Keeping The Strings Straight

Weighing in once again on a recent video snippet, taken out of context, to cast a negative light on the current POTUS:

1.   This country has been being ripped to pieces for decades. One can go back as far as one dares and what will be found over the last few decades are special interest groups out for their own narrow, self-centered purposes, basically getting more of whatever at the expense of others. And, no, I am not a communist. I have a healthy respect for capitalism but not the way a few people have lied, cheated and stolen their way into a financial gain at the expense of others, including the very lives of others. 

2.   Because of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, derogatorily known as Obamacare, I was able to purchase health insurance after being denied four years ago. For the record, I had COBRA coverage which I used for quarterly checkups (a necessity when one takes measured doses of poison --- a/k/a prescription drugs --- to control high blood pressure). Still, as the COBRA was about to expire, the same company that insured me before refused my application. The plans available under the PPACA are –

a.   like other health insurance plans. They either have networks or preferred provider directories, and their networks can be regional or multi-state. Generally, HMOs are network driven, are less expensive, and tend to disallow non-emergency charges outside the network. I have an HMO and have had no trouble seeing my PCP or getting referrals for specialists and even chiropractic care. My health care providers are part of a large health care system that is among the top ranked in the country. 

b.   affordable for those who need help paying the premiums. If this country can subsidize corporations who supposedly cannot afford to fail, pay inflated charges for faulty defense equipment that cause our soldiers to come home maimed, crippled or in a sealed box, finance choice dictators in other countries for the gain of their natural resources, or whatever, what’s a few dollars to get and keep American’s healthy?

c.  optional. For those who i) can afford to pay a full premium; or ii) remain vehemently opposed to the audacious idea of most, if not all Americans having access to health care, or just think affordable health care is beneath them, they can pay the full rate, off-market plans that, by the way, include in their offerings PPOs and the dreaded HMOs. As a matter of full disclosure, they also include open access plans.  (Anyone living in Texas can contact me for those rates as well, and good for you if you can afford them.)

Bottom line:  people will see the glass half empty if they don’t like the person holding the pitcher. They will see through a glass darkly, to steal a Biblical phrase, if their eyes are clouded by negativity. Mr. Obama’s tenure reminds me of a temporary assignment I once had in another lifetime. I was looked over at the outset and the assignment was given to someone else. After the pitifully inept woman made a mess, I was called in to clean it up. When after three days I was still trying to undo the woman’s damage, which she was given four weeks to create, people started grumbling and questioning my competence. Unlike Mr. Obama, I exercised the option of telling them what they could do with their assignment.  Of course, I was younger and had only a small modicum of diplomacy.  I would like to think that 30 years later I would have been more eloquent (though I was not fowl) and poetic when telling them what to do with that assignment.

A suggestion to all:  regardless of the camp in which you dwell --- Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Libertarian -- or even if your standing on the outside of them all like me, wondering what the heck is wrong with these people -- consider cleaning the filters of your mind's eyes.  When you buy into the most absurd representation, just because it casts the object of your disfavor in a negative light, you are allowing yourself to be used, misused and manipulated by others who are merely taking advantage of your negativity.  In short, you have become one of their puppets. 

Now, don't get your strings entangled -- you may fall and sustain injuries.  Then you'll have to seek medical care.  :)
  

Only in America

A. NOT-SO-RANDOM RANTS

1. In Fall 2008, I started this blog out of sheer frustration from listening to the pundits, talking heads, and frenzied crowds who were touting Sarah Palin as the next best hope. While I respect her supporters' right to take whatever stand they choose, please respect my right to say this: What absolute and utter nonsense.

POINT: Only in America can a lame-brained fast-talking woman of the paler nation quit a job in midstream and declare it a success, and go on to pursue bigger and better things with the support of so many because of her paleness, quasi decent look, and/or snappy eyeglasses, while being totally unable to construct a sentence that: a) is concise; b) is confined to one idea or concept; and c) is understood by persons of average intelligence who understand English, more so than by infants and toddlers whose vocabularies consist of two words.

