well…reading the newspapers over the last few years has revealed a troubling theme the I just have to comment on. Even with the overall middle-class tax burden at it’s lowest point in the last 50 years, the prevailing wisdom is that the only way to get the states and federal budget under control is to cut services, to cut the wages and benefits of workers, and cut the gains that have made the middle class the engine of our economy. Just yesterday, ole Newt suggested in Michigan that the only way out of the problem is to cut benefits that teachers and other workers have fought for the last 50 years to get.
I just have to relay what one of my professors in grad school told our class; that you can’t cut your way to prosperity and growth, that a monkey can come in and take away benefits and lay off people…but that is all I hear today…cut, cut, cut….is this jealousy from the people that are now on the outside looking in without protection that comes from being part of a unionized workforce? Where is the shared sacrifice that made our country unique in the world? I truly believe that this is a plan by the righties to fragment the opposing powers that they have fought with for control of the profits of the economy; and they are winning the battle to demonize workers to the benefit of their corporate sponsors. Why is there no uproar on the right when their leaders champion the outsourcing of American jobs which puts downward pressure on the wages of the remaining workers here? Why doesn’t anyone think that a rising middle class in wages and benefits is a good thing? Who is going to buy the 40,000 dollar Suburban when the average wage is being pushed down to minimum wages level?
I think it’s sad that our supposed leaders have stopped leading us to the future and the ideals that have been part of this country since it’s inception; that we can do anything if we just work together and that the future will be better than today….small minds think small….geez…
Well…didn’t go out with G last night since she had a long day and grass on her lawn that was about 8 inches high and needed to be cut…not all bad since I saved some cash and really didn’t need to drink last night. Don’t really need to drink any night but it’s fun sometimes. Not really that much to do today, decided to not spend the 70 bucks for the USA jersey….just couldn’t justify it in my head. Speaking of in my head, had weird dreams last night that involved disappearing money, old girlfriends, and swimming,….yeah, I know, pretty weird but even worse if you’re there. Did put new line on my fishing reel just in case Tom and I go fishing instead of shooting pool today…and the new coffee table from G is working out really well as a work bench….yep, getting to be more of a furniture guy…weird.
One last thing, hmmm..this should be in sports but Nicky Lidstrom has signed for another year with the Wings….I’m pretty geeked about that!
Well….just got done talking to my son who basically runs my website, and found out that there are people actually reading this stuff…mostly Americans and Canadians, but some from Russia and China, too. Now…I’m neurotic enough about just about everything but, I think this takes it up to an entirely new level. I started out doing this because I had things in my head that I wanted to get out (yeah, normally you wouldn’t want to see that) and I think that will always be the real driver behind what I do here. It does add to my stress level when I know that someone else is seeing this but it may also add to the quality that you’ll see…well…maybe not.
But I will say thanks to the readers (you know who you are) but I can’t promise anything else…as you’ve seen, sometimes I can write with the best of them but, quite a few times, it’s no great shakes…oh, crap, not supposed to admit that am I? I’ll have it figured out this week so the novel will get posted so give it a try…at least my friends liked it…or they were just being nice…man…didn’t think about that…geez…
Well…I hope you’ve heard of this last outrage from Karl Rove…he has a company that is going to funnel corporate money into repub campaigns with the express purpose of making sure that the companies have a hand in writing any new regulations that they will be subject to. Doesn’t anyone remember what happened the last time that Rove was involved in anything? And does no one remember what happened when Cheney wrote our energy policy behind closed doors with the only input being from those that were being regulated? Can you say Gulf oil spill and the meltdown of the financial markets due to deregulation? Well…these guys are promising more of the same; more running of the economy into the ground to benefit only the rich and the sad thing is that their voters, who were hurt the most by these shenanigans, are going to fall in line and buy into the propaganda that will be used to sell it as good for them and the economy….geez…
Well…feel a lot better today…even have some energy so I used it to go out and get a new rear tire for the bike and then try to find a USA jersey for the World Cup….but I don’t know if I want to spend 70 bucks for a shirt that I’ll only use a couple of times..probably not. Just got a call from G and since it is the first workday of the week, she thinks it’s Monday, and we usually go out on Monday…so we may go out for a few. Not too much else to say right now….one thing, taking two days off riding was the right thing to do…had lots of energy in the legs today so yay! What else? Oh, stayed home yesterday since it did storm and just did a complete veg….just the thing it appears….
Well…I know…took a couple of days off to just chill out and do nothing except have a bunch of beers…still feel like crap with no energy that has been going on for a couple of weeks now; haven’t even gotten on the bike in a couple of days since my legs have been so dead. Did go over to K’s yesterday to get some sun and out to the winchester last night but didn’t stay out late.
Might go over to K’s again today but the radar shows that it is going to storm here in about an hour or so and last for a while so I may just stay home…more later…
Well…was just sitting here thinking tonight..(yeah, I know, that’s dangerous) that I don’t really recognize what this country has become..or what it’s people have become over my lifetime….maybe it’s just a perspective thing on my part but I really do think we’ve lost our way. And, I think that some of the posts that I’ve written have added to the polarization that I think has taken away our Americanness and continues to be part of the wall that keeps us from finding our way back. That’s not to say that I’m going to stop writing about my particular way of looking at the world and venting my outrage…and won’t apologize about.
How have we allowed corporations to have so much power over our everyday lives? nope not feeling it right now…more later…okay…back now….
Corporations have the power to destroy our environment, to take away our jobs, to buy our elected officials, and run roughshod over American’s lives and the people that are getting screwed keep electing officials that help them do that. Have we become so stupid that we can’t even think in our own self interest?
This one is not as lucid that I envisioned when I started it…just not feeling as sharp as normal tonight….oh, well….
Well…another kind of normal day but have felt kind of out of sync all day…no energy in the legs for the bike ride but that may be that I just need to take a day off…have ridden every day for almost 3 weeks and now with the left knee starting to pop, a rest may be in order. I did get the coffee table, end table, and a lamp from G yesterday and I will say that I think I can get used to having more furniture. I know, I’m still not a furniture kind of guy but the coffee table works great for a foot stool. It looks like I have plans for the weekend after all…over to K’s tomorrow to sit around the pool and then a reunion of the Taps people at the Winchester Sunday. I don’t know if I’ve shared it but Taps was the place I met most of the friends I now have and it will be good to see some people I don’t see much any more.
That’s about it…no outrage at anything right now so that is why no extra posts lately, plus I’ve been busy doing other things…maybe more later…
Oh, there is the Indy 500 Sunday, too, that is a tradition for me so I’ll have to watch it…
Well…been kind of a fun day today…had a nice surprise from T…she texted me this morning to ask me to go to lunch…so we did and had a hoot at the Beltline Bar….everything else today is just about normal except G coming over in a few minutes to bring me some furniture. Yeah, I know….I’m not the furniture kind of guy but thought I’d try it out…a couple of tables and a lamp…weird.
Have been reading a bunch about how many of the righty politicians have been able to build careers on saying whatever they want without regard for the truth and their followers are so thick (to coin the English slight) that they will just believe it without any critical thought…takes me back to the Bush years that had us listening to Cheney who thought that truth was what he said it was and it could be created by repeating lies over and over and louder and louder….geez….
Oh, one other thing, how many times do politicians that Sarah Palin backs have to lose before the Repubs start to run away from her as fast as they can?