A don of another day

"I have murdered sleep."

I read these words so many years ago I hate to consider how time has changed me, changed the world, and changed how time itself treats us both. Though there are many interpretations of this now hallowed line from Shakespeare'sMacbeth, I received yet another one today.

During a discussion this evening at a spiritual class, a nice lady asked the teacher who or what decides justice? Who makes that final, fateful decision? "God?" she asked. Our teacher is a funny man, but a very, shall we say, straightforward man. His brow ruffled and everyone knew there was a major dissertation coming down the pike.

I'll spare you the details, but it came down to this: the ultimate judge and jury is the tandem of cause and effect. For every cause, there is an effect. In the case of Macbeth, in a figurative sense of course, he murdered his own sleep even though he vaulted to royalty by murdering another. He can no longer rest peacefully. He will always feel the burden of guilt. He will always be dead even when he is alive. Cause and effect. Whether we like it or not, our actions today will face an increasingly hard or beautiful action at some point. Our ignorance of and desire for peace throughout the world will nullify much of the good that we sow. Our demand for things will far outstretch our ability to provide for those things. Our tradition and ritual only take from the earth and from each other time, energy, and intellect with the resulting reality only wanting more. "Chasing the high," as Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project, puts it, will get us nowhere but to the next high and the next one.

As the discussion climaxed, our teacher explained that we were, indeed, very lucky. Though we may not have much, as say compared to a mafioso, we had peace knowing we could get up, walk gingerly to our vehicles, and drive home in absolute safety. A don does not have that peace. That simple bit of heaven on earth is gone. "Even sitting here, under this window," teacher said, pointing to the transom above, is too much. Who has his aim on me, thinks the don? Who wants me dead? He has murdered sleep, too. His peace is gold-plated, perhaps, but it is fleeting.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace and bounty for all. Abundance thinking is a good thing.

Troubling week

Did you think, for one moment, they wouldn't raise the ceiling? Did you sense that the political bordellos of DC were out to milk the limelight yet again? I watched the debt ceiling debacle unfold from afar. No, I don't have cable TV. Yes, I'm just a little eccentric. I digress.

At the end of the day, the shogunate in our heralded capital got nothing accomplished that could not have been accomplished by just deciding to cut the this year's budget immediately. We have cemented that it is quite alright in this country to live beyond one's means and then celebrate jubilantly afterwards. The political cranes did very little heavy lifting this past week. They simply pushed the mortar around. You know it. I know it. Sadly, they know it. So what's new?

• The tea party folks certainly stood their ground. As a libertarian, I'm a little put off by the tea party crowd. But that's just me as many in my party appear to be moving in that direction. I do see their influence growing, not ebbing, as we approach 2012. That spells danger for centrist Republicans. Splinters in the offing?
• Obama further distanced himself from his core, or did he? He managed victories in the weeks and months prior: gays in the military (what a waste of breath...like we didn't already know that to be the case) and Osama's demise. Though the latter is not a core ideology closer, it certainly doesn't detract from Obama's role as commander-and-chief.
• There seemed to be very little noise from Republican presidential candidates. They all pretty much said the debt ceiling raise was dead on arrival, but then, well, even they had to relent when their fellow Republicans voted for the increase or shuck and jive to kowtow to the tea leaves.
• Tim Geithner continues to leave me unimpressed. Well, perhaps that one's not really new.

At the end of the rainbow (and you thought I'd let the gay rights issue alone), we all have a government that's running and will be able to pay its bills. Awesome. There's still very little discourse on moving heaven and earth to lower our expenses, passing along more of the people's hard-earned income to, wait for it, the people, and limiting the role and power of government in our daily lives. It's a glass ceiling if you ask me. You and I, well, we are, tragically, the rats in the hold.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace and bounty for all. It's far less expensive than regime change.

The flywheel turns

At the present time, I am undergoing a bit of spiritual rebirth. It will be slow. It will be painful. I may even decide, eh, it's not worth it and ask for permission to go back to the womb, warm and secure, of just being. What strikes me about this process of rebirth is that I don't truly know very much about how to live life: what to make of it, how to develop stronger relationships, and how it all functions. It is very complex. It has more than we can ever have of it. Think about that: we can never have all of life. Why do we struggle so to advance just that single notion, knowing full well it is an unrealistic desire never to be filled?

When we bring this to the public stage - this wanting, desire, drive for it all - it really starts to devolve us instead of helping us to evolve. We become focused on rights instead of action. We veer from the right path to the easiest path. We take when we need to give. Extraction is the core theme and not gratitude, benediction, and investment.