2. When Bush 43 was elected President, he inherited a budget surplus. While some may argue this point, it is safe to say that the country's financial situation was definitely not what it was when he left the office.

POINT: Only in America can a man who could not be an effective owner of an oil company or a baseball team be charged with the responsibility of upholding the Constitution of the United States and carrying out its executive responsibilities.

3. Bush was given his second term of the Presidency by the Supreme Court, during which term he continued to sink this country in more debt with creative accounting to finance a war the purpose of which still begs justfication.

POINT: This country's economic woes did not begin on January 20, 2009. And many of the folks who profited from the war are long gone while at least one left behind an adult daughter who has taken to the airwaves, whining in defense of her father whose machinations are in part responsible for God only knows how many thousands of lost lives and broken families.

4. At a town hall meeting this week, a woman asked President Obama when he would restore the Constitution as our founding fathers intended it.

POINT: If the Constitution was restored as our founding fathers intended, Obama would never have become President of the United States, and millions of people, including this writer, would never have had the opportunity to vote for or against him, or anyone else.

5. The general election is long over and I am still being inundated with emails trying to convince me that the 44th POTUS is unqualified for office because he was not born in the United States.

POINT: I have no doubt that all who opposed Obama have overturned every rock, and peered in every nook and cranny for a way to discredit him, long before the first Tuesday of November 2008.

B. WHY THE BURR IN MY BUTT TODAY?

1. I have had my fill of hate/fear-mongering and negativity.

2. Obama is much more intelligent, more knowledgeable of the Constitution, and basically just more fit to the executive position than the imposter who just moved out of the Whitehouse.

3. Having been in a similar situation on a much tinier (microscopic) scale, I can identify with on of Obama's problems, and here is the first:

There are folks who are blinded by their on dislike of what comes natural for people like me, while they have to buy tanning-bed time and risk skin cancer to get it. Many of them don't have a clue, or perhaps are just unwilling to see their prejudice for what it is: prejudice. These are the same folks who hired the blond-haired, blue-eyed, pretty young thing who made a mess of the place, then called me to clean up the mess when the PYT didn't "work out."

And the second is this:

There are folks who are really miffed because their team did not win. Since I've never been a "party" person, I can say that some of my candidates won, some of my candidates lost, and some of my candidates were the victims of theft. (Yes, there was some thievery going on in Harris County, Texas on the first Tuesday of November 2008, and I'm not talking about the foreclosure sales -- I'm talking about the polls.) But now that the contests are over, factionalism will get in the way of any meaningful progress if we let it. Unfortunately, there are folks who stupidly pray for Obama's failure because their team didn't win. That's really stupid, since in the grand scheme of things, there is only one USA.

4. Bush 43 sacrificed how many lives in pursuit of what in Iraq?

5. And, dare I ask, was the pivotal point in the Bush 43 era -- "911" -- a domestic production? Or could it have been prevented?

C. NOW WHAT?

Search your heart. Look in the mirror and ask yourself:

1. Was 43 one of the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, or was he a few watts (or more) short? Come on, now. Didn't you sometimes hang your head in shame when you saw him on television?

2. What does Sarah Palin really have to offer other than gibberish?

3. Are the folks on Capitol Hill, regardless of party affiliation, trying to work together to formulate meaningful and effective legislation? (Okay, I know, there is the Pelosi factor [barf]).

4. Do you really think this Country is going to hell because the 44th POTUS looks a tad different from the first 43? Really? The truth be told, this Country has been in a downward spiral for a long, long time -- when it was solely controlled by people who don't look like me and who are not of my gender (you know, the rough drafts).

5. Look at your own elected representatives. Some have been around longer than you've been alive. Are you really that pleased with their service? Oh -- you didn't know they are there to serve you?

