Smart blondes have more fun

I have been a very bad blogger.   With my son home for summer break, I find my time is more limited than ever.  While I would love to blog every day, there are things in life that must take precedence and the boy is ALWAYS my number one.  That being said, its time to catch up some thoughts on current events....

1.  Farrah Fawcett - I've had respect for this woman because she threw away the pretty actress card by quitting Charlies Angels and then did amazing and important roles in movies like the "The Burning Bed".  She tried to make the world a better place through her roles, art and activism.   Even her cancer (and death) was a role she faced head on and tried to use to educate and make the world a better place.   She will be missed.
2. Michael Jackson - where do I even start?  First off, I was shocked by his death because it was completely unexpected. However, his death brings on extremely mixed feelings about the man.  Yes, the man was an amazing musician.   I live in Motown people - we grew up hearing the Jackson Five.  I am also a child of the 80's - I remember when I loved him in his yellow sweater vest and Thriller.  However, I am also a mother of a young boy and thinking of his perversions and sexual proclivities makes my skin crawl.  I happened to be at a New Kids on the Block concert here in Detroit the day he died and they did the best memorial to MJ, they did "I'll Be There" with all of us singing.  They memorialized the purer young Jackson rather than tainted man.
3. Iran - Wow.  What an amazing response by the people of Iran to what is most likely a crooked election.  This is a nation that has seen revolution within the last 50 years, so at this point they probably no how to do it better than any of us.  Hopefully we stay out of it militarily unless we are truly needed.  However, we need to stand up for those in Iran with our voices, prayers and support.
4. Obama - President Obama, I really want to like you.   Really, I do.  I hated the Bush era policies.  I was ready for a "change".  Unfortunately, you are letting me down.   I am sick of hearing speeches.  I mean REALLY sick of hearing you speak.   It rates up there with Bush and his vacations.   You are there to work, not give speeches.  What happened to transparency in government?   Why are you allowing Pelosi to force bills through without allowing public comment?  Your health care bill is a joke - how can you "fix" healthcare for everyone if you are adding another roadblock that will have to be overcome for complete reform to be effective?   You also don't understand how governmental programs force the costs upwards (Medicare did it, so will expanded governmental healthcare).  Don't even get me started on "cap and trade"...

OK...I got some of the itch out.  Anybody reading this knows the itch I am talking about.  Its that drive to blog about the happenings around us but life prevents us from doing so....

Yippee!

Ahhh…electric cars.  Clean.  Safe.   Eco-friendly.  These babies don’t produce the noxious gasses that their gasoline driven brethren create.   Global warming will abate as the CO₂ levels drop with the ever decreasing population of gasoline-driven automobiles.  The consumer will not be beholden to the gas company and their ever-fluctuating prices.   National security will improve as we reduce the dependence our nation has on foreign oil imports.  It will simply make the Earth a better place.  Right?

As Detroit and Japan push forward on the release of new electric plug-in vehicles, we need to reexamine our condemnation of the auto industry as the chief party responsible for global warming.  Plug-in vehicles sound great to most Americans because we simply plug them in and “POOF” – no more combustion engine pollution.   The problem with electric cars is the myth that they are the solution to our problems.

Americans and the rest of the world face a bigger problem than our vehicles and that is our energy industry.  Beyond the obvious stranglehold that oil producing nations have over the world we have big problems.  Oil is the BIGGEST energy producer on the planet (not to mention a primary source for plastics).  In the US, nearly 40% of ALL energy produced in the country is created by oil and most of that energy produced is done by vehicles. 

So what happens when we take all of the power producing vehicles offline and put the burden on our aging power grid?   What happens we have to nearly double the capacity of our aging grid?  We have to build more power plants.  

New power plants will probably result in new coal plants and an increase in the ever-growing demand for coal.  Currently, 51% of our electricity comes from coal and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.  People seem to be on a “clean coal” kick to include top Democrats like Obama.  Unfortunately, there is no such thing as “clean coal”.  No matter how much you scrub the gasses or trap them in underground storage facilities, there is still a host of environmental issues involved like the destruction of mountains, rivers and streams through mountaintop removal mining techniques.