Philosophy and religion aside, this is part of the problem with life. The desire to have it all creates so much complexity and agita that we end up with less, in terms of real bliss and happiness, than where we started. Why? That time is gone. Those moments to cherish with family and friends....gone. That decisions to advance the beachhead or stifle the competition or take out a nation had far-reaching and, in some cases, devastating consequences then, now, and tomorrow.

The latter, miraculously, can still be changed. We still have influence. We can still provide leadership. Instead of deciding who has chosen path A or B or C to salvation, and which one is better, why do we not concentrate on acting on the premise that all people are born good and it is our job to help them stay there, or perhaps if they have strayed, which most of us have, to find the path again.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace and happiness for all.

Meh...it's late

I want to go to sleep really bad. But I have several things to say:

1. Don't debate when you can act. Time is wasting.
2. Don't worship when you can teach. I believe there's no greater way to honor God than teaching something to someone. Something good of course.
3. Don't play before you practice. I've tried it. It sucks.
4. Give direction and not pity. A culture of pity leads to many bad things.
5. And this one is for me: I'm full. Say out loud now...I'm full.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Table 1297. U.S. Foreign Economic and Military Aid Programs: 1980 to 2008

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s1296.pdf

It doesn't make me angry. It doesn't even make me sad. It disappoints me that a nation, a nation that espouses the benefits of liberty and the glory of liberty-loving people, entangles itself in many, many side deals. What are we after? Peace? Commerce? Oversight? Unconditional acceptance? It is no wonder that we provide welfare to the world-at-large in much the same way we provide it here at home. It needs to stop. As I wrote about a few days ago, let the real change begin.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

To photo or not to photo

You know, I really don't care. Show us the photos of OBL or don't. Let's stop talking about it. With all the crazy things that have happened in this country over the last 5 decades, perhaps a showing to a group of journalists, as indicated on one of the talk shows I was listening to today, or a small group of chipmunks might be warranted. Whatever! Let's move on. The man is dead, we have an economy to save, and we have much work to do on reforming our own tired, byzantine military-industrial-government complex.

Be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Sabre-rattling is expensive...in many ways

I was listening to POTUS today on SiriusXM. Pete Dominic's show always provides some interesting thoughts to consider. Today, a gentleman indicated that we have only subdued swords with more swords and we should continue to expect the same dysfunctional behavior in the future.

Amen.

When will we learn? My guess is that we'll never learn. The esteemed senator from Georgia was spouting off about how we will hunt down the offenders and finish them off as they sleep or some such spin. And then what? We wonder and worry about what will happen. We are somehow offended when they say the same and rattle sabres at us? We pound our chests some more. We raise our swords high. More sons and daughters will die for what?

And...and it costs a whole heckuva lot of money to keep this going. When is this going to stop? When are the American people going to be repaid? When are we going to stop using the marketing ploy of death traded for freedom? It's crap, folks. We continue to devour others' liberties and freedoms to uphold ours on a planet that provides only one destination for all of us: death. What a pity we will spend life's reserves continuing in this manner. Sad.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Change starts...now!

A quick note this evening on saving us from ourselves. Today proves to be a day that will long be remembered as May Day for Osama bin Laden. He died today. What's more important, if I may be so bold, is that we should learn from this and create a better place. Less war. More free trade. Less aid. More teaching and training. Less regulation. More punitive action. Less subsidy. More subsistence. Less I. More we (voluntarily, of course).

We have the power, each one of us, to make for positive change in this world. I don't always succeed. In fact, I almost always fail. But, from that failure, I learn. I learn that we cannot win when others lose and we cannot tolerate doing to others what we would not want done to us. Our foreign and domestic policies must be simplified and modified to better reflect the straightforward nature of our Constitution. I know. Easier said than done.

Be vigilant out there. Based on most news outlets, the fat lady is just warming up. Eyes and ears open, folks, eyes and ears open.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for PEACE!

Well...then...you die

A couple of weekends ago, a gentleman I've been following spiritually told the following little story (or something close to it):

A man, Robert, walks up to me and asks if I can write his eulogy. The man has heard that I'm a decent writer. He knows little about me, though, and how direct I can be. Regardless, he goes on to ask me to write a great eulogy that is both effective but brief. So, I begin: Here lies Robert, a man that has sought those things that he did not have (Robert looked at me, plainly unamused), a man that fought ferociously to keep what he had; then Robert died. Robert, clearly not happy with my attempt at meeting his needs, walked away embittered.

As you know, we tend to discuss political and socio-economic subjects in this blog. How does this little story relate to our political reality? Well, on the surface, one might conclude that it doesn't really connect. However, if one digs a little deeper, I think there is a vein of tangible wealth.

