being “motivational speaker” and EX-EC-U-TIVE director of all things Stepford Wives.

I ticked me off that nobody ever called her for it and ordered her back to the kitchen. (no doubt her hubby had long since told her to point her toes at the floor in the bedroom.)

So along comes Missy Michele with all her “husbands are heads of the family” and “My Marcus told me to go to tax school, so I did” crap. Wait for it.

Finally!

It seems that some evangelical pastors are takin’ a cotton to Missy being a candidate for president. It’s unseemly they say. She has been keeping them waiting, and that’s what men do, not women. And worse yet wimmin are really supposed to be in “EX-EC-U-TIVE positions are they? And will Muslim leaders even talk to her?

Sometimes Missy, ya can’t have your cake and eat it too. Just sayin’.

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The Blaze wants you to know:

• The OWS movement continues to stay in the park, but since “some” Democrats have expressed sympathy with the movement, “they” probably have pressured NY to let them stay. Reuters has “suspiciously” backed off it’s claims that George Soros is financing the event, so therefore that must be true as well.
• Mormon haters can hide behind the skirts of Rush Limbaugh who assures all religions bigots that Romney isn’t a real conservative anyway.
• The Blaze was right there with cameras running when the OWS turned violent. The picture they chose to represent this is a cop with a billy club with his hand at the throat of a protester, who has his arms raised as in “I give up.” The other photo is of a protester run over by a cop on a bike. (Is your Editor at the Blaze all of 4 years of age?)
• Oh and the Ayatollah in Iran supports the OWS. Well there ya go. Need we say more?
•  

What This World Needs is a Good Shirley Temple

Tags

"Mittens" Romney, Barney Frank, Constitution, corporate America, economy, environment, Eric Cantor, Humor, Judeo-Christianity, Newt Gingrich, Occupy Wall Street, wacko media

Hey it worked in the 30’s. Or so they tell me. I have no personal knowledge. I’m not that old. I refer to those old reels of celluloid to inform me.

Back in the 30’s this country, like today, was reeling from pessimism. The economy sucked and people had lost faith. So, those great minds in the country told Hollywood to get on board, and make lots of feel-good movies.

And they did. And Shirley saved America.  We just need another Shirley is all. Simple.

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Having saved the world before noon, let us move on. Did you know that back in the 20’s and 30’s that corporate Amerika fought Child Labor laws tooth and nail? Did you know that the first act passed by Congress, the Keating-Owens Act, was struck down by the US Supreme Court as a constitutional infringement on a child’s right to contract his or her own labor?

Do rational people believe that anything has changed in Corporacracy? The GOP continues to blame the economic woes of the country on “regulation” of business by Democrats. They assure us that our Corporate benefactors will “do the right” thing when it comes to safe working conditions, safe products, and otherwise fair business practices.

How low does your IQ have to be to believe that? Does anyone remember the company town? Does anyone remember the Triangle Shirtwaist fire? Does anyone remember GM strikers being attacked and beaten by corporate goons?

Yeah, I sure believe that the Koch brothers are lookin’ out for me. Sure I do.

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Just how clearly does our Constitution follow the commandments of the Christian faith? Beeryblog has a post you better darn read if you want to know. It’s an eye-opener.

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Don’t know if you heard or not, but Gingrich called for the arrest, trial and imprisonment of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd as the ” real perpetrators” of the economic collapse in this country. When the moderators suggested that that was said tongue-in-cheek- surely, Newt the Toot, doubled down and assured everyone that he meant every word of it.

Barney Frank responded with this:

“I wish I knew that he was willing to listen to my advice, I would have given him some: I would have told him not to impeach Clinton, I would have told his successors not to go to war with Iraq, and I would have told DeLay not to go on the dance show. He’s been having a bad year, you know — this self-styled intellectual leader of the free world struggling to stay ahead of Michele Bachmann in the polls is unsettling him so he talks even sillier than he sometimes does.”

H/T to Joe.My.God

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The nutz on the right continue to not know what the willies to do about the Occupy Wall Street phenom. Eric (everybody’s nerdish little brother) Cantor has gone from calling them “mobs” to folks who are folks who are “justifiably frustrated.” Read how Cantor tries to backtrack and still manage to tell everyone how different this group is from his beloved (let me kiss your feet) TeaNutz®.

As the movement grows across the country, the GOP is rethinking its initial condemnation of “all those dirty hippies” and “anarchists” who are out to “divide our country” and “pit Americans against Americans”. It’s a fun thing to watch I gotta admit.

And Herm, I would be guessin’, ain’t going anywhere near the “mobs” with his “stop whining and get a job” routine.

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If you need another primer on the economy, Robert Reich has that for you in seven lies about the economy that are being pushed by the Right. 

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A couple of nice finds at Political Irony. The first is a Democratic website where you can go and watch Mitt (somebody called me Mittens and I thought that was cute) Romney flippin’ and floppin’ on a huge number of issues. All out of his own mouth. Go here for that.

Or go here for late night humor.

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There’s two guys chasing after one brain-cell award: Beck interviewing Hank Williams Jr. on his being fired from ESPN for being just plain too stupid to exist. Of course you get that Blaze, so no link is required. You would not want to read it after all.

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Did you know that erasers have magical properties? Well they do. Whatever they erase, ceases to exist. At least on planet TEX-ASS. You see, for years TEXAS has contracted with Houston Advanced Research Center to report on the state of Galveston Bay. And they did so this year. And the water levels are rising, and the scientists said it was important proof of climate change and human causation.

References to the rising water and projections of future rising were simply erased by Rick’s boys and girls who don’t care for that kinda stuff. It’s all a left-wing hoax didn’t ya know?

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I’m living in a land somewhere west of Andromeda this day. I awoke to a husband who out-of-the-blue and for no-definable-reason, offered to cook dinner. I had a roast out defrosting and he said, “save it until tomorrow, I’ll go down and get the liver and fix that. I know you don’t like to cook liver.”

I immediately began looking around for MY husband. But I’m thinkin’ I may keep this imposter around, at least until after that liver is cooked. I do love me some liver ‘n onions on occasion.

 

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