LIFE AS WE DO NOT KNOW IT, IN THE AMAZON

Very few people I know are unafraid of spiders, multi-legged bugs, tarantulas, and hairy, non-human life.  The Amazon has been home to many unusual bits of living things to those of us who do not make it home. Amazon’s forests, which store vast amounts of carbon and have provided many new species used in pharmaceuticals. In the past five decades, settlers, farmers, and loggers have destroyed at least 17 percent of the Amazon rain forest — an area twice the size of Spain. Click here.

There is a very pretty...if you don't mind scary, furry things, tarantula that is bluish-purple with pink toes.  They shed their hairy skin as they grow out of it...a rather interesting sight!

It is claimed by the World Wildlife Fund that a new species is found  in the last decade, every three days, in the Amazon.  In the lush rainforests of the Amazon, scientists have discovered a blue-fanged bird-eating spider, a black and blue-colored poison dart frog, a pink river dolphin and a camouflaged anaconda. These and thousands of other species were discovered in the Amazon between 1999 and 2009. To see the WWF report, click here.

Mankind seems to be giving away too much of our planet out of greed to the already fat cats.  I'd like to think our planet is self-renewal life our self-cleaning ovens but, somehow, logic hasn't gotten me there.

THERE IS MORE THAN ONE LAST WORD

Tonight Lawrence O'Donnell, on his MSNBC show, invited the leaders of five separate groups of the Teapartiers. None claimed leadership roles.  Each said that the Teaparty does not  need leaders, that as a leaderless group they have done very well.  They believe their goals are consistent with one another. They all said they wished for smaller, less intrusive government, and less socialism yet none could readily name a socialist program they would cut.  They all agreed, finally, that subsidies were socialistic but did not readily consider health care and social security as such.  For this observer, it was difficult to muster respect and comfort that these people knew enough to lead the country in a productive direction.

These group leaders were a contrast to the people the media has focused on as representative of the Teaparty's chosen candidates for office.  This group did not sound fanatical, rather confused, naive, and somewhat like a small child who, without any real knowledge,  thinks they can simply solve a problem...no hint of sequelae to their actions.

The questions asked by the interviewers. is often as useless as asking, :"What would Jesus do?"  This was not at all what O'Donnell did   It was a show run by a real pro.  He kept his focus and disallowed their spewing rhetoric instead of direct answers to what he asked of them.  Following Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann,
Rachel Maddow, his show, The Last Word, is aptly named.  Welcome to our world which is ready to be brought some reality, truth, balance, and integrity.

THE TEAPARTIERS

The Teapartiers are treating our democracy as though they were Puritans responding to King George III.  We have no clear mental health profile of the Puritans who came over on the Mayflower but I have difficulty believing they were as weird as our current crop of government protesters.  President Obama was on for the full half hour and the taped program was shortened a bit as it had run over the allotted time..

In fact, the situation is rather frightening.  We are dealing with people who believe they have to 'take back' the government, by force, if necessary.  I would hate to see a real revolution where there will be bloodshed but ti seems headed in that direction.  There is no question in my mind but that governmental agencies have been tracking the militias and their leaders.  The difficulty is that nothing can be done about them until they have committed some illegal act that is overt or has been witnessed by reliable observers.

As painful as it is to have to accept one's friends and relatives for their ridiculous views on politicians, it will be worse if we have to deal with them on opposite sides of a revolution.  We can only hope that it doesn't come to that.

Today Jon Stewart was honored as the most influential American male, though I have not been able to find the proper confirmation of it. Better still, today, was a special segment by Keith Olbermann during which he gave a pretty complete run-down on the insanity Teapartiers are perpetrating on the rest of us.  It was clear that the majority of those running for serious office are incompetent to fill the position as representatives of their constituency.  There should not be a voter who skips reading this if they hadn't heard it live when he gave it.

LIFE IS A SERIES OF MATHEMATICAL TASKS

From birth to near the end of middle age, life, hopefully, for most there are more additions than subtractions.  Proof is the guy with the beard hanging on the plus' sign everywhere.  His story of death and resurrection add hope and faith to believers. More learning, more successes, more joy, more relationships, fewer subtractions of all those. The 'take away' sign remains at the fast food drive in booth.  If Nature has not sufficiently endowed females, they can add to their boobs and both sexes can subtract from their noses.

By the time the 'Golden Age' arrives, the process reverses.  The take away becomes real.  Friends become ill and die, professional identity shifts to a 'I used to be a...'; the source of  income lessens, energy wanes, bodies begin to wear out.  The major addition in life are now medical specialists and funeral attendance.. 

However, while that picture may seem bleak to a youth, it needn't be to the graduates of being young.  While youth rarely know what their future will actually be.  Seniors are all sure their next step is oblivion...no more to add or subtract.  There is a certain peacefulness in that knowledge, even though one might do everything possible to stave it off.