As a nation, not unlike other nations, we live our political and bureaucratic lives wanting many, many things - things for our people, things for our allies, and things from our enemies. It is only natural that our citizens also fall in step with this approach. This mercantile spirit rages, day and night, throughout the land. The welfare state mushrooms for both the individual and corporation to reap many goodies. The things that we get we work very hard to keep. I guess, as a free-market guy, I'm generally okay with this. However, there is a slight twinge in my side, now and again, every time I see just how far this aggregate mercantilism has gotten us. Debt. War. Corruption. Anxiety. Wash and repeat.

I know there are good things as well: places to see, people to meet, and passions to play through. But, are they enough? Is all of this political aggrandizement good for us? Are we better off? I guess the answer, one that I can't stand to hear, is, "I don't know." That, in itself, has cause for some alarm. Now, where is that bell?

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. On a decidedly different note, I'm very proud of my little brother, the poet, for completing his MFA. That is all.

More of the same

Is there nothing more interesting for 60 Minutes to air than some half-ass segment on the notorious "curveball" double agent (or whatever he was or is)? It's clear that the war in Iraq is a catastrophe of epic proportions. It's clear that we were lied to, either by our own government (I vote yes) and others (yes, again). But then, what's new?

As I'm listening to this segment, on the radio mind you, and as my stomach churns, I begin, anew, to question our government, past and present, and how much they have crossed the boundary between leadership and overlordship. We are a country run by an elite few that care not about your freedom or mine. We are a country made up of many citizens that think they will become part of this elite few so they can have the opportunity to limit our freedoms. Our access. Our ability to choose for ourselves the lives we so choose. Gay, straight, poor, rich, soul, rhythm & blues, or good old rock-and-roll. This is who we are. Or is it?

I'm eager to see what happens in 2012. I've all but given up on "change we can believe in" or the new promise with America or whatever is in the next cup of tea offered to us. There is no plan, boys and girls, and there is no desire to let freedom ring.

Man, that feels good.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. The preceding blog entry once again points out the need for term limits. Please call or write your representative - national, state or local - and demand real change. Merci.

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

A quick question tonight: what would you do if you weren't afraid? Kiss a man? Jump off a cliff (attached to a big rubber band, of course)? Shake hands with a leper? Sleep with the enemy? Run for office? Understand the other's perspective? Walk a mile in another person's shoes?

After I lost my job in 2002, a gentleman asked me this question. His name was Bill. I remember this question to this day. I don't always connect all the dots when I ask myself this question, but it propels me nonetheless. Tomorrow, upon waking, ask yourself the same question. Then make a list. Then complete the list. Then take it to another level. Ask your spouse or significant other. Ask your kids. "Son, what would you do if you weren't afraid?" "Sweetie, what do you think you can accomplish if you set aside fear?" There is always a measurable amount of practical fear. "Whatever you do, don't tug on Superman's cape." Then there is the worried-for-nothing type of fear which we all must overcome. Again, what would you do if you weren't afraid?

That is all.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Today is my Mama's and Mami's (maternal uncle and aunt) 40th Anniversary. I dedicate this blog entry to them.

Fighter planes and pyramids

So, another bit of civil unrest spikes in the Middle East. A government, often supported by this country, missteps against its own people. Egypt. A delightful land, so I am told. Turmoil rages, it seems, without abandon. Surprised? I guess I am always surprised. Disappointed? I guess I am, but I think that if I cared enough to think about it, I should have expected this sort of the thing to happen. A single, supposedly freely-elected man has run the country since the last president of Egypt, Sadat, lost his life by an assassins many bullets in 1981. Thirty years. One man. One party. Shocking.

Today, another interesting event took place in Egypt amongst the bloodshed and show of repudiation. Several fighter jets, F-16's I believe, provided by our country flew over Cairo, allegedly as a show of force by the military. Interesting bit of irony, isn't it? We sell arms to our friends around the world who then use it against their own people. I wonder what is next. A coup d'etat? A final separation from liberal, pro-democratic (with a single man in charge for thirty years, one can easily debate whether it is a democracy) method of governance and slow retreat into theocracy? Have you read this script before?

We must stop interfering with other nations. Arms, advice, and money - all of it must stop. Just as we argue that our own people should not be fed the fish but instead allowed to find it and catch it for themselves, so too must we argue for sovereignty for all nations and fair and equitable trade. I know it's a long shot. But what we have now is not...I repeat...not working.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. The preceding blog entry once again points out the need for term limits. It certainly applies for Egypt. It needs to apply in the United States. Please call your representative or senator and ask that they introduce measures in Congress to limit the terms of elected officials.