Sadly, renewable energy sources are expensive to install (although the prices are dropping) and the profits are minimal compared to those the energy industry is used to seeing.  That means they aren’t truly motivated to implement the cleaner energy sources.  Also, the large scale national grids that are plagued by transmission losses and health risks make the sale of energy more profitable; this eliminates their interest in more sustainable, secure and eco-friendly microgrids.

We have attacked our environmental problems in reverse.   Rather than addressing the need to double the capacity of electric power production FIRST, we have pushed for the production of vehicles that will drain an already overtaxed system.  This will most assuredly result in haphazard regulations and lenient rules that will allow the power industry to expand its production capabilities with cheap, dirty energy.  

Pecss_diagram

  

We have ALL seen it before.  A group protests the ruling political party's policies and the participants are deemed dangerous to the Country, the President and even themselves.  The most recent victims of the anti-protest rhetoric are the participants of T.E.A. Party demonstrations.  From Nancy Pelosi to CNN - participants were mocked, demeaned, belittled, and even declared dangerous.   The evil "neo-con" word was thrown around too - even though some of the protestors were liberal democrats.  I won't even go into the amount of times that people attempted to race bait participants.  During the Bush years, anti-war and liberal protestors were declared dangerous and unamerican.  The Right declared these protestors to be commies, radicals, unamerican, unpatriotic and even terrorists!

Why can't Americans see that, no matter what side of the political fence you are on - protesting is a staple of a democracy, a republic and the USA?  These protestors are involved in their country and its governance that supercedes most Americans.  Their participation surpasses that of ANY elected official (to include St Bush and St Obama) because they are doing it for something more than wealth, money, power or fame.

I don't care what the person is protesting, they are doing so because they want to make the nation better.  They are doing it out of a love for their country.  They are protesting because they want to make a difference.   Unlike politicians and talking heads - they generally don't seek fame and glory.  They aren't paid.   They aren't rich.   They are there on their dime. 

So, maybe we can all sit back and respect that thes people are true Americans that are actively involved in the way that it runs rather than calling them names.

Face it folks, in churches, synagogues and temples across the country, gay people are marrying each other in same sex marriages.  Whether you live in a state that has passed a law banning it or laws that allow it - gay people are marrying each other.   The question of whether or not they can be married is irrelevant because it is happening whether you like it or not.  The real issue is whether or not the federal and state governments will equally recognize all marriages of two, consenting adults or continue to show prejudiced, preferential favoritism to a select group of religious groups.

Iowa and Vermont are the two latest states to allow gay marriage and for that I applaud them!  They understand that the right of two consenting adult - heterosexual or homosexual - should be recognized equally.   They understand that the recognition of same sex marriages at a legal level offers same sex couples more that 1500 rights and privileges offered to man-woman couples. So while some states push to reinstate prejudicial laws and treatment of homosexuals, some states fight for equality.

California now looks to its Supreme Court to decide if their recent voter-approved ban on gay marriage is constitutional.  Their recent ballot measure cost 170 million dollars of money that could have been put to good use actually HELPING families rather than trying to hurt them. 

California Supreme Court Associate Justice Joyce Kennard seems to support the new law because she doesn't want to override the will of the people. "What I am picking up from the oral arguments is that this court should willy-nilly disregard the will of the people."  Clearly Justice Kennard fails to realize the the USA and all of its states are NOT democracies - they are Republics.  As republics, mob rule does not apply.   The courts have the right to override prejudicial and unfair laws - even if 90% of the populace votes for them. 

 Thank god Justice Kennard wasn't around when they decided Brown vs Board of Education.  After all, the mob (aka the majority) supported and voted on the laws that segregated black people from white people.  In Kennard's world, voters approved those laws, so they should have been allowed to stand.

First off, let me start by saying that Obama gave me the one major change I wanted out of the last election cycle - an end to the presidency of George W Bush. So for me, anything else that changes (for the better) is gravy.  For me he has done some great things to help protect women's reproductive choice (GRAVY!).

The reason I ask this is because for so many people, they voted for a dream in 2008 not reality.  

