When stubbornness becomes dangerous

I understand stubbornness. I’m as stubborn as they come. If someone repeatedly tells me that I have to do something, I just HAVE to, you can bet that I will not do it just because I don’t like to be told that I have to do something. That is why I have never seen “Titanic” and I have yet to read any of the Harry Potter books. (I’ll eventually cave on the latter...I’ve read too many good things about them, and people whose opinions I value vouch for them quite vehemently. But not yet. I’ve got too many other books I want to read first.)

So I really do get people digging in their heels and refusing to compromise.

What I cannot understand, however, is digging in your heels because of some stupid ideology that has been repeatedly shown to be false, especially when the result of your intransigence is the risk of ruining the good name and credit rating of your own country.

That is what I’m seeing from the Repub leadership lately. Boehner, McConnell, and especially Cantor have shown themselves to be uncompromising and two-faced, refusing to budge one inch on their bizarre ‘no new taxes’ mantra. Boehner has been more willing to compromise, but then turns around and accuses the President of being unwilling to do so. I won’t go into details of the numbers, and what the President has been willing to agree to but has been refused by the Repubs; I won’t go into the reality of how our tax rates are the lowest ever, despite the Repubs saying that our President is obsessed with raising taxes; but when the President proposed extensive budget cuts, even to some programs that someone like myself has a real problem with him cutting, the Repubs walk away and refuse to discuss it. Why? Because Obama is asking for shared sacrifice, asking for a slightly higher tax rate among the richest 2% in the country. This is apparently unacceptable to the Grover Norquist asskissers in our government. A majority in the country—well over 60%—accept a combination of spending cuts and tax increases as the best solution to our economic woes. The Repubs ignore that, and go merrily about their business of totally fucking over our country.

This just boggles my mind. Corporations are sitting on record profits, and the Repubs continue to stick to their guns (so to speak) and say that this will hurt job creation. What universe are they living in? Seriously? Businesses have lots of money, and they are not investing in workers. Cutting their taxes will not change that. DEMAND drives job creation. Allowing the irresponsible Bush tax cuts to expire for the richest, while leaving them in place for the middle class, will allow revenues to increase and put more money in the pockets of the millions of middle class Americans, which they will then spend on goods and services which will then drive up demand which will then result in job creation. This is not rocket surgery, people. I’m no economist, and even I get it.

But not the Repubs. No. They continue to support the corporations and the CEOs who are raking money in hand over fist. They continue to cling to this stupid Norquist pledge (Why do they kiss this guy’s ass? I’d love to know.) and ignore economists’ predictions and analysis of what is going on in our country. They call for less regulation for Wall Street, when those greedy assholes are some of the main players in what got us into this economic mess in the first place.

I rue the day that I ever registered as a Repub and I regret every vote I ever cast for one. I’m even to the point where I’m sick of Dick Lugar, a moderate if there ever was one, and will vote for Joe Donnelly against him (if Lugar survives the teabagger candidate who is running against him in the primaries) in one of my Indiana Senate races.

A deal looks closer tonight than it has recently, but I find it absolutely ridiculous that the Repubs were so puerile and juvenile that they brought us to this point. The world is watching, and the world is worried. It might be hard for some to comprehend, but our economy affects the entire world. A default on our loans would be disastrous, and I am pissed at any Repub who thinks it would be okay. Get over losing the election to Obama and get to work. Address our problems rather than ignoring them, and stop politicizing this entire negotiation. I know you don’t want our President to have a second term. But if you want to win it, do it legitimately and stop screwing over the middle class and our entire country.

Mmm-kay?

The Have-Nots

I talk to my folks at least once a week, just to find out how they're doing, family news, etc. Of course, we usually end up talking about current affairs, and yesterday was no exception. When I was talking with Dad, after the requisite Notre Dame hoops discussion and a little talk of the "Octo-Mom" (Why does that always make me think of Doc Oc?) and her freaky lips, we ended up on the economy.

A lot of things with the economy and some of the criticisms of our new administration have been weighing on my mind lately, and it's always good to talk with Dad. There are some things that I don't think we'll ever agree on, and I usually end up saying, "You know I don't agree with you on that" and we move on. It's cool. In what was a major coup for me, yesterday Dad had to admit that President Clinton did some good things with welfare reform. *gasp* I know!

In watching the coverage of the C-PAC and various news stories, as well as things I've been reading on the Interwebs, what strikes me the most about the GOP and the conservative right is how incredibly cynical they've become. Whether it's that gasbag Limbaugh saying that he hopes Obama fails (and cut the spin, Limbaugh...you said it, and you meant it), Palin calling the Defenders of Wildlife a "fringe" group, or the continued denial of any culpability on their part for our current situation, the GOP seems like a bunch of grumpy old men.

