The Planet of Love

Venus is making a positive connection to Uranus, the planet of surprises.  Expect the unexpected, particularly in the area of romantic relationships! 

Return from France

I just returned from the South of France where I toured sacred sites associated with the return of feminine energy to the planet.   It was grueling because I am not much of a hiker and some of the places were high up on mountaintops.   I am now a priestess of Isis initiate and a Light Bearer.   
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With gratitude to: The">http://www.presentlove.com">The Law of attraction

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I am planning to write an historical novel about the area where I currently live, La Cieneguilla in New Mexico.  Great presentation at the LCVA breakfast this weekend by several historians, geneologists, and archeologists.   I want to create a heroine based on an actual woman who lived here in the mid-1700's, which would be the post-Pueblo Revolt period in NM history. 

Returning

Hello to everyone. I apologize for the long delay. I have been out of commission for a long time due to medication interactions which were life-threatening. I have now become something of an expert on this subject, and I may even write a book about the experience. I am continuing to research the issue, but so far I have come to the conclusion that there is an epidemic out there created by the careless prescribing of pharmaceuticals, often multiple drugs at a time, which themselves cause illness.

I was finally forced to take my health care into my own hands by essentially refusing to accept further medication prescriptions after several of them caused serious side effects, including loss of motor coordination, dizziness, anxiety, inability to drive, over-sedation etc. I would advise anyone being given a new drug to research it first before just blindly following a doctor's orders. Obviously you have to do a careful risk/benefit analysis. Public Citizen's Worst Pills/Best Pills is a good place to start. This non-profit organization has lobbied tirelessly to get dangerous drugs recalled, and they post current warnings long before the FDA acts to remove them from the marketplace.

Many medical professionals these days are so utterly tied into the pharmaceutical industry both financially and because of their training, that they are rarely willing to think outside the box in terms of more holistic health care options. They are quite cavalier about side effects, often insisting that "all" medicines have side effects and implying that you just have to put up with them. That's fine if they are minor in nature, but if they are causing serious difficulties, you need to evaluate for yourself whether or not to continue the treatment. It also turns out that older adults are much more likely to suffer these kinds of complications than younger people because the drugs do not clear from their systems as fast.

Although I haven't abandoned prescription drugs altogether, I am now down to only two. I was actually told by one doctor whose practice consisted entirely of prescribing medications, that many of his patients are on as many as 30 different drugs at a time!

I would welcome hearing of my readers experiences with this problem. Since it happened to me, almost everyone I mention it to has a horror story of their own or a close acquaintance related to this issue.

Winter Blahs

My Facebook friends are comparing who has it worse this snowy winter. New Mexico has had its share of blizzards, but it isn't even in the running when it comes to Minnesota and other midwestern and Eastern seaboard states. I have been thinking of Shelley's wistful inquiry lately: "When winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Climate change scientists say that all these storms are evidence of the planet warming, not a refutation of it. I think based on the disasters we have all observed in Haiti, New Orleans, and Indonesia, all of us are likely to be in for a wild and crazy ride. There has been no political will to actually address the potential for future calamities which await us.

Movie Reviews for the New Year

I highly recommend Invictus, Clint Eastwood's new movie about Nelson Mandela using the vehicle of the national (mostly white) rugby team as a metaphor for healing the country of its vast racial wounds. I am not much of a sports fan, but I was thrilled by the scenes of all the ass-kicking, sweat drenched scenes of ruby players engaged in what looked like struggles to the death. What a pity the US cannot seem to model this kind of political courage in our absurdly partisan take on every issue, including race. This movie hasn't gotten much promotion, but it is well worth your time.

Avatar is visually spectacular, and I appreciated the obvious parallels with the destruction of pristine environments and cultures (read Native Americans; the aliens on the planet Pandora are known as Navi.) by the, US military machine,determined as always to exploit the resources of others. I found it much too long. Spoiler alert: the underdogs prevail in this special effects fantasy extraqvaganza by James Cameron.

If foreign films are your thing, you could check out Cloud 9 (about an old married woman having an affair with an even older man and the tragic consequences which result for her family. Another possibility is Pedro Almavador's Broken Embraces, yet another movie involving the tragic consequences of cheating on one's significant other, which in my opinion didn't come close to living up to its hype. It's convoluted without being particularly compelling or emotionally affecting. Penelope Cruz was way better in Cristina Barcelona when she was directed by Woody Allen. I have to admit to being partial to American movies and directors.

Jane Campion's Bright Star about the untimely death of the Romance poet John Keats is a heartbreaker. Don't avoid it just because you might think it is impossible to make a watchable movie about poetry; this one won't disappoint you.

Fall Festival at the Santa Fe Racetrack

Our community held its first annual fall festival with mariachi music, fokloria ballet, face painting, pumpkins, bird aviary, costume parade and flea market. The kids costumes were terrific and some of them were photographed for local newspapers. There was a little Batman and a fireman complete with firetruck. Very colorful and fun. The event was held at the Pojoaque Pueblo race track which is no longer used for horse racing.

Public Option Still Alive and Well

Remarkable what the progressive push-back has managed to accomplish in the health reform arena. Looks like we might actually get a decent bill passed after all.

Kudos to Obama for Winning the Nobel Peace Prize

Ok, I have recently been grousing about the incrementalism of the Obama administration and worried about the continuing wars, but this is clearly a positive thing for both Obama himself and the country. Right-wing pundits who are saying this is embarassing or undeserved are misguided as usual. This is about the Nobel Committee encouraging peace overtures and saying that the war and fear mongering of the Bush administration will no longer be held against the USA. Obama does seem overly cautious at times, but he is so far from Dubya and his horrible thugs like Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al it is no surprise the world is celebrating this. Good for our President, and here's hoping this will encourage him to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and pursue genuine peace in the Middle East and all over the world. That would really be change we can believe in!

Fall Blahs and Swine Flu

My household and some of those with whom I share children have suffered bouts of swine flu already. It seems to me the CDC is sometwhat behind the eight ball on this epidemic. My son still has not received his promised vaccinations through his school. Nobody in Santa Fe appears to even have the vaccine which is supposed to protect against swine flu available as of this week. Younger people are documented to be at greater risk of serious complications and even death from this strain of the flu. Why wasn't the US more prepared to deal with this in a timely fashion?

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?"