Difficult = Miasma

  Sorry I haven't written in a couple of weeks, but I try to be disciplined in my responses to events, and while I'm not really very patient, I want my blog to reflect something more than a simple rant.  One conclusion I have come to is that we are embroiled in a gourdian knot of issues that cannot be addressed individually with any great effectiveness.  We know the health care crisis is very real, and we know we need a strong public option which will take a large initial outlay of real money.  We also know there is great waste in healthcare from inflated drug prices, to treatments that are in place to protect doctors and hospitals from mistakes and negligence.  There is also a ton of duplication in medical records because there is little communication between facilities and professionals, and patients are not better educated in regards to their 'ownership' of their medical records, or what their treatment options actually are.  These issues will take time and expertise to address, and of course they are affected by the general economic crisis affecting jobs all over the world.  New industries must be created, and that involves education and that all involves a huge initial investment by our governments that must be sensibly addressed by sensible tax increases in order to fund education and research and development.  It seems to me that the senior working class, who will soon retire (whether willing or not) will free up a large portion of the job market, but will put a strain on Social Security and Medicare.  If we move quickly to upgrade record keeping and education investment, I believe we can shorten the painful process we are facing dramatically.  If we use interest-free student loans and grants, we can support the best and brightest into the transition to productivity we need, and we need to drop off the radar all the politically damaging side issues like immigration reform (we need smart people from everywhere), abortion (like we haven't already dealt with that, thanks to feminists everywhere), religion in government(no, thank you), and our support of fascist regimes for private industry advantage (the high road pays huge dividends down the road, and will have a huge immediate impact in our foreign policy success to failure ratio), and the last two issues which are critical to our legislature functioning more effectively...campaign finance reform, and the restoration of authentic news reportage by breaking up the huge conglomerates that control our MSM and returning to 'news as a source of real information" and forcing the pundits to self-identify as opinion spouters.  We must force these media outlets to give equal time to candidates, and open their channels to ALL candidates from ALL parties.  We deserve to be treated like we are part of the process, and in fact are the driving force of the process.  It MUST start with us.  In the midst of all this upheaval, we have wonderful opportunities to restyle ourselves politically, economically, and on a global scale.  It means getting off our lazy butts and taking a few minutes every day to question the rhetoric we hear.  Look up your reps. voting record, do you agree with it?  Why?  Can we be adult about our expectations?  Can we drop our 'short-term-thinking' disease and opt for long-term success?  CAN WE OUT THAT NEXT PIECE OF PIE BACK IN THE KITCHEN?  Perhaps to enjoy tomorrow...

Hell in a Hand Basket

We can no longer assume that the elections we vote in or the people we elect are necessarily going to give us the changes we seek.  The hands that hold power over us are too large, to gripping, to let go easily or at all.  I am not advocating violence, but very little else has worked other than direct revolution.  People in the streets demanding that our govt' respond to our requests or get out of the way.  Of course they won't move willingly, but if there are enough of us, we can force the issues to the forefront and while the internet is still free, force the MSM to recognize the reality of our demands.  We did it in the 60's with civil rights and the war in Viet Nam, and we are doing it regarding gay rights.  Hammer on and take the safety off!  We want health care - single payer preferred, we want an intelligent end to the wars, without input from the military-industrial complex, we want regulations for Wall street, Banks, Food and Drug safety, clean air and water and preservation of those things that money alone cannot replace.  Most of us are willing to work towards those ends.  Stop NAFTA or regulate it sensibly.  Join forces with other true democracies and we can find our way back to our own.  There are too many countries that are doing a better job for their citizens than we are.  Take the blind greed and profit-only out of the equation and you are left with moral certainty or NOT.  We have very little time left.  I am 63 and I remember a time of opportunity, work, good educational choices in public education and I remember the first time I saw a homeless person in my community.  I was shocked.  It was like seeing a zebra on Market St. in San Francisco.  Now this abomination is common and of no particular note.  What have we become?  Where are we going?  Why are we here?  Just to consume.