So Failin' Palin is a "real" American. If she and/or her husband belonged to the "Alaska First" party and wanted Alaska to secede from the United States, is she really as "pro-America" as Michele Bachmann would like her to be? Seems like Failin' Palin is ANTI-American, both by her and her own party's standards.
Hypocrite.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Myth of Home Ownership
Today, the question in my head is this: is being the owner of a single-family home the "best" way to wealth? I'm thinking about the precepts that have been preached at Americans for many years - that owning your home is the way to virtually guarantee your retirement and, your home should be the major asset that you acquire.
I'm not seeing that American dream make sense, and here's why.
Even before the latest economic downturn, Americans are forced to buy into markets that are often inflated and oversold, securing mortgages at interest rates that keep them in economic slavery for thirty or more years at a time. When homeowners get to the mortgage-burning party, if they ever do, they've often invested more cash and stress than the property is worth, even if the property has appreciated in value. So,when you get to your glorious retirement, what do you do in order to tap into that major asset? You have to sell it and downgrade your life to fit the cash that you get for that asset! Sounds pretty anti-climatic.
Isn't there some kind of life you can have without being an economic slave? Shouldn't your major asset be the cash that you accumulate and not the cash you hand over making banks rich so that they pay a select few executives OUTRAGEOUS salaries, while paying the tellers little more than minimum wage? I think banks employ the top-heavy salary scales that Walmart uses: heavy on the top, light on the bottom. Why is owning a home important when it is subject to so many forces that are beyond the individual's capacity to understand or influence them?
Aren't we defined by more than this? I'm getting sick of economic slavery: mortgages, credit cards, credit ratings, and Walmart. I'm getting tired of being a sheep and following along quietly with whatever makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. We must do better than this.
I'm not seeing that American dream make sense, and here's why.
Even before the latest economic downturn, Americans are forced to buy into markets that are often inflated and oversold, securing mortgages at interest rates that keep them in economic slavery for thirty or more years at a time. When homeowners get to the mortgage-burning party, if they ever do, they've often invested more cash and stress than the property is worth, even if the property has appreciated in value. So,when you get to your glorious retirement, what do you do in order to tap into that major asset? You have to sell it and downgrade your life to fit the cash that you get for that asset! Sounds pretty anti-climatic.
Isn't there some kind of life you can have without being an economic slave? Shouldn't your major asset be the cash that you accumulate and not the cash you hand over making banks rich so that they pay a select few executives OUTRAGEOUS salaries, while paying the tellers little more than minimum wage? I think banks employ the top-heavy salary scales that Walmart uses: heavy on the top, light on the bottom. Why is owning a home important when it is subject to so many forces that are beyond the individual's capacity to understand or influence them?
Aren't we defined by more than this? I'm getting sick of economic slavery: mortgages, credit cards, credit ratings, and Walmart. I'm getting tired of being a sheep and following along quietly with whatever makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. We must do better than this.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Contagion of Hate
I sat here today and re-read my recent posts and realized that I don't sound like a registered Republican. Interestingly, though, I am. I always vote my conscience and the issues, but I'm a registered Republican out of respect for my father. Here's why.
