Keith Olbermann is back on TV. I feel like I can have my cake and eat some of it, too. I like Lawrence O'Donnell on on MSNBC at 8 PM weekdays. His show is repeated at 11 PM but I like to watch Jon Stewart on the Comedy Channel at this time. Keith Olbermann is on at 8 and 11 PM as is O'Donnell, So, it appeared, no matter how I choose I will have to miss one of them.
However, I finally found that you can go to the MSNBC site itself and see a political show you may have missed. This way I was able to hear an interview with Jim de Mint who believes that if any Republican allows a raise in taxes in any way, Republicans will be lost. It makes clear the power of Grover Norquist.
Having to choose which political show to watch is like asking an ambidextrous person which hand he is willing to have cut off. However, watching them all, time consuming through it may be, leaves one with a more complete sense of what is going on. What I have learned is that the producers of all the shows have finally done some coordinating so that one \no longer has to watch a rubber stamp of information repeated many times. This, of course, means it is more painful to miss one of them. I, for one, plan to watch more of Current Media TV. Any channel wise enough to take Olbermann on is good in my book.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
THE WHEAT AND THE CHAFF OF RULE MAKERS
While I might have to stop and think a couple of times about some names, others seem quite fixed in memory. Who shall forget Joseph McCarthy (an American politician) G W Bush, Osama bin Laden, Jeffrey Dahmer, and so many other good as well as evil men the we know and have known?.
Today we hear a bipartisan attempt by Barney Frank, Dem- MA and Ron Paul, Rep-TX to introduce a Bill in the House of Representatives to legalize marijuana. This action should be considered long past due. Unfortunately, too many slippery slope people believe all sorts of horrendous things will happen and it will lead to harder drug addictions and crime. One women, a radio personality, seems not too bright in her thinking and commented that the repeal of Prohibition was supposed to stop all crime but it hasn't! With powerhouse thinkers like that on media, is it any wonder that other gullible people stalk our neighborhoods.
The truth is that so many prisons have been privatized in the United States and many of them are lobbying to keep their cells filled with 'ideal' prisoners...easier, non-violent people who give the system fewer problems. Cannot our countrymen look at world statistics and note that we have so many outmoded incarcerations in our justice system like this one?
We should all work to eliminate the money that we waste on the 'War on Drugs' and convert it to better services for the many. We also would find that legalizing marijuana brings much needed money to states that grow it instead of to the illegal drug cartels. How long will we have to wait for our voters to take their blinders off and the political lemmings to stay on shore?
Today we hear a bipartisan attempt by Barney Frank, Dem- MA and Ron Paul, Rep-TX to introduce a Bill in the House of Representatives to legalize marijuana. This action should be considered long past due. Unfortunately, too many slippery slope people believe all sorts of horrendous things will happen and it will lead to harder drug addictions and crime. One women, a radio personality, seems not too bright in her thinking and commented that the repeal of Prohibition was supposed to stop all crime but it hasn't! With powerhouse thinkers like that on media, is it any wonder that other gullible people stalk our neighborhoods.
The truth is that so many prisons have been privatized in the United States and many of them are lobbying to keep their cells filled with 'ideal' prisoners...easier, non-violent people who give the system fewer problems. Cannot our countrymen look at world statistics and note that we have so many outmoded incarcerations in our justice system like this one?
We should all work to eliminate the money that we waste on the 'War on Drugs' and convert it to better services for the many. We also would find that legalizing marijuana brings much needed money to states that grow it instead of to the illegal drug cartels. How long will we have to wait for our voters to take their blinders off and the political lemmings to stay on shore?
Thursday, June 23, 2011
THE RIDICULOUS NOTION OF DEREGULATION
Whenever politics talks deregulation, I hear the whine of teenagers telling their parents, "I'm old enough and I know what I am doing". Age alone does not bring wisdom and good judgment. Right now, the Lord of the Flies is not longer a story about little boys, it is about our politicians, corporate leaders, .Supreme Court Justices, lobbyists, and all sorts of people who now have 'power'.
What has happened to our country is that we have allowed the immature and the incompetent to call the shots for far too long. Greed is rarely accompanied by good judgment and maturity of thought and values. Greed has taken over financial planning for the country. It has done away with regulations which had worked to keep us a three class system, the middle class being the largest Today we are a two-class system, 1% has the largest amount of money and the other 99% struggles to keep from being lost in the poor class.