The promise of nobility

I'll start with a quote today. Here it is:

"There can yet be a silver lining to the Tucson massacre if we stop trying to exploit it for political purposes and instead seize upon it as a fresh chance to change our culture of violence — too much hate, too many guns, too many killings. The bitterness in politics is part of this larger trouble. There is no evidence it prompted Loughner — and the finger pointing should stop — but we knew long before Tucson it must be cleaned up. In coming weeks, President Obama should invite GOP leaders as well as chieftains of entertainment and news, the NRA and others to see if we can reach a higher plane. America will always be rough and tumble — that's in our DNA — but generations past have proven we can also be a noble people." - David Gergen, as quoted in Time magazine.

I could not have said it better. I applaud Gergen's suggestion that our leaders come together and work towards greater civility. Glass-half-full perspectives are wonderful. Look, I like Mr. Gergen immensely. I think he is articulate, intelligent, and honest. However, the challenge is determining what will push us towards greater nobility and away from harsh rhetoric and water cooler snipes at our fellow American for simply thinking, looking, or talking differently from one another. Perhaps my glass is only a quarter full (in more ways than one, I'm sure some of you will say), but I think it's a tough road. Duplicity at the top tends to make its way down. Or is it the other way around? Hollywood and DC surely have their moments of almost unfathomable misbehavior, but there are certainly more of us than there are of them. Bottom up, I say, is where it has to start. Where does it end?

Look, when a politician is out of line, forgiveness is certainly the mark of a decent human being. It should be exercised. However, firm, and regrettably, permanent censure must be the action. There should be consequences. It seems that too many lofty persons just simply walk the plank and land in, well, a spa as opposed to the crushing tide of the ocean below. It sends a mixed message. It amplifies the notion that there is a huge double standard in this country. It undermines the notion of nobility. It forestalls civility in its tracks.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Don't forget to call those darn representatives about term limits. It'll do us good!

The Time cover

So, our Tucson killer shows up on the cover of Time magazine this week. Why? Freedom comes with responsibility. Now, the press might say that they have the freedom to print whatever they wish. True. No arguments. However, I'll argue that with the power of the press comes great responsibility. Response-ability.

We have a great deal of freedoms. Perhaps we should have more. We have a great deal of responsibility. We should exercise it better. It's a powerful conduit to positive change...responsibility. Without it, well, we get what we get these days: somebody's 15 minutes.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

Everyday teams

Teamwork. Oftentimes overused. Many times abused. Seldom perfected. This country, including this citizen, conjure teamwork best at moments of crises. That has to change. It must become the soup du jour every day. Our individual talents must be coalesced for the betterment of society. Not by edict. Not by conscription. By choice. That is all.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. I almost forgot...please contact your congressperson or senator and demand they bring legislation implementing term limits to fruition.

Pep rallies are okay

It was called a pep rally. I'm sure many thought it was a shameless display for Democrats. It's odd given that Arizona is, by and large, a red state. The event last night to honor and remember the fallen last Saturday can be whatever the crowd gathered wants it to be. Was it a political show? Was it vote baiting in advance of 2012? Sure it was. As I mentioned a few blogs ago (here), there is always someone out to make some sort of gain, whether it be from tragedy/crisis or from something positive and spectacular. But that's what politicians get paid to do - suck the marrow out of life for their own gain.

The people in the crowd are a little different. They are looking for somebody to lead. They are looking for someone to help them through this terrible event. For now, they'll look past the, what was the term used yesterday? Ah, yes, blood-libel. They'll not seek blame. They'll not worry about those things. They want to grieve. They want to cry. And yes, they want laugh and cheer the memories of those that have fallen. It's a free country. They can do less perhaps than what I would like, but they have that freedom.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace.

It's a blood sport, you bloody imbecile

Blood-libel? I didn't know it was connected to anything remotely Jewish. I now know that it is. I question a couple of things:

1. Why do we still listen to anything coming from Sarah Palin?
2. Why are we trying to blame her, regardless of what else she spews, for causing the death of those innocent folks on Saturday? There is little direct causation (in the true legal sense of the word).
3. When are we going to learn that using words or phrases involving blood probably won't yield very much good?

To me it is still about a lack of leadership in this country. People go to the White House, the House of Representatives, and the statehouse for the wrong reasons. They think they go to serve others, but what seems to happen is that they just end up serving themselves.

Where is true leadership when we need it? Staring in the mirror, playing with their hair and hoping their blood-soaked hands don't sell them down the river? Not.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Bloody fine day, right? "Uh, right."

