ANECDOTAL OBSERVATIONS

Having been a psychotherapist for many years, I have been an observer of many, probably more intimately than many other people have opportunity to know others.  I had also supervised many trainees and workers for years, did considerable teaching and gave lectures..  Having initially been trained in individual psychotherapy, I quickly moved to the new field of family therapy in the late 50s when I was the clinical director in a residential treatment center for adolescent girls.

It did not take a long time for me to note that many people had difficulty making or accepting change and were totally resistant to seeing more than one family member at one time. Family therapy requires being able to keep each family member in view as part of a system and to watch and learn how each interacts with the other.  It became apparent that many of my interns were unable to do this and I advised them to focus on their work with individuals.  However, that made me sad because I do not see how one can be a good therapist if one is not able to see their patient in a context, whether it is in a family, as a spouse, offspring, sibling or parent, even as a part of a working group or team.

Clearly, if one is unable to foresee consequences, that person will live either in chaos or as though in post mortem.  They will either drift into situations for which they are unprepared, or they will avoid most relationships, activities and contacts.

If one can extrapolate from this broad generalization, one can speculate that Democrats get more fun out of life than Republicans.  If you believe that to be a far fetched statement, think of the people you know who are staunch Republicans vs Democrats you may know.  Remember, one size does not fit all and I readily confess this is a broad generalization

OBAMA AN ANTI-CHRIST? "HELL NO". AS JOHN BOEHNER LOVES TO BELLOW OUT

Since the religious right has tried to take over the country they are trying to make everyone believe their nonsense.  Calling Obama an antichrist is total nonsense. (The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, is a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner.)  The truth is, from all anthropological research, Obama, if he were to grow his hair, probably looks and acts more like Christ than any of his Teaparty opponents.  It is unlikely that Christ was a blond, fair-skinned, blue eyed guy.

The NY Times wrote on article why about why the concept matters in politics.  To read it, click here      (Just how dirty can our treasonous elected Republicans get?)  It was my impression that they were elected to do good for the country.  Since they have resisted most opportunities to do so, rather hurting the country in full knowledge of the price the jobless and middle class people have to pay, I will continue to repeat that I believe them to truly qualify under all definitions of treason I have read.

The questions as to why we, a secular country, must put up with all the lies and hypocrisy from the unchristian 'Christian' right is yet to be answered..  And this is the group that claims they were going to make sure the Constitution of the United States is followed???

VIOLENT REVOLUTIONS START WHEN PEOPLE ARE STIFLED AND FRUSTRATED

Picture from AlterNet

Today. AlterNet has some articles about the protests on Wall St.  I've not seen anything about these in the media 9/28/11 in the evening though they have apparently been going on for more than a week.  It is now starting the 13th day.  It always saddens me when the media decides it will censor from the public what is really going on. Citizens with cameras are now posting so that might kick the media to action.

Arun Gupta writes: The Revolution Begins at Home: A Clarion Call to Join the Wall Street Protests  He writes:  "We all need to go down and join the occupation -- and not just by "liking" it on Facebook, signing a petition or retweeting protest photos"  I find this a commentary on the passivity that modern technology has allowed us, and in many cases, anonymity,  He continues:  "At some point the number of people occupying Wall Street -- whether that's 5,000, 10,000 or 50,000 -- will force the powers that be to offer concessions. No one can say how many people it will take or even how things will change exactly, but there is a real potential for bypassing a corrupt political process and for realizing a society based on human needs, not hedge fund profits.  

After all, who would have imagined a year ago that Tunisians and Egyptians would oust their dictators?"  For the entire article, click here.  

A second article from the same source, written by Sarah Jaffe, is: 'Occupy Wall Street' Fighting Bankster Greed and the Surveillance State   While the mainstream media has tended to ignore this, tourists are taking pictures and publishing them on the Internet.  Will average citizens help bring the media to heel? .  She writes:  "While even theoretically like-minded folks had been a bit dismissive of the Wall Street occupation before Saturday, the heavy-handed moves by police to control a small march have brought worldwide attention to Zuccotti Park, formerly Liberty Plaza. The Guardian has broken stories ahead of the New York media, outing the police officer caught on tape pepper-spraying penned-up protesters as the same officer named in a wrongful arrest lawsuit from 2004's Republican National Convention protests."