As Rome was not built in a day; as our FBI continues to hunt its #1 criminal (Whitey Bulger), so will it take time to smoke out the greediest among us. The financiers, capitalists, speculators, and corporate leaders must eventually be outed for their lack of concern for the economy of the United States and will eventually see that they cannot survive without the rest of us. Just remember what happened to the country when the New York City trash collectors went on strike a few years ago.
What has happened to our country is that we have allowed the immature and the incompetent to call the shots for far too long. Greed is rarely accompanied by good judgment and maturity of thought and values. Greed has taken over financial planning for the country. It has done away with regulations which had worked to keep us a three class system, the middle class being the largest Today we are a two-class system, 1% has the largest amount of money and the other 99% struggles to keep from being lost in the poor class.
As Rome was not built in a day; as our FBI continues to hunt its #1 criminal (Whitey Bulger), so will it take time to smoke out the greediest among us. The financiers, capitalists, speculators, and corporate leaders must eventually be outed for their lack of concern for the economy of the United States and will eventually see that they cannot survive without the rest of us. Just remember what happened to the country when the New York City trash collectors went on strike a few years ago.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
GREEK PRIME MINISTER WARNS AGAIST DEFAULT
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| Protests in Syntagma Sq, Athens - Reuters |
Americans are being fed propaganda through Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform, the group he heads. There are very few who have showed their love for country by refusing to pledge to Norquist and some who have blatantly violated their pledge. One must question why any elected official should sign a pledge to other than those who voted him into office. What might I be missing? That they do not see the voters as putting them in office but see the butter on the side of their bread spread by men like Norquist, the Koch brothers, lobbyists who write legislative bills for them, and others less visible to the eyes of the taxpayers who are slope shouldered from carrying the burdens rich men are refusing to share.
France and Germany agree on aid to Greece. While there are many who want out of the European Union for Greece, this is clearly one of the advantages for Greece to have joined. But there is no bail out for us, Americans. If I hear one more person say we can no longer blame Bush I'm not sure if my sanity will hold. Of course it was Bush that put us so in debt and he and the Republicans have done nothing to get us out. While we are being told to go 'Green', I don't think they mean it to be through their greed.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
KEITH OLBERMANN IS BACK! ON TV: CURRENT MEDIA CHANNEL
June 29, 2011, after what seemed an interminable wait, Keith Olbermann's Countdown returned to TV on "CURRENT MEDIA". I had not watched that Channel before so I was amazed to hear very unintelligent remarks as comments after the show. It sounded a bit as though someone campaigned to get a group to be negative. I could not find a way to comment on it or I would have ranted a bit. He will be on at his old MSNBC time weekdays 8 pm EDT.
It seemed to me that it was done deliberately and planned, by the lack of accurate facts given about how Olbermann had been rated on MSNBC (a comment about having had only two people watch his show); and other totally negative comments that do not seem to be fitting to an audience who knows that Al Gore is an owner of this channel.
I suppose that the negativity is mostly from people who feel helpless and lash out verbally as though it is the only tool they have...sort of a two-fer. They throw away their verbal power trying to destroy rather than use ir constructively. How sad the majority has become.
It seemed to me that it was done deliberately and planned, by the lack of accurate facts given about how Olbermann had been rated on MSNBC (a comment about having had only two people watch his show); and other totally negative comments that do not seem to be fitting to an audience who knows that Al Gore is an owner of this channel.
I suppose that the negativity is mostly from people who feel helpless and lash out verbally as though it is the only tool they have...sort of a two-fer. They throw away their verbal power trying to destroy rather than use ir constructively. How sad the majority has become.
Monday, June 20, 2011
IT TAKES MANY YEARS TO BECOME THE PERSON WE WANT TO BE: Part Two
Some of you may have noticed many older people are more mellow, less judgmental, and more willing to listen to their 'youngers'. That is because they have become differentiated...They know who they are and are what they want to be. They do not need to be defined externally Life feels good for them. They have few regrets and litle about which to feel guilty.. So many things told to them as new ideas are not new at all. They've been there, done that, but don't find the need to talk about it.
They have pretty much achieved what they wished to do in life and, while they might have taken other paths in life, have made the most of the ones they chose. Teenagers often do not feel anxious about dying. They have not yet made meaningful attachments that make them worry about leaving responsibilities and loved ones behind.