D. AND FINALLY --

I DO NOT SUPPORT ALL OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S POLICIES. For instance, even though I have been without health insurance for all of this century (sounds more dramatic than saying for the past 10 years), I am concerned about any attempt to eventually eradicate private health insurance. Am I saying this because I am a licensed insurance agent? Absolutely not! What I do believe is that we should have a choice. Right now, my choice for health insurance is something far beyond my budget, so I try (most of the time) to take care of the old 'bod and I budget for regular checkups (which for me, are quarterly, not annually).

FAMILY FEUD: Like it or not, there is but one United States of America. And just as in any family, we have disagreements. But at some point, the family unit has to come together -- to unite -- to move forward. Otherwise, the family unit disintegrates.

STILL, ONLY IN AMERICA can I write this blog without fear of my door being broken down and my being handcuffed/shackled, pushed into a vehicle with no interior door handles, hauled away to some dark, dank cell that smells of old urine and has a partition of tin behind which there sits a really nasty toilet.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I might get some strange looks when I go out tomorrow. That's okay. I have lived with strange looks all my life.

Tap Dancin' Like Sammy Davis, Jr.

I'm letting off steam on second hand ("hearsay" in the legal realm) talk. Did Joe The Plumber really say that he asked Obama a question and Mr. Obama tap-danced around it like Sammy Davis, Jr.? While I really get frustrated when folks don't answer questions (assuming they were well-phrased and an answer is possible -- even an "I don't know") -- even, especially my candidate of choice, why must Obama be described as having tap danced almost as good as Sammy Davis, Jr.??? Why couldn't Joe have said Fred Astair???

I am particularly miffed by black stereotypes. One can jump through all the hoops -- high school graduation (at or near the top of class, of course), college, graduate school, professional licenses, certifications, employment in demanding positions (sadly, still anomalies but admittedly not as sparse as in the past), an occasional promotion, blah, blah, blah, and the only way Joe is capable of analogizing the failure of:

• a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Universities (magna cum laude)
• a former professor at a top-ranked U.S. university (having taught, of all things, the very Constitution which he will swear to preserve, protect and defend)
• a presidential candidate whose political campaign runs like a well-oiled machine
• a man whose IQ, through logical deduction, most likely qualifies him to be a member of MENSA (perhaps Joe is unfamiliar with this organization)

to straightforwardly answer Joe's question, instead tap danced almost as good as Sammy Davis, Jr.???

How pathetically limiting one's nano-sized mind can be. And how very unfortunate this country is, to have had such types in authority. We have all suffered for it.

Perhaps there is time to undo the damage that has been done. Perhaps one day, more small-minded folks will learn to look beyond what they see and realize that every book should be opened and read for content. (It is assumed, of course that Joe is literate. Please see previous post: Why Johnny Can't Read). That's how we learned about Palin the Pathetic. She's not hard on the eye. And I really like some of those cute little outfits -- especially the jackets. On the other hand, when she opens her mouth, out comes the most incomprehensible driveler. Sooooo, she might be of the more desirable hue, one of the paler nation and all (if you have not read a previous post, for more about the paler nation I commend to you The Emperor of Ocean Park, authored by Stephen Carter), but my goodness, she talks like a movie's sterotypical dumb broad. The scary part about that is, unlike Obama tap dancin' around a question, Palin opens her mouth and all sorts of doggy doo, bird droppings -- I hope you get the point -- gush forth under the pressure of a fireman's water hose. As Colin Powell said on "Meet the Press" this morning -- we have read that Palin book for seven weeks, and it's not worth the paper on which it is printed.

Give me a tap dancin' Obama any day.

Oops -- I almost forgot to answer the question: Why couldn't Joe have said Fred Astair??? Because Joe is stuck on black. To people like Joe, the value of the darker nation rarely extends beyond entertainment. No offense to the late Mr. Davis and those he left behind.

