Tag: America

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Strategy Masquerading as a Tactic

We were sitting around the table the other night playing cards (well Phase 10 – which is almost a card game).  For some reason the question came up as what the difference was between strategy and tactic.  We hashed it around a while, and we came to a consensus.

A few days later I was listening to NPR and they were doing a story on Newt Gingrich.  They said of an exchange he had with a reporter that it was “a strategy masquerading as a tactic’.  He was turning the tables on the political press.  The reporter asked him a long winded question that was essentially of the type “so how long since you stopped beating your wife.”   Mr. Gingrich flipped it on the reporter and asked him when he was going to stop asking “gotcha” questions.

From the NPR print version of the story I heard By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following here is the actual exchange: Continue reading “Strategy Masquerading as a Tactic”

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Banks, Breasts, Bamboozled

I quit Bank of America a while back as I decided I did not want to do business with them.  I have major problems with their business practices.  So I switched to Regions.  Now they have started charging customers for the use debit cards.  I decided to quit them and open up an account with the company credit union.  Dollars are votes after all.

To effectuate the change I went to the credit union branch just across from my office.  The branch manager is a young woman of maybe 30 years.  She invites me into her office to do the necessaries involved in opening up a new account.  She was an attractive enough young lady, but no knock out.  She was however wearing a top with a very low scoop neck and some sort of brassiere that barely covered her nipples.  I personally do not find this appropriate business wear, but maybe that is just me.  Just sitting talking to her I was getting an eyeful even though part of me was trying not to look.  She was seated at a rather large desk. Every time she leaned forward to have me sign Continue reading “Banks, Breasts, Bamboozled”

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Japanese Emperor Bangs Demonic Sun Goddess

C. Peter Wagner, an endorser of Gov. Rick Perry’s “The Response” prayer rally, explains that the nation of Japan is controlled by a demon spirit (The Sun Goddess) because the Emperor had sexual intercourse with her.

Wagner has been credited with founding the New Apostolic Reformation. This group conducts spiritual warfare against demons, seeks dominion over public institutions and government. Their goal is make America a “Christian” nation as they define it. As I understand they believe that the church leaders are apostles and prophets. Apparently the prophets have conversations with God and relay the skinny to the apostles.  Scary stuff.

C. Peter Wagner article at Wikipedia

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The United States is in a Civil War

The United States of America is involved in a civil war.  Sadly, most of the population is not aware of the war raging around them.   It is a war for the heart and soul of America and the American dream.

On the left side of the Koch-Kennedy line are millions of ordinary folks.  They only want the chance to work, and to work at a decent wage.  They want to be able to raise families, pay their bills, get reasonable healthcare, and to not fear old age as a time poverty and sickness.  As a bonus they want to be able to have a savings so that they do not have to live paycheck to paycheck.  Ideally, there is enough money left over after this for some recreation.  Perhaps it is just me, but I do not see these as unreasonable desires.  There are roughly 280,000,000 folks that probably fit into this category, about 90% of our population.

On the right side of the Koch-Kennedy line Continue reading “The United States is in a Civil War”

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Poor, Scared, Less Educated, and Left Behind = Conservative

” Sadly, the foot soldiers of Conservatism do not understand that they are winning a Pyrrhic victory, one which indicates a deep and systemic rot in this country, as opposed to a triumph of ideas and values that can lead us through the decline of empire and towards a brave new future.”  — From article below

It has long been very perplexing to me why blue collar workers and the poor would support Republican/Tea Party/Conservative values and positions.  Apparently, I am not the only one that feels this.  I have not phased it quite so eloquently, saying they were “shooting themselves in the foot”, as opposed to calling it a Pyrrhic victory, but same thought.

The mega corporations do not care about America anymore.  Profit is their god, and the planet has become open with all the Free Trade agreements.  A dollar made in Cambodia is the same as a dollar made in Flagstaff, as far as they are concerned.  I have no idea what the Tea Party wants except the demise of our government and thus our country.

What is that old Irish curse, “May you live in interesting times.”  Interesting are these times,  but they are also very sad.