We grow up and many of us multiply by adding a partner or having children as our fertilized cells divide.

We have now added in-laws then some of us divorce and divide.  From a houseful of family, the children grow up and get subtracted from the original household.  They go on to add, multiply and go through the same steps again.  The calculator to do these processes in now part of the new technology. We pick our partners by signing up to a dating service to match us to the perfect partner. Our senses get subtracted gradually. We add cataract surgery and hearing aids.  We subtract teeth and add implants.  But now our math is done by Nature.  All those years of studying math in school, algebra and geometry as well, get quickly forgotten if you don't need it on your job.  I now understand why it is so frequently advised to "Let Nature take its course'.,

BULLYING NOT NEW; JUST SUPPORTED BY TOO MANY

Bullying is often not the creation of the bully.  Often there is subtle approval and permission given by a parent or parents, the local society, and those who want someone else to do their 'dirty work'.  I've been searching out what is going on about laws or states who seriously express concern about bullying, I found a site that looks interesting.  Click here. The site belongs to the Bully Police USA.  Most of the states are listed, with many having been given a grade rating.  I was interested in seeing that Massachusetts earned an A++ rating.  If that is deserved, I don't wish to imagine how little is being done in other states.  California brought their rating up from a D to a B and the reasons why it came up are listed.

Bullying exists wherever the power structure is unequal and the one with more perceived power can effectively bully...sometimes indistinguishable from blackmail, though often physical or power in other ways to hurt the target, such as firing, doing damage to their reputation, etc..  As prevalent as it may be in Middle School, we should never presume bullying only happens in children and teens.  There are bosses who are bullies, law enforcement personnel in all stations, clergy, politicians, men, women, and anyone who can 'win' over someone else and sports the cruelty to be able to see it through.  Just disagreeing with someone else's opinion causes some bullies to take action.

This makes it a conclusion that those who are biased, opinionated, and unable to believe theirs are not the only acceptable opinions can easily bully to get others to agree.  The abortion doctor, Dr. George Tiller, who was shot a few months ago is certainly a poster boy for this kind of rigidity in the bullying perpetrator.  The murderer believed he was doing something good.  He was incapable of feeling for the life he took nor the family around him and friends who loved and depended on Dr. Tiller. 

As is typical in my first paragraph, the man who shot Dr. Tiller was being urged on by the rhetoric of the anti-abortionists.  Those who advocate violence will watch this kind of bullying and feel virtuous because it was not their finger lifted in the violence.  However, Bill O'Reilly, in my opinion, and those like him should share the responsibility for their actions.  Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Glenn Beck, Limbaugh, and all those who are stirring up violence should be held accountable when it happens.

FLU SHOTS MADE EASY

The other day I had an hour to spare so I phoned my local drug superstore and asked if they were giving flu shots.  They were, and like old barber shops, they said no appointment was necessary and the waiting usually wasn't long.  I love it when things come out as they have been described  In less than an hour I had driven there,  showed my health insurance card, filled in the forms, waited a bit as I chatted with people around me, and the most gorgeous creature with a lovely soft voice came and gave me the flu shot, which also contained the H1N1 vaccine.

I remembered a few years back waiting in line, about which I wrote a blog article.  Click here. Like so many things today, the process is now 'new and improved'.  Years ago, I could count on taking a flu shot and developing the flu.  I swore I would never take another and managed not to for about 30 years.  Finally a good doctor let me know that I was in an age group that really should have the shot and they are 'new and improved' today, no longer giving the recipients the flu.  He was right.  I no longer get the flu from them and scarcely am aware that I have had a shot.

The government puts out all sorts of bulletins and I subscribe to lots of things.  The CDC Bulletin is a nice read.  In fact, for those of us who like to stay informed and delude ourselves that it is possible, you can subscribe to government information worth reading at subscriptions@hhs.gov. To read about the flu shots from the CDC, click here   And that, children, is how to get shot by the government safely.

THE FUTURE IS HERE

Science fiction a few years ago is a reality today in aeronautics, medicine, communication technology, and so many other areas.  First mankind (this includes women, dudes and ladies).dreams up an idea.  Some people share it with others as Dan Kamen seems to do, and many times the result is a completion of the idea becoming a tangible, working reality.

Humans have long dreamed of space travel.  The first private spaceport has been built in New Mexico. The first few passengers will pay well over $125,000 for that privilege.  We all remember that that videotapes started out at $30 each in the late sixties and early seventies.  Once the original setup costs have been amortized, prices start coming down.  In pharmaceuticals that rarely happens because the company just phases out the drug and replaces it with a 'new and better' drug that treats the same problem, but that is really a non sequitor.

It is actually quite exciting to see where some of those exorbitant profits some of the rich have made off the backs off the backs of the poor. have gone.  Virgin Galactic's VSS Enterprise made a celebratory flight over the runway  For a more complete picture of the spaceport and what it is expected to bring to the world  click here.