John Lewis Should Not be Renounced, Denounced or Whatever

The only authentic African American of whom I know, is the son of an African man and an American woman.   While he is lumped in with all the rest of us members of the darker nation (if this term is unfamiliar to you, I commend you to Stephen Carter's The Emperor of Ocean Park), the timing of Barack Obama's birth excluded him from the experiences of folks like John Lewis.  

The problem is that John Lewis types exist.  The JLs of this country remind us of a time when folks were less accepting, less loving.    So many think they should take the superficial freedoms they have won and go away quietly, sink into a Lazyboy, channel surf and sip beer, watching endless hours of television -- guys chasing funny-shaped balls in open fields -- taunting, maiming, crippling, killing each other while audiences of sufficient number to populate small towns pay much too much money for the thrill of it all, and even more money for unhealthy food and drink --  until they die.

There are folks who think we should not remember the days when Americans of the darker nation, many times joined by Americans of the paler nation, subjected their bodies to billy clubs, well-trained dogs, fire hoses, jail cells smaller than my bathroom, nooses, and even the grave, to achieve what most Americans take for granted now.  And while the notorious acts of that era are no longer commonplace, let us not be disillusioned.   In many ways there is still a lack of acceptance. There is still a lack of love.   We see it and hear it all the time.  

Yes, the "N" word may be socially unacceptable, politically incorrect, or whatever.  But what about EXOTIC -- UNQUALIFIED -- OFF WITH HIS HEAD -- HE'S AN ARAB -- KILL HIM.   These words and phrases, no doubt uttered with venom and spittle spraying those nearby, reflect hatred that can be felt even through television.   I know, because I felt them.  And I felt the mob-type murmurings that followed -- felt them in my knotted gut.  And then I remembered what I saw on television decades ago.   Bodies plastered against buildings by the force of water from a fire hose.  Dogs barking and biting at flailing limbs.  Charred bodies, now faceless, hanging from trees that on any other day might be refuge from the sun.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., lying in a pool of his own blood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel.     These images, once viewed by this writer, who knows that but for the grace of God, could have been a subject of the photographer rather than a beneficiary of suffering, cannot be forgotten.  

A German-born Jewish American (too many labels for me, but necessary to make my point) works at a place I visit often.   During our last encounter I could tell that he was not having a good day.   It turns out that for the first time, he saw on television the night before, footage from the civil rights struggle of the 60s.   He expressed shock, dismay and disgust, having had no idea of what happened during that time, and confessed that it was nothing that he was exposed to in school; and because those events happened during his lifetime, they were in some ways even worse for him than the Holocaust.  We both agreed that neither of those events should be forgotten.  Their lessons are far too important for either to be glossed over.  If our kids can watch the gore and violence produced by television and movies, and can play video games fraught with purposeless violence, why must they be shielded from the reality of the 60s?

So I ask you, does John Lewis not have a right to remind us of the dangers of inflammatory speech?  Is it an okay thing for a speaker to evoke such language, but not okay to speak of the dangers of one doing so?  No.  Should we forget the struggles and sacrifices of the 60s?  No.  Should the JLs of the world be required to act as if their experiences are meaningless and forgotten?  No.  Should we all make sure those events are not repeated, even if it means dredging them up again to remind us?  What do you say?  I say YES, and that is my final answer.

Rather than renounce John Lewis, we should thank him for reminding us of the oppressive barbarism of the 60s and those who fought to overcome it.  

Why I Support THAT ONE -- Part II

I already knew we had gone to the dogs. But now folks don't even care to clothe their negativity, disdain, hatred, whatever you want to call it, in a modicum of courtesy and pseudo respect. (Even in Congress they refer to each other as the distinguished gentleman.) As I watched the "debate" on Tuesday evening (7 October), I observed the other guy point to and refer to my candidate of choice as THAT ONE as if he were identifying a defendant sitting at a table in a courtroom, on trial for his life. (Have you ever wondered how many folks [and I am sure there are many] who, lying, pointed to a defendant and identified him as the perpetrator of whatever crime, but who was truly innocent, and who later was MURDERED [okay -- most folks would say executed] for something he did not do? Just curious. Sorry -- I digress.)