Link to an article about how America has become more conservative.

Link is no longer valid.

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Wealth Inequality = Social Problems

Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times Equality, a True Soul Food

He is summarizing a British report on the societal effects of wealth inequality. Currently in America “the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans possess a greater collective net worth than the bottom 90 percent.”  I do not understand why everyone, except the 1%, is not shocked and up in arms over this fact.  But that is me.

The basic premise of the study, backed up by tons of data is this.  With great wealth inequality you create a wide variety of personal and social stressors.  There are increases in crime, Continue reading “Wealth Inequality = Social Problems”

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He is your President for Goodness Sake!

I will have to admit as a card carry liberal (I’m still thinking about putting a bumper sticker on my vehicle that says, “If’n you ain’t Liberal, you ain’t shit”) I have been very disappointed in Obama.  In many ways I find him much too conservative for my taste.

Then on the other hand the response of the Republicans have been appalling, while I am not a big fan of the Democrat party the alternative is totally unacceptable.

My own explanation for the recent election is the aging population and the fact that they must be suffering short term memory deficit.   How else can you explain that many folks are blaming the economy on Obama and have forgotten the obnoxious behavior of the Republicans in Congress and especially in the Senate.

Our current political morass has me sticking my head in the sand as I cannot stand to watch it.  It just plain hurts too much.  Sadly.

Here is a link to an article in a Canadian newspaper that makes incredible sense.  He’s your President for Goodness Sake!

I personally think it is such a good read and an important read I have included the whole text below. Continue reading “He is your President for Goodness Sake!”

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My Modeling Career

There is a security guard where I work, a white woman of ancient years.  I say ancient as she 10 or 15 years older than I, that must push her over into antiquity.  She stopped me the other day as I was returning to my desk from one of my many bathroom runs.  She knows from a prior conversation that I used to work for the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue.

She asked me, “You used to work for a clothing store, right?  Did you model for them?”

I looked at her funny and replied, “No I programmed for them like I program here.  Why do you think that?”

“Well,” she said, “you walk with such good posture and your wear your hair long and a little different.”

My hair is on the longish side, and I have taken to putting a bit of gel in it and combing it straight back.  I would have to admit it is not the typical hairstyle you see in corporate America.

Just picking at her I asked, “Are you trying to ask me if I am light in my loafers, as male models have that reputation.”

She tries to back pedal a little, and I then I decide to let her off the hook.  I tell her, “I have a bit of bad back that forces me to walk with good posture or bent over depending on how it is feeling.  And as for my hair I guess we all have our affectations.”

The ole Rev. was male model for Saks Fifth Avenue, who would have known?

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Sacrifice is for the little people

Paul Krugman’s op-ed piece for Monday, September 20, 2010.  The Angry Rich

This is why I have become so discouraged in our political system.  It may have never been about the majority of the folks in this country, but I feel it is even more skewed towards the elite today.   A quote from the op-ed piece:

“And among the undeniably rich, a belligerent sense of entitlement has taken hold: it’s their money, and they have the right to keep it. “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society,” said Oliver Wendell Holmes — but that was a long time ago.”

It is amazing how many middle class folks agree with this feeling of the very rich that the rich are entitled.  The wealth gap continues to grow in the United States, the people living in poverty is rising, unemployment remains high, our infrastructure continues to crumble, our children’s education is falling behind most of the rest of the industrialized world and deficits continue to grow. 

These folks have no real loyalty beyond their pocket books.  I would be angry, but the energy would be wasted. It saddens and discourages me beyond measure that an elite few control the political agenda of this country. 

What was it Spock said, “The good of the many outweighs the good of the few, or the one.”  Apparently not in America in 2010.

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The Raping of America

Now That’s Rich – New York Times op-ed piece by Paul Krugman

From the article:

“We need to pinch pennies these days. Don’t you know we have a budget deficit? For months that has been the word from Republicans and conservative Democrats, who have rejected every suggestion that we do more to avoid deep cuts in public services and help the ailing economy.

But these same politicians are eager to cut checks averaging $3 million Continue reading “The Raping of America”