Nature vs. Infrastructure

I'm just as tired as you are of driving on horrible roads, dealing with long-term construction projects that gum up the works, and acid reflux. How do we solve our infrastructure conundrum? More government works projects? Perhaps. Much of our infrastructure is owned by the government.

But what is the real problem? The real concern? The power of nature. Sure, we can spend lots of money to rebuild the decaying bridges, roads, pipes, and buildings of our wonderful nation. But, I'm curious about one thing: won't they just decay again? Why do we think we should expect different outcomes from the same inputs? Shouldn't we be spending our time thinking of ways to create things - solve long-term problems - where there is less and less obsolescence in the final product? Take a golden opportunity to stand back, and realize there's $2T worth of work to be done and ask why can't it be done differently.

That's all for tonight. If you're in the northeastern US, then I hope you make it around tonight and tomorrow safe and sound.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Winter is indeed in da haus!

I'll have some vitriol and a side of lost opportunity, please

"Don't let a good tragedy go to waste?" Wow. This was a new interpretation, by Neal Boortz, of something that Rahm Emmanuel had said about not letting a good crisis go to waste. Now, Boortz was not, in my humble opinion, legitimizing either statement. However, he paints an interesting picture: that any shade of the political spectrum is ready to pounce on a negative situation for political gain. I think he's right.

Now, in the name of freedom and liberty, one might agree that it's okay to do this. It's low, but hey, it's a free country. Have at it. I think it borders on the shameless. There is a great deal of discussion going on about how the rhetoric fuels the flames of political rivalry. Well, one can imagine that there would be some level of name calling and general discontent between two groups of people that don't see eye to eye. And there is always someone to lay blame when something goes awry. I think it is next to impossible to show a causal link between what a prominent politician says to what an apparent lone gunman does on a sunny morning in Tuscon, AZ.

However, it's not just the prominent politician spewing this negative language. It's not just the other side, the prominent other side, trying to lay blame. It is all or some of us caught up in this nasty business. But we learn it from our leaders. We see. We hear. We do. The real crisis - the true tragedy - is that we lack leadership in this country. Not Obama. Not the Bushes. Not Clinton. Not even Reagan. Not all the others. They've sold this country down the river. They've pitted citizen against citizen for their own unworthy gain.

And we plod along, hoping one day that some great political savior will save us from ourselves. I'm waiting. How about you?

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Put down your arms, folks. Violence only begets more violence.

Jam-proof governing

So, I watched me some Michael Moore on CNN today. Something about the Pubs unable to accomplish anything given the numbers. I watched Speaker Boehner's chat about the shootings. I also put together our new shredder. It is, supposedly, jam proof.

Wouldn't that be nice? Jam proof governing. No limitations. No roadblocks. No one to bother with needless machinations about getting reelected. Smooth sailing. I've discovered that a jam proof government would require too much in the way of common sense to actually get anything accomplished. But, I think we ought to give it a go. What's the downside? More filibuster, more sabre rattling, and more bogus pomp and circumstance. Here are some thoughts:

1. Have real debate about real issues. No more of this saving owls and deciding what an individual can do with his or her body or what religion is best or has the most holidays. Let's focus on the big rocks. Little rocks often jam up the critical path to solving the country's largest problems. Prioritize (easier said than done, I know).
2. Declare Election Day in November a national holiday. Let's get as much grease into the system as we can. For me, a person who rarely used to vote, it's imperative that more and more of us vote. If we can't have the day off, then let's move it to a weekend day. It won't solve the problem, but perhaps it will undo some of those pesky jams. Let's forego tradition with this and get more people in the fray. Perhaps some people don't want more people to vote? Now that type of thinking should be punishable.
3. Limit bills to 100 pages or less, 12 point font, and 1 inch margins. If you can't write a bill in that amount of space, then you need to rewrite. Enough said.
4. Anything that has to do with a foreign nation is automatically de-prioritized for the next two sessions of Congress. We can't work with others until we fix working with one another first.

As you know, I could go on. However, I'd love to hear from you on what ideas and thoughts you have on the topic. This really falls under the KISS paradigm (keep it simple silly/stupid). We all need a KISS from government before we get...well, I don't really want to say that here.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace - Signed, feeling shredded in Short Hills.

Evil strikes again

First and foremost, my heart felt condolences and prayers go out to those that suffered today in Arizona.

Second, we must apply the maximum sentence to those that committed this heinous crime.

Third, we need to work towards more of a collaborative society. We have built a society that is based on win/lose (to use Dr. Covey's terminology). In order for someone to win, someone has to lose. We need to throw that sketch out and start again.

Fourth, be forever diligent in your families and communities. If you know or sense something is awry with your fellow man, then speak up. Contact someone. Don't wait.