I'm not unrealistic. As Dad and I were discussing yesterday, I realize that there will always be greed, and people who try to play the system. Even Dad agrees that a completely unfettered market is part of what got us into this mess and that there has to be some government oversight going forward. But while so many on the right seem to think the worst of humanity, I have always tried hard to see the best. It's not always easy, and there are times that I really have to work at it...but for the most part, I believe that if you raise the bar people will rise to meet and exceed it. I believe that the majority of people want to work; I believe that the majority of people love their country and want her to succeed; and I believe that the majority of people are willing to help their fellow citizens in a time of hardship.

Why is it so hard to believe that there are people out there that might have the greater good in mind and be willing to do their part, and more? And I believe they should. When Ken and I heard Mike Huckabee speak last fall, he spoke of his belief that a flat tax is what our country needs. That seems like a decent idea in theory, but it doesn't hold up because it ignores proportion. Look at it this way...say there's a flat tax of 25%. (I don't know the exact number that Huckabee proposes.) Someone making $2 million a year is going to have $1.5 million after taxes. The person making $20,000 a year will be left with $15,000. I don't know about you, but I could sure support a family a lot easier with one and a half mil than I could with $15 grand. The millionaire should pay more. That's not being penalized for working hard and being successful--it's realizing that you're in a better position than most and being willing to help your fellow citizens who are less fortunate. And for God's sake, you've still got one and half million in your bank account!

We have a long history of philanthropy in our country. Philanthropy doesn't need to be the domain of billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. We can all recognize that we are in dire straits in our country and if we are in the position to do so, we can do our part, even if it's a small one.

One final thing. Is it really necessary to ridicule President Obama's heritage and name by calling him things like Nobama and Obamessiah? Isn't that a tad bit junior high? Even as President Bush showed himself to be increasingly incompetent and dragged us all down into the quicksand with him, I still referred to him as President. (Although I have to admit that one of the funniest nicknames for him that I saw was The Evil Shrub.) Sorry, but if you keep calling our President "Obamalamadingdong" and continue to reference the "street monkeys" who voted for him, you've lost your non-racist cred with me.

Ghouls, and ghosties, and long legged beasties

I hope everyone had a good day, and has all kinds of ghoulish fun planned for tonight! I anticipate that we'll be watching a scary movie tonight, and next up on our playlist is "Thirteen Ghosts." I hope it's good and creepy. We don't get trick or treaters out here, so we won't need to worry about that. If a stray one shows up, we'll just give them a bottle of wine. We have a little stash.

As Mark would say, I keed, I keed.

Wow, what a gorgeous day! I didn't even have to wear a jacket when I went to the store. I got my errands run, arranged for a delivery, then spent a little time getting some bulbs planted. Some hyacinths and some little ones called...snowdrops? Not sure, but they come up pretty early. I remembered! Glory of the Snow! I don't know if any of them will make it--I should have planted them last year, but for whatever reason didn't get to it. I only planted a couple of dozen, so it wasn't too bad. One year, I got a whole bunch of bulbs free from some bulb catalog and ended up planting 150. That about did me in, so I'll stick with the lower number!

Back to the horror thing. I got an email from my uncle today. (sigh) I love him to pieces, but I'm at a loss. This is the uncle who sent me some stuff a while back about Obama, and I wrote back and responded to some of the erroneous information in the forwarded email, and asked him to not send me that stuff anymore. He seemed okay with that, but I got another one today about...get this...the false story about Michelle Obama chowing down on expensive room service items at the Waldorf-Astoria. I found the Snopes article that debunked that lie (she was in Fort Wayne, Indiana on the day she was supposedly stuffing her face at the Waldorf), and the article included the statement released by the New York Post (always a bastion of truth) that their report was a complete falsehood. I sent the article to him and asked him to read it.

His reply was that he doesn't know what to believe anymore, that he is trying to figure things out, that this election is part of Biblical prophecy, and that Obama is a Muslim. (heavy sigh) I wrote back and said that no, he's not a Muslim, he's an evangelical Christian...just like you. I went on to say that I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, but in the meantime, please don't send me more forwards about this, because I have already cast my vote.

I made the choice to not pursue the subject and not argue with him. I provided the information that it was a false report, I stated how I felt, and if I did pursue it, neither of us would manage to convince the other in the end! Sometimes you just have to let things go, right? It makes me feel sad, though, that there are some who are so ready to believe such lies about a person.