By the time seven or eight decades have been lived, loved ones have another generation or two pushing them from below. Most seniors, who are still enjoying life, are not rushing to die nor do they death. While some cling to the the idea of an after life, others belief death (not dying), is painless and simply like the blue screen on your computer. The only exception is that you can buy a new computer or operating system, but you cannot buy a new life.
Those of us who want to be kind to loved ones whom we leave in life on Earth may wish to leave a neat and tidy package with a Will, a codicil to make the disposal of goods easier for those who might have coveted them or simply because we think a person will love the things we loved,, benefit from clear and concise instructions and a clean and organized house. It is kind to leave specific instructions behind. Whether they are followed or not, up. the deceased will never know. Knowing where you begin and end is part of comfort in old age so that you are not planning to control the living through death but can comfortably let go when it is time to do so..
They have pretty much achieved what they wished to do in life and, while they might have taken other paths in life, have made the most of the ones they chose. Teenagers often do not feel anxious about dying. They have not yet made meaningful attachments that make them worry about leaving responsibilities and loved ones behind.
By the time seven or eight decades have been lived, loved ones have another generation or two pushing them from below. Most seniors, who are still enjoying life, are not rushing to die nor do they death. While some cling to the the idea of an after life, others belief death (not dying), is painless and simply like the blue screen on your computer. The only exception is that you can buy a new computer or operating system, but you cannot buy a new life.
Those of us who want to be kind to loved ones whom we leave in life on Earth may wish to leave a neat and tidy package with a Will, a codicil to make the disposal of goods easier for those who might have coveted them or simply because we think a person will love the things we loved,, benefit from clear and concise instructions and a clean and organized house. It is kind to leave specific instructions behind. Whether they are followed or not, up. the deceased will never know. Knowing where you begin and end is part of comfort in old age so that you are not planning to control the living through death but can comfortably let go when it is time to do so..
Sunday, June 19, 2011
IT TAKES MANY YEARS TO BECOME THE PERSON WE WANT TO BE: Part One
At our birth, only our parents know who they wish us to be. They start to let us know as soon as we can understand words and unspoken messages. Some of what they may wish for us fits; often it doesn't. This causes confusion because during this process we meet many people we admire and come to believe we are capable of anything we choose.
As teenagers, life has shown us that we can achieve a great deal with talents and intelligence which is proving itself in a school setting; we no longer believe there is nothing we cannot achieve We start limiting our options to more realistic choices. Our health, strength, abilities, talents, finances, exposures are some of the things that might begin to point our future goals to us. Peer pressure is very difficult to resist because was are still looking for the outside to define us. We have learned their is effort behind fulfilling dreams. We are, by now, learning about people, those we like and those we don't. Another step in our growth is understanding the reasons why this happens, why we like some and are liked by some..
We still haven't defined ourselves within. Our sense of self comes from external sources in the form of approval, compliments, friendships, feedback from bosses, teachers, and others whom we admire. It takes some spine to stick to the definition we are carving out for ourselves. If we speak candidly, we are often met with anger. People can be con artists, manipulators, and out-and-outright sociopaths. It takes time,energy, and a systems sense to learn to properly read people. We have, by now, learned the price for lies...our own and those of others...and the importance of using tact because we now are developing an ability to put ourselves, in fantasy, in another person's shoes.We are beginning to learn the rules to acceptable interpersonal behaviors.
To be continued.....
As teenagers, life has shown us that we can achieve a great deal with talents and intelligence which is proving itself in a school setting; we no longer believe there is nothing we cannot achieve We start limiting our options to more realistic choices. Our health, strength, abilities, talents, finances, exposures are some of the things that might begin to point our future goals to us. Peer pressure is very difficult to resist because was are still looking for the outside to define us. We have learned their is effort behind fulfilling dreams. We are, by now, learning about people, those we like and those we don't. Another step in our growth is understanding the reasons why this happens, why we like some and are liked by some..
We still haven't defined ourselves within. Our sense of self comes from external sources in the form of approval, compliments, friendships, feedback from bosses, teachers, and others whom we admire. It takes some spine to stick to the definition we are carving out for ourselves. If we speak candidly, we are often met with anger. People can be con artists, manipulators, and out-and-outright sociopaths. It takes time,energy, and a systems sense to learn to properly read people. We have, by now, learned the price for lies...our own and those of others...and the importance of using tact because we now are developing an ability to put ourselves, in fantasy, in another person's shoes.We are beginning to learn the rules to acceptable interpersonal behaviors.
To be continued.....
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