Fifth, I have heard too many times how the other side are idiots. It doesn't matter which side we are talking about. They are not idiots. They have differing views. Use a little wisdom that gets handed to you through your day of worship, if you worship, and have a little room to disagree but not hate. I think too many times that's not the case. We laugh and we snicker and we let it roll off, but my sense is that it is much deeper. I could be wrong. I have been wrong in the past. I shudder to think that I'm right, which indicates that some of us are carrying around a great deal of rage, bias, and dislike for those that don't see the world as we see it. Why? What is the gain? Even at the lowest levels of subsistence in this country, we have much as compared to our fellow earthlings. But it's not enough.

Finally, pray. To the wall, to your god, to mommy, or to nothing whatsoever. Humbly request to the wind if you have to that peace comes to our time and our peoples.

Also, I apologize for something I said yesterday. It was said in jest, but given the events of the day, the shoe throwing comment from yesterday's post was clearly not appropriate. Funny perhaps, but not appropriate. Maybe not even that funny. I'll leave that judgement to you. Again, I offer my sincerest apologies.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits...peacefully, without taking up arms. Please.

I want this, I need that...and then BOOM! A beautiful snowfall

Snow always has the power to make one reflect. The veil of white and trees, the cold air, and the wind just rattle your cage and jar your emotions. So, as the snow fell today, slowly at first and then with a wee bit of strength, I thought about the climate. The cold. The heat. The rain. The snow. I know there is a great deal of chatter about climate change, global warming, and greenhouse gases. It's an interesting conversation. There are those that believe that big business, with aid of governments the world over, have caused much of the damage in the pursuit of more and more profits. Hmm...in the pursuit of more and more profits. Left by itself, that's not such a bad thing.

However, let's look at it in context of modern day economics. Demand the world over has increased dramatically as the population has swollen. People want/need more things. Companies create the things that people want/need. Companies have to stay in business. Profit builds capital, and yes, satisfies shareholders (who are also made of the same people), and the cycle starts again. The disconnect for me, as I have slowly learned, is that the want/need threshold has somehow become blurred. But, that's not really the big issue. The big issue is that we have demanded more and more at lower prices. I'm not defending the big corporates (for it is they that market to us, knowing full well which things are alluring and why), but they are reacting to our demands (again, we maybe too bloody stupid to actually think for ourselves, having the need to always give into marketing's charms). So, what does that mean?

Well, I'm all for the open market, and I'm certainly not here to tell you what to do. However, might I suggest a few things? Like it matters what you think...this is my damn blog. Here goes (most of this is common sense, but it's the snow that made me say it):

1. Buy American. Okay, okay. I have a German car, many items from China, and an Indian wife (I didn't buy her and so that doesn't really count). I need to do better.
2. Buy closer to home. We try when we can to consume our foods from local providers. There are some great community gardens. One of my favorite sources to find community supported agriculture is the following site, http://www.localharvest.org/csa/. I think we are going to try one the farms here in New Jersey this year. They provide chard. I'm not sure what chard is, but darn it, I'll learn. This goes hand in hand with #5 below.
3. Vote and pray for peace. War is very wasteful. Not only does it suck resources out of economies the world over, but it just silences the progress of many wonderful souls lost because of it.
4. Laugh. Well, okay, what does that have to do with the environment? I'm not sure. Say no more.
5. Drink more water. The less processed beverages we drink (which I daresay we don't need), the less energy will be consumed. This is a theoretical notion, but I'm going to stand by it. Now, do we need cleaner water? Yes. Can we solve this problem? I don't know. If we drink less of the processed stuff, the less waste will come from less process, and the water will get better? Maybe.
6. Watch less TV in favor of more reading and endless games of UNO and Scrabble (both need to be followed by those little trade mark symbols, which I don't have the ability to add in this program). We may end up finding that we sway our lives more so than THEY sway our lives if we watch a little less of the boob tube. Just saying.
7. Write in the dark. If only I had a camera, then I could show you.
8. Play in the snow. It's silly, but I hear it is good exercise. It helps reduce fat. Again, if only I had a camera, then I could show you. And then perhaps not.

Those are some ideas. They're not the best. They're not the cheapest. Some didn't turn out as funny as I had hoped. But let's understand this (still my blog!): the decisions that you and I make in turn drive the decisions made by governments and corporates alike. If nothing else, there's more of us than them. We can just kick the crap out of them.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits. If that doesn't work, then throw a shoe.

Have you read your Constitution, young man...or woman?

I'm delighted to report tonight, much later than most bloggers and news outlets I'm sure, that members of the HoRs (all pun in intended) read the constitution today. A glorious day, truly, has passed before our eyes and most of us were out working for a living. A shame to have missed it.