As I write this, I cannot remember which lie the other guy was telling at the time; but I remember my indignation, and my candidate's calm demeanor. The other guy seemed to be on a rant. Perhaps he envisioned having stepped into some kind of muck and was reaching for a lone twig to grasp in hopes of pulling himself out. I supposed he thought my candidate would jump in the muck with him and they would both be too dirty and foul to be distinguishable. Not so. My candidate did not go there. In fact, the other guy spends a lot of time uttering my candidate's name in conjunction with junk, some twisted, some taken out of context, some exaggerated, and some just blatant lies.

Is my candidate a saint? Does he waste time talking about what's-his-name? Does he ever speak of the other guy in derogatory terms? Has he ever questioned the other guy's patriotism? Not at all. Not very much. Nope. Not that I have ever heard.

I support Mr. Obama -- THAT ONE -- because he is THE ONE who treats his opponent -- the other guy -- with dignity and respect -- whether the other guy deserves it or not.

Palin the Pathetic - Part I

For those of you are at least of average intelligence -- male or female -- despite your political leanings in one direction or another -- surely you must be as embarrassed as I about having this woman take the stage in a major political arena. She has energized the Republican Party. She is fresh. She is new. She's a hockey mom. What is the big deal with that? She is ill-read -- ill-informed -- in no way articulate -- an airhead. Okay -- each of those is a really big deal.

In my earlier years I worked with women like Palin. They had the look. The packaging was okay, but the product sucked. (You know how it is when you buy a hugh bag of potato chips and it's only a quarter full -- and there's a little message on the back of the bag: THIS PRODUCT IS SOLD BY WEIGHT, NOT BY VOLUME.)

When I was a purchasing agent in the late 1970s I requested a "temp" to help me overhaul what was supposed to be my files, which I inherited, of course, from some inept Palin-looking person. Who did they send me? Another Palin lookalike. The next day she did not show up, nor did she phone in. When I called the agency and expressed my disappointment, after an empty apology I was told that they had someone else but she was definitely "backroom" material. I asked: Can she type? Can she file? Does she speaking English? The answers: yes, yes, and yes. Well send her! The woman who came was not a Palin cutout; instead she was a plain-looking, middle-aged Asian, who followed my instructions precisely and left me with a set of organized files that brought me a added dimension of efficiency.


So what? Can you imagine the thousands -- hundreds of thousands -- of woman and men -- who are denied opportunities for which they are well qualified -- because they are considered backroom material -- while the Palins of the world -- inept, unintelligent, inarticulate though they are -- get to be not just mayor of a tiny town, but governor of a state. And stupidly, rather than surround herself with folks who are intelligent, articulate, competent and capable of doing a job -- hands out perky positions to her high school buddies?



And folks wonder why I am supporting Mr. Obama.

Coming Out of the Closet

I have missed very few opportunities to cast a ballot in the past 36 years. I think I voted a straight ticket once and was plagued by the guilt of not considering each candidate individually. There are some schools of thought that not aligning oneself with a particular party dilutes the power of one's vote. I am not ready to concede that point.

When Barack Obama first announced his candidacy for president of the United States I said to myself that man must be out of his mind. And then there was Iowa. I stopped looking at the color of his skin and started listening to what he had to say. When I looked at the other candidates on both sides, I decided to support Mr. Obama.

So, there it is, for all of my friends and acquaintances -- liaberal, conservative, Black, White, Hispanice, Asian, Christian, heathen, heretic, creationists, evolutionists, and everyone else. I am supporting Barack Obama. Oh -- perhaps you thought I would support Mr. Obama because he is half black? Well, does that mean that I have supported everyone else for whom I voted because he or she is all white? Just for the record, I make sure to vote AGAINST Shelia Jackson Lee every chance I get.

Okay -- I've outed myself. Wait until you see what I have to say about what's-her-name -- Palin the Pathetic.