When my father was a young man, he couldn't get a job in this town because he was Italian. He had to beg for work around here in the early '40s because he was NOT one of the few Italians in town who were "well connected". Instead of kissing ass, he chose to become an entrepreneur and ran two very successful businesses in spite of the local prejudice. He was able to retire at age 50, put me through as much school as I desired, and helped me out whenever I got in a jam. He was an excellent role model -I love and miss him. My father thought the principles of the Republican party were instrumental in his business successes and although he voted his conscience as well, he identified himself as a Republican. When I first registered to vote, I chose to declare myself a Republican like him. I've never felt the need to change that until now. Here's why.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their representatives have, jointly and severally, engaged in the kind of racial and ethnic smearing that made life difficult for my father. My dad told me that people made made fun of his religion by making cruel comments about Catholics. He wasn't even a practicing Catholic. People speculated that every Italian had a hotline to Mussolini, and that within every Italian lurked a dangerous and violent criminal a la Mafia. If he had a dollar for every time he was called an oily Wop, he wouldn't have needed the job he couldn't get.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their representatives have, jointly and severally, tarnished the ideals and principles that my dad believed in and cherished. I resent that. I resent them for that. They offend me with their lies and insinuations. The Republican party has tried so hard to insinuate that Barack Obama is a dangerous Muslim terrorist that they look like buffoons and fools. No matter what they say, a thinking person can clearly see that Obama is not a terrorist who associates with terrorists who are currently terrorizing. Ayers is proof that violence is not the answer to social problems; he's done a lot of good work since his Weathermen days, but he's known for the violence he perpetuated.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their representatives have, jointly and severally, cost this country more in scandals and taxpayer money than Barack Obama has requested in the dreaded "earmark spending". At least "earmarks" are dollars that translate to jobs and income for his constituency! John McCain has managed to dance around the Keating scandal. The S&L debacle was the most offensive type of "earmark" for which taxpayers were forced to pay billions.
The only people who are terrifying in the current political scenario are the Republicans. This fantasic fanaticism cannot be ratified in this election. This Republican compulsion to "rule through fear" must be ended. I prefer the audacity of hope, and after this election, I will change my voter registration to support that. My dad would approve wholeheartedly.
When my father was a young man, he couldn't get a job in this town because he was Italian. He had to beg for work around here in the early '40s because he was NOT one of the few Italians in town who were "well connected". Instead of kissing ass, he chose to become an entrepreneur and ran two very successful businesses in spite of the local prejudice. He was able to retire at age 50, put me through as much school as I desired, and helped me out whenever I got in a jam. He was an excellent role model -I love and miss him. My father thought the principles of the Republican party were instrumental in his business successes and although he voted his conscience as well, he identified himself as a Republican. When I first registered to vote, I chose to declare myself a Republican like him. I've never felt the need to change that until now. Here's why.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their representatives have, jointly and severally, engaged in the kind of racial and ethnic smearing that made life difficult for my father. My dad told me that people made made fun of his religion by making cruel comments about Catholics. He wasn't even a practicing Catholic. People speculated that every Italian had a hotline to Mussolini, and that within every Italian lurked a dangerous and violent criminal a la Mafia. If he had a dollar for every time he was called an oily Wop, he wouldn't have needed the job he couldn't get.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their representatives have, jointly and severally, tarnished the ideals and principles that my dad believed in and cherished. I resent that. I resent them for that. They offend me with their lies and insinuations. The Republican party has tried so hard to insinuate that Barack Obama is a dangerous Muslim terrorist that they look like buffoons and fools. No matter what they say, a thinking person can clearly see that Obama is not a terrorist who associates with terrorists who are currently terrorizing. Ayers is proof that violence is not the answer to social problems; he's done a lot of good work since his Weathermen days, but he's known for the violence he perpetuated.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and their representatives have, jointly and severally, cost this country more in scandals and taxpayer money than Barack Obama has requested in the dreaded "earmark spending". At least "earmarks" are dollars that translate to jobs and income for his constituency! John McCain has managed to dance around the Keating scandal. The S&L debacle was the most offensive type of "earmark" for which taxpayers were forced to pay billions.
The only people who are terrifying in the current political scenario are the Republicans. This fantasic fanaticism cannot be ratified in this election. This Republican compulsion to "rule through fear" must be ended. I prefer the audacity of hope, and after this election, I will change my voter registration to support that. My dad would approve wholeheartedly.
Friday, October 10, 2008
John McCain, Economic Terrorist
Poor judgment, campaign contributions that were improper, and another Federal bailout - twenty years ago, John McCain engaged in actions that cost the Federal Government billions of dollars. Clearly an example of economic terrorism. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone (giving props to the Bible, for my GOP readers).