Well, now let's consider the setting and the players in the context of the document itself. First, we have gone well beyond "common defence" and continue to do so everyday that our troops trot across the sovereign soil of other nations. I'm just being a strict constitutionalist. That's all. That's what today was about, right? A show of force in favor of a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution.

My strict interpretation of the Constitution is that the "common defence" clause (words 24 and 25 of the Constitution) refers to the defense of our soil, our territory, and our citizens. The body that read the Constitution today has repeatedly voted to go against the Constitution and provide for the general defence of other nations, other causes, and in some cases, others that now and in the future hope to do us harm. I love that old elastic clause. It allows our legislators to do just about anything they want. It doesn't matter what the words say, it only matters what we can keep from the public and get done. Elastic clause. Boxers or briefs?

Let's move on to words 26 - 29: "promote the general Welfare." Promote. Not afford. Not provide. Not mandate. Not dole out. Promote. You know, like Nabisco promotes it's cookies or Spielberg promotes a movie...to move it forward. No guarantees. No promises. No national health care, public or semi-public. No food stamps. No regressive tax system. Again, right or wrong, those darn waste bands keep stretching and stretching so the donkey and elephant can squeeze in together...and make donphants? Elenkeys? Sorry. That wasn't very funny.

The hard work continues, folks. Words in the original, unamended Constitution: 4,543 (not including the BoRs). Both parties, especially the one that mandated the darn thing be read, can't even make it out of the first damn paragraph without having completely tossed every ideal, every rational element, and every edict out. What a sham! What a terrible, terrible sham! You'd think Hollywood producers were buzzing around DC today, waiting to see which figure would start weeping. This parading of the Constitution for cameras was truly revolting.

You are at the mercy of 538 individuals, by and large, that don't give a rat's ass about you and our Constitution. If you look long enough (about 5 seconds), you'll already find evidence that promises made in the latest election cycle have been set aside. The Pledge has left the building..."The Pledge to America" that is. If you look hard enough, the progressives are doing everything they can to continue to inflate the deficit, and subsequently the debt, by continuing to mandate programs that are not yet funded and that are, by and large, in an inelastic world, unconstitutional. If you look hard enough, you'll see that we are hanging by a very thin fiscal thread.

That's okay. Read on, ladies and gentlemen, read on. We'll be here, working for a living and parting with our tax dollars so that you can pat yourselves on the backs for reading a 200-year-old document out loud. And after you've read it, go fill that prescription for new glasses on our nickel. Read on.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits. And then pray.

Goodbye, Gibbs...well, sort of but not really

Gibbs, I'm sorry to see you go. I'm also sorry that you won't be the whipping boy for the popular press. I'm not surprised that you are not really leaving politics. It's interesting that you are going to be taking an office pretty close to where you work now and advising the president, which you do now. However, what's interesting is that it all feels...well...shallow and a little political (go figure...it's DC).

I understand that you've been running on all cylinders for about 3 years now. Tough on the family and tough on the body, I'm sure. Not everyone likes you. I think you're an okay press secretary. Nothing over the top, but acceptable. What I don't understand is all this shifting sand at a time when the nation seeks a little permanence, a little stability. But I guess the elixir of political power and continued advantage gets to every president, and he (and perhaps she at some point in the future) must reserve his best people not to serve the country but to help him (or her) get reelected.

Something tells me that your departure is really symptomatic of a greater pestilence in our nation's capital: self-aggrandizement at the expense of service to the nation. It's okay, Gibbs. We won't hold it against you in 2 to 6 years. We probably won't even remember you. Not that the lack of remembrance will be in a mean-spirited manner, but we literally just don't remember press secretaries.

Good luck, Gibbs. And oh, tell the president to put on some jogging pants and a decent shirt for goodness' sake.

The olive branch and Pi

The olive branch extended the President they can't stand and have pretty much indicated they'd like to ride out of town. Check. Bill to repeal health care debacle to pass House. Check. Fumble bill to repeal health care debacle in Senate. Ah, the mighty, mighty Republicans must be in power, or at least close enough to smell it.

I read a couple of articles today on what the Republicans hope to accomplish, which will be done, of course, by sidestepping parliamentary rules and such (nothing like taking the low road and showing those Dems who's in charge!). Then, there was this interesting read about Obama cutting loose the old guard and bringing in the new. Interesting on first blush, but then a little less interesting when you see that he's going to be starting up his reelection campaign any moment now.