Without question, if these people are ignored and harassed, we can only assume there  will be violence against police brutality and many will be hurt.  History has recorded similar processes many times. It will be interesting to see if there is any action taken against the policeman who pepper sprayed the group in the cage. Many of us remember the Kent State fiasco of May 4, 1970.  This action should never be repeated and goes into history as a shameful blemish on the US.

Is this now our democracy and our America?

WHEN IS SOMEONE IN AUTHORITY GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE NORQUIST PLEDGE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES?

It has been written that 95% of the House of Representatives have signed the Norquist pledge to never raise taxes.  Alex Leary writes in the Miami Herald: "For more than 20 years, Grover Norquist has wielded a mystical power over Republicans, cultivating and enforcing a rigid anti-tax platform.".

Read more:, click here.

Isn't it time that all Representatives, under oath, let the public know that they have or have not signed the oath which prevents them from following the original oath when they were sworn into office

 

Leary further writes:  "He sits on the advisory board of GOProud, a gay group, and has courted Muslims, drawing whispers about his sexual orientation and open charges that he cozies up to extremists. “Bigots,” replies Norquist, whose wife is Muslim."

It is beyond my understanding how such a 'conflict of interest' has been allowed to continue in Congress. Who oversees ethics and doing the job of the House for which people were elected, how can this be tolerated?

LIFE AT PRESENT SEEMS QUITE OVERWHELMING

If I were a Republican, I wouldn't be.  This makes as much sense as much of what I am hearing about our current politics.  I think the Teaparty is treasonous.  I deplore the powers that are really running this country, none of which is likely to be an elected official in the legislature or current administration.

The frustration I feel as an optimist is nothing compared to the pessimists I encounter.  They all sound like Chicken Little.  Right now all I can think of, with the interminable rainy weather and cloudy days, is that I must quickly find my light box.  It serves me better than a trip south so I won't have to struggle with the dangers and politics I would encounter going to warm, winter,  sunny lands.

My S.A.D. body tells me to hibernate.  My head tells me to shove my head in the sand until after the election during which, I can only hope, sane people will throw out the do-nothing Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, and Teapartiers who would rather destroy us all than see another term of one of the best presidents we have had in many terms. I have a roof over my head, food in my house, am surviving and can only empathize with the millions who are suffering untold horrors as a result of the unfeeling, brainwashed elected who fail to see what is being done to destroy our country and their selfish part in it. 

After re-reading what I have written, I think I will go to bed for the rest of the night.......I will breathe better than I would with my head in the sand.

NOTHING IS AS IT USED TO BE NOR WILL IT BE

Before Google, I used to buy every reference book that printed things of interest to me;  quotes, scrabble words, colloquial sayings, rhyming words, do-it-yourself books, encyclopedias and more than remain, some outdated, on my book shelves.  Many have been tossed as obsolete, making room for the many manuals collected though they are far more compact than in the 90s.. Since Nature abhors a vacuum, no shelf is left empty as new 'stuff' rushes in like water to fill a hole in itself.

With regard to reference books, I came across an article that I'd like to share with anyone who has not yet read it.

There are many free services (paid to the service provider by advertising or paid programs with more advantages, often referred to as the PRO version). Tutorials abound on YouTube.

It seems that people are always looking for an either/or choice.  Nonsense.  one must use whatever does the job or provides the information wanted.  I used to buy books to identify flowers, wild and cultivated, including house plants.  I have at least a six foot shelf of them, almost useless since not one had everything and it was more time consuming than to go on Google and search. Google seems to find the answers for me and leaves my shelf space clean..If Google fails me on rare occasions, I turn to the written word and pictures.  If publishers go out of business because people aren't buying enough copies, I will have to deal with that crisis when it comes.

REAL CLASS WARFARE

Paul Krugman, an economist who recently wrote a NY Times article on our current economy and what is happening to the Upper, middle and lower classes in America, showed the statistics that middle class income has grown from 1979 to 2005 at 21% while the top 100th of 1% has grown at 480%.  For his complete article, click here.

The process by which the politicians on the right are calling what is going on in Obama's jobs bill 'class warfare' is what therapists know as 'projection'.  In other words, when what you see in yourself in not acceptable to you, you project it as being in someone else.  Wikipedia defines it in a slightly more elaborated fashion.  Click here.

For definitions for other defense mechanisms, click here.There are 12 of them you might wish to glance at as you will recognize several others being used freely in a variety of contexts.  While I believe that more of them may be seen in the rigid 'right', no one is immune to their occasional use.