We're getting close to the Big Day. It looks like McCain-Palin are concentrating on Ohio at the moment, and the Governator is with McCain in Columbus right now. He's actually talking about how Obama needs to beef up his scrawny legs and build up his skinny arms. Hahaha! That's pretty stupid. I prefer mental muscle! Okay, I can't listen any longer. Sorry, Governator.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Ohio. Based on what my friend LJ says, and from what I'm reading, things are tough all over, but they're getting really tough in Ohio. She knows people in her city who are getting laid off, and unable to pay for heat, food, and medical bills. It's a fairly industrial state, and industries are suffering right now (but she also says that she knows a lot of people who won't vote for Obama because he's black). Here in Indiana, we're seeing layoffs at places like Whirlpool. Our next-door county, Elkhart, has an economy based mostly on manufacturing, including RV's. As you can imagine, they've taken some huge hits. I heard recently that their unemployment rate is up to 11%. THAT is scary. It's not as bad where we're at, because our county is more service-oriented than manufacturing-oriented, but we're taking hits, too. Ken and I both feel fortunate that his job is secure, and if I ever had to, I know my job would also be a hot commodity. But I think about how it must feel to have that uncertainty hanging over your head...wondering if your hours will be cut, or if you'll come to work one day and find out that your plant is closing down or your job is being eliminated, and to know that hardly anyone is hiring, so your chances of finding another job are not good.

When I was driving home from the store today, I saw that gas was down to under $2.50. I had a moment where I thought, "Cool!" and then I thought about why it's down so much: the economy sucks right now. I know it will recover eventually, but in the meantime, we've got some people who are in dire straits right now. It bothers me greatly, and I hope that we choose the right person to lead us out of this mess, and that those who are struggling can get some help.

But for now, just have fun with faux scary stuff, not genuine scary stuff, and enjoy hearing things that go bump in the night. Watch out for a cold hand reaching up from beneath your bed, caressing your ankle with a bony finger....

Will it go round in Cirques?

A couple of fun things today....

When I got the mail, I was surprised to see an envelope from a lady I use to work with in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Jann worked in Hematology. When I opened the card, it said, "Bet you're surprised to hear from me!" Ha ha! I WAS surprised, Jann! The deal is that another coworker, Vicki (who ran the front desk of the lab), is leaving. Her and her husband are moving to the Twin Cities to be closer to their kids and granddaughter. So Jann is trying to get a hold of as many people from the past as she can, and she got my address from one of the ladies I still keep in touch with. Jann is putting together a video and a book for Vicki, so asked me for a story and a picture or two. I'll be happy to oblige, and will get it out to Jann pronto.

Just seeing that brought back some good memories for me. Whenever I think of Jann, I think of her story about how her daughter was running a toy lawn mower up and down her Dad's legs and torso, and Jann saying, "And I think he liked it!" I don't know why that sticks in my mind, but I remember we just lost it, and laughed for quite a while about that.

The other cool thing is that I got our tickets for Cirque du Soleil's "Love" show in Vegas, for our January trip with Kim and Steve. Front row seats, baby, woohooo! "Love" is the show that's based on Beatle's music (it's at The Mirage), and I was just reading that it's not as big on the acrobatics as other Cirque shows, but the music is the main thing for this show. The theater is filled with speakers, and there are even speakers in some of the seats. How cool is that? Diana (my sister) and Tom recently went to see it, so I'll have to get her take on it. She's an original Beatlemaniac, so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that she liked it...A LOT. In fact, I can hear her now: "Ohhhhh! It was SO NEAT!" And I bet she'll have a book and other memorabilia to show us. Ha ha! Yes, I know my sister!

Is everyone watching the stock market tank again? Criminy. I looked up a little bit ago and it was -800. Agh! I hope none of you were planning to retire in the next few months, because what a horrible time for mutual funds, etc. Scary. Oh brother...they're scrolling emails on the bottom of the screen that people are sending in to CNN. One person just wrote that they're a college student and there are several friends who are thinking about moving to Canada because our economy is in shambles, and for the health care. I guess this person hasn't gotten the word that this is GLOBAL, it's not just the U.S. economy.

So gee...what do you think is going to be the big topic of tomorrow night's debate? Are they both going to keep harping about "palling with terrorists" and about the Keating Five scandal, or are they going to address this very real issue? The issue that is consuming the thoughts of the majority of Americans, as they struggle to make their mortgage payments and are scared about being able to pay their heating bills this coming winter. You know...THAT issue.

I'm feeling quite disgusted right now. I want to get back to my happy thoughts.

All you need is love...La-la-la....