Insane McCain and the Downfall of the Republic Party
Insane McCain and Failin' Palin are guilty of trying to incite domestic terrorism, racial violence and common criminal behavior in their desperate attempts to divide this country in the name of political control. They should be ASHAMED. They should NOT be ELECTED. If one person is harmed because of the wild and irresponsible behavior of the Republican Party, Insane McCain and Failin' Palin should be individually held liable, as well as the coffers of the GOP. Enough is enough. They're even turning off Republicans! They've taken a rigorously independent voter like me and find shelter in the Democratic Party because of their ridiculous and non sequiter tactics and strategies. Seems like somebody forgot his/her Zoloft or Ativan or Paxil this week...
Failin' Palin: Not New, Not Clean, Not Different
Wow. It's now confirmed that Failin' Palin abused her gubernatorial power by firing the guy who wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law. Is anyone surprised? She is not "new" - there's nothing fresh about politicians who lie, cheat, and abuse. She's not "clean" - she's soiled by her own greediness and laziness. She's not "different" - she's one of the good-old-boys-with-tits. Sit down, Failin'. There's a special place in hell for those who breaketh the commandment, Thou Shalt Not Lie.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Three Lessons I Have Learned From Failin' Palin
Number One: Re-think the wink.
Number Two: If you don't know WTF you're talking about, STFU.
Number Three: Don't forget the G. The G is a VERY necessary part of the whole "ing" concept.
Number Two: If you don't know WTF you're talking about, STFU.
Number Three: Don't forget the G. The G is a VERY necessary part of the whole "ing" concept.
The GOP Love Affair with Ayers
I wonder if the McCain preoccupation with the Obama-Ayers connection is really about protecting this helpless nation from the scourge of "domestic terrorism", or if it's a clever cover for the violence that he and Failin' Palin are trying to incite against Obama? Or, perhaps they mean to imply that *anyone* who was 7 years old in '68 is a domestic terrorist because they were alive and the same age as Obama whilst Mr. Ayers was committing his foolishness (violence usually solves no problems). If so, then I am a domestic terrorist, too. I had thought I was just a domestic goddess, but I am willing to stand corrected.
If the Republican party shot its wad with the "Ayers scandal", they clearly should have taken a hit of Viagra first. That was a yawn. If they're trying to incite domestic terrorism against Barack Obama, they should be arrested.
If the Republican party shot its wad with the "Ayers scandal", they clearly should have taken a hit of Viagra first. That was a yawn. If they're trying to incite domestic terrorism against Barack Obama, they should be arrested.
Sarah Palin, The Post Turtle
This was printed in the Ithaca Journal recently. It's exquisite.
While sewing up a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Lansing farmer, whose hand was caught in a gate, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin. "Well," the old farmer said, "ya know, Palin is a 'Post Turtle'." Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was. The old farmer said, "When you're driving down a country road you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'." The old farmer saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain. "You know she didn't get up there by herself. She doesn't belong up there. She doesn't know what to do while she's up there. And you just wonder about the judgment of the person who put her up there to begin with." M. Shulman
Gotta love that.
While sewing up a cut on the hand of a 75-year-old Lansing farmer, whose hand was caught in a gate, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin. "Well," the old farmer said, "ya know, Palin is a 'Post Turtle'." Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was. The old farmer said, "When you're driving down a country road you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'." The old farmer saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain. "You know she didn't get up there by herself. She doesn't belong up there. She doesn't know what to do while she's up there. And you just wonder about the judgment of the person who put her up there to begin with." M. Shulman
Gotta love that.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Palin's Debate Was No Trainwreck
It was more like a life raft with a slow leak...a spluttering, repetitive kind of noise that you just want to squeeze with your hands and push all the way under the water.
President Palin. The thought of that makes me queasy.
President Palin. The thought of that makes me queasy.
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