Harvest Festival in La Cineguilla

My neighbors and I got together this weekend for a lovely feast from our community garden. The green tomato pie was divine! There was lively discussion of the continuing need to "act locally" when it comes to food, water, and energy. There are a number of initiatives in our beautiful little rural area near Santa Fe which aim to accomplish that so we can become truly sustainable. Relying on the government in these perilous times is probably not too smart. I still hope for the best with regard to universal health care, but if they are just going to charge us money to put in the pockets of insurance companies, I would prefer to opt out. Taking care of each other in our local areas is the wave of the future. No doubt about it.

Get Out of Afghanistan and Iraq Now!

It has become increasingly clear that the "missions" in both these disasterous war zones are muddled and unclear. There is no genuine defense being mounted in either arena. Instead we are now told that "nation building" is the new goal. (Before it was regime change, WMD and a dozen other murky excuses.) Billions of our tax dollars continue to be spent for what now appears to simply be a political purpose, i.e. that we cannot afford to "lose" these pointless wars (reference Vietnam where we stayed a decade after it was clear there was no way to "win" there.) Our young soldiers continue to die for no reason that has anything to do with defense of the nation. Healthcare could be funded many times over with the money we are wasting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wake up and smell the coffee, Obama. Don't become another Lyndon Johnson with the albatross of these failed wars tainting the legacy of your presidency. There is still time to change course before it is too late.

Justice Sotomayor Questions Corporate Personhood

In a brave move for a new Justice, Sonya Sotomayer pointed out that the legal precedent for the "Corporations are people too" doctrine, which was added by a court reporter to the opinion in the 1886 case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad based on an off the record comment made by the Chief Justice in the case, should possibly be examined more closely. The Roberts Court is all set to expand the power of corporations even further by allowing them to pour money into political campaigns in the name of their supposed First Amendment right to "free speech." If the court goes the wrong way on this, there is no hope that the voices of ordinary citizens can be heard over the clank of cash being dumped into the political process. At issue in the current case is the "documentary film" which was a whole- sale trashing of Hillary Clinton funded by a corporate group opposed to her candidacy for President. It was not widely aired in the last election due to the Feingold FCC regulation prohibiting corporate money from being directly funneled into campaign troughs. If the conservatives on the Court prevail, our political system will be overwhelmed even further by corporate money than it is now. It is some comfort that Sotomayor looks as though she will exercise some independent judgment and perhaps earn the respect of progressives who were worried she might prove to be a reliable centrist or even conservative jurist.

The Baucus Bill is a Slap in the Face to Citizens

With its Max Tax and large scale giveaway to the insurance industry, the Baucus bill coming out of Senate Finance is the worst bill on the table of all the others out there (four others which include a public option). If passed it would force Americans to mainline their paychecks directly to the insurance companies. Call your Senators and demand that they use the reconcilation process in the Senate which only requires 51 votes. We need to completely cut these Republicans and Democrats-in-name-only OUT of the equation entirely.

Incivility

Joe Wilson, a protege of the late segregationist Strom Thurmond, disrupts an address by the President to a joint session of Congress by yelling "you lie" and then becomes a hero to the crazed Republican base, taking back his initial apology and raising big bucks for his campaign from like-minded disgruntled supporters. 170+ of Wilson's fellow Representatives refused to vote to censor the guy. Kanye West jumps on stage in the middle of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the Grammy awards to denounce her win. The President calls West a jackass (although it was supposed to be off the record). Mercy! Am I just old-fashioned or has this uncontrolled public behavior gotten completely out of hand? I am even more worried about the undisguised racism exhibited at the tea bag party in DC where there were signs suggesting that "next time" the participants would come armed and dangerous to "take back our country." What does that mean? It can't be good. Are we at the brink of another civil war here? Certainly there is already a war against civility.

Teabaggers in DC

Why weren't the huge protests against the Iraq war covered as well as these corporate-organized birthers, deathers, and all-arounde Obama haters? There were far greater numbers of people in the streets trying to stop the Bush war machine, but they might as well have been invisible to major news outlets. At least we have Ed Shultz, Keith Olberman, and Rachel Maddow attempting to counter some of this coverage of faux astro-turf nonsense. I am sure there are frightened people out there, but it is the politicians and corporate interests who are making hay out of that fear who should really be highlighted. Let's hope Obama can stick to his guns in spite of all this noise. All those who realize we must quickly get "health care for everybody" need to make our own voices heard above it.

All Right, Obama!

Ok, so he's my guy again after he came out punching in his speech to Congress, FINALLY seeming to really get behind a public option, although it is still a little confusing exactly how it is going to work. Congressman Wilson who yelled out "you lie" just delighted me because it exposed the Repubs for the extremists they have become. It just might be the gift that keeps on giving for the Dems efforts at health care reform.

Cast in Emmy Award Winning Series Breaking Bad

I am back in the acting business again. I will be seen this fall as one of the bingo ladies in an early episode. I guess the bad guys do some bad things, but don't know if I will be one of the "victims" or not. It has been over a decade since I even auditioned for anything. Hadn't planned to dive back in, but they took a photo when I went in with my son to an open casting call. Yet another possibility for staying active in retirement: audition for a TV show!

Happy Labor Day!

American workers are in peril due to unemployment, the high cost of health insurance, disappearing jobs. Fear pervades the country right now. Trust in government is minimal because here in the USA, corporate interests always dominate over those of the needs of the people. Under the constitution, we are supposed to pass laws to benefit the common good, but that so seldom happens these days, it is very easy to manipulate these fears. If Obama gets a good health plan through, in spite of his missteps so far, and we can all be treated just like seniors and veterans are now without complaint from rational people, particularly those who benefit from those programs, health care for all will become an accepted reality. This would benefit the country enormously; it is long overdue. If he just tinkers around with the current system, the entire economy is in danger of falling apart. It's hard to be optimistic this Labor Day, 2009 but I am trying to visualize the best possible outcome. Obama should say like Roosevelt did in the 1930's: We have nothing to fear but fear itself, and lay out a bold plan for our recovery.

LOL: Facebook Post from a Friend In Texas

An old pal of mine from our Methodist Sunday school days took exception to my calling the secessionists on the steps of his capitol city "crazy," and chose to remind me that some "nice" people still live in Texas, including him. So I started listing some of my favorite Texans (Molly Ivens--may she rest in peace, Jim Hightower, Kinky Friedman.) He then asked on my Facebook page, "So you don't like the "crazy" Texans but you are fine with the "kinky" ones?"

Obama Should Not Take Progressives for Granted

I will be one of those listening to Obama's speech on health care. If he fails to lead on the most important issue of our time (which has been on the table since the TRUMAN administration, for heaven's sake), I will feel I have no choice but to support a genuinely progressive candidate in the next election. There are numerous Labor Day rallies and another national one on September 13th. We all have to join in and make our voices heard. This may be our last chance to get this done.