I speak about term limits often. I say something every night in fact (it's kind of like Bob Barker and his spay/neuter call to action, but just a different type of cut). I often wonder what would happen if we just focused on the issues. What would happen if we had a real plan and we focused on it instead of always worrying about our position and power? What would happen if there were legitimate debate in Congress? It is a deliberative democracy, is it not? Well, I would argue that it is a deliberative republic, but then we'd just be splitting hairs.

I don't know about you, but I don't really see anything radical coming from the 112th Congress to change the people that govern and the way they govern. I'm actually a little down about it. Then, I think about my daughter, who today realized what Pi was and was excited to learn about it all by herself. If she could only understand how circular real life truly is. Ah well, I'm sure she'll realize it some day.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits (see..I told you...every night).

I borrowed something blue today...ceiling paint

Well, okay, I didn't. As it turns out, I was out of money and had no opportunity to raise my debt ceiling.

How is that we Americans must abide by some level of constraint but our politicians continue to gorge themselves on a bunch of new spending? That's right. Spending.

The most fundamental reason for this? We've transferred too many of our liberties to the larger, and I would say darker, forces in our society. That's right, Darth, the dark side. And no, it's not a race thing.

We've outsourced. Don't you get it? We don't know how to handle our own damn selves and so we just turn over the reins. Give it up. That which is so precious and, it seems, so limited in quantity - our supposedly inalienable freedoms, our God-given liberties - gone.

Deftly, and by and large with our consent, these tokens of providence were taken from us. We voted them away through our own elected officials and by sitting in front of the damn TV, doling out dollars to the mighty marketer. Republicans and Democrats alike are to blame. Amazing. It's not a culture war. It's not a drug war. It's not a war on terror. It's a war on you and me. That, my friends, is the leviathan of the day. We're in play to be played and we're just as happy as squid for it. Right? Fat (really fat...the scale this morning...not good), dumb, and happy.

Don't take it. Oh, and turn off the TV. I've now stepped off my soapbox.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits.

Why don't we lower the debt ceiling?

I heard this ominous message today on the radio. That message was that if we don't raise the debt ceiling bad things will happen. We, the United States of America, will default on its obligations. Really? Good.

It's about time that this comes home to roost. I know this is unlikely to happen given our lack of courage to do things that are right as opposed to doing things that are easy. However, I would like for us to consider not only not raising the debt ceiling, but lowering it. Let's actually cut our spending and borrow less. Principal repayment. Novel concept, isn't it?

Think about it, folks. If we don't put the brakes on soon or later, then we will continue our slow but apparently willful and determined descent into a worsening financial situation.

That's the short and sweet of it. As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative or senator today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits.

The 112th, 1st Session Agenda...maybe

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict something: Congress will return to session in the coming week or so and spend a great deal of time pounding its chest about 1) the victory in November and 2) the legislation passed before it left for its winter siesta. That's great. I'm glad they're going to gloat. At $800,000 per day for the cost of their service (The quotient of $174K times 1.3 (for benefit burden) times 538 all divided by 150 days), it's likely money well spent. Right?

So, then, where was I? Ah, yes. After their ham and turkey have digested, our fellow citizens will get about to the business of the people. What does the session promise to deliver? Here's what I see.

• More blather about health care. My guess is the Republicans will try to overturn it, but when push comes to shove, the less fortunate, who make up both parties, will speak up and everyone will understand the implications that votes are on the line and then back off. It should have never been passed in the first place. We need incentives for healthiness. Holding breath. Turning blue.
• Energy independence. I sense that this will come up again, climate change and all. Look. We have choices to make. Better, more energy-efficient choices or less. I see nothing coming from those wanting changes in energy policy. If there is, it will be, as other legislation has been, lip service to real problem: America has decided to outsource its buying power to other nations in the interest of letting everyone play in the sandbox. Until that stops, we're lucky if candle prices remain steady.
• Debt ceiling. We love debt. I see continued mushrooming of our national debt. We'll still get our $4 lattes and sigh when we read how inflation is running rampant and interest rates are climbing higher. Who's getting all that interest? Not you and I.
• Pork fat. I don't see a tremendous amount of change in Washington. I think there will be continuation of earmarks and pork barrel projects. Some owl somewhere is thankful. Look, I like owls. I do. I don't like government being their caretakers. "Well, then, who should be their caretakers?" comes the question. Other owls, of course.

I'm sure we have had these topics in the past and they will surface in the future. The ultimate outcome: more or less the same as it has been for the last fifty years. Still pounding that chest? Does it hurt? It's okay. Congressional health care perks are the tops.

As always, be thankful for what you have, buy only what you need, and work diligently for peace. Call your representative today and urge him or her to introduce and support legislation backing term limits.