• They voted for the troops to be magically transported out of dangerous warzones.  However, they got the very approach that McCain promised - a coordinated withdrawal of combat troops while leaving a peacekeeping force to assist the Iraqis that would be withdrawn (hopefully) in a year or so but would stay as long as needed if something changed (*cough*  remember McCain's 100 years comment?)
• They voted to end Guantanamo.  However the reality is the closure of the prison leaves 100s of terrorists without anywhere to go (we don't want them here, their countries dont want them).   The prison is set to close in a year but where will those 200+ prisoners go?   I personally doubt that they will make their way to mainland America so they will probably end up at one of the secret prisons we run (or our allies run on our behalf). 
• They voted for a new kind of "non-partisan" politics.  However we have all seen that both the Republicans and the Democrats (Obama included) are firmly entrenched in their party alliances and wars.  Just because Pres Obama declares a bill he wrote to be "non-partisan" does not make it true.   You can not expect people to go completely against their ideology and beliefs to accept legislation that is radically different.  It didn't work under Republican rule and it wont work under Democrat rule.
• They voted for an end to lobbyists that are beholden to large corporations and the rich.  President Obama even declared that his administration would be lobbyist free.  However, he backtracked on that promise within days of making it by hiring multiple lobbyists who owe companies like Raytheon massive favors.
• They voted for Obama because he would restore the USA's standing in the world and bring peace.  The reality is that plenty of countries simply don't like us and they haven't liked us for generations - with or without George W Bush.

Now, I don;t want President Obama to fail.  In fact, I want him succeed.  I just know that there were a LOT of naive people that believed Obama to be this mythical figure that could solve the world's woes.   They believed he would bring peace while protecting us from all harm.  They believed he would bring an economic revival that would make the poor rich (or at least middle class).  They thought he would fix our educational system.   They thought he had magic in him that would fix everything.  So I wonder this, at what point will their fantasy view of Obama end and reality set in?  

Worse yet, will their inevitable disillusionment with Obama lead to a return to their apathetic voting practices?  I would hate to see Sarah Palin come into power because Democrats decide to not vote (thats how we got Bush!)

Dear America,

If you listen to the people around you, you will hear them complaining about the evils of corporate America.   Its obvious that many, if not most, Americans place the blame if the current economy on corporations and their executives.  They scream about outsourcing.    They scream and scream but they never standup and accept some of the blame for the mess we are in today.

Workers across America have been losing their jobs for years, its nothing new.  They ship the jobs to places where they can make the product for a fraction of the cost.  This outsourcing keeps prices low and guess what - Americans eat up the cheaper prices.  Most of the union people I know shop religiously at Wal-Mart without any regard for the fact that they are supporting and encouraging the practice of outsourcing with every purchase.

Come on America - WAKE UP.   If you buy foreign products produced slave/sweat shops then your employers who make products in this country can not compete.  You are the ones sending your products to places like China.  YOU are the ones supporting slavery.  YOU are the ones who are helping to destroy the American manufacturing industry.  Why should a company pay you a premium to make something you won't buy?

If you are relying on Obama's stimulus plan to succeed - you had better change some habits and start doing work to support your own country.   Stop shopping at places like Wal-Mart.   Buy American made products.  Support your country and things will change.   His plan will fail if people don't start supporting the companies in THIS country.

Recently the little sleepy little Michigan town of Bay City made national news.  It wasn't because its infamous daughter, Madonna, had broken the rules or done something outrageous.   It was for the freezing death of a 93-year-old WWII veteran.

Sadly, the man's power was turned off for non-payment of his utility bill.  On first glance, people screamed for the blood of power company.  Users commented on newspapers websites calling the electric companies "murderers" and other vicious attacks like this one:

Posted by john31600000 on 01/27/09 at 9:35AM

This FOCKEN city manager & the head of the utility should be arrested for murder! Someone should kidnap them and set them in a snow bank. This is the worst picture of greed that I have ever seen. Let a person die because of a $1000 unpaid bill. You bunch of FOCKEN killers. If I were his son/daughter or whatever you could be assured I would find a way to "do away" with these greedy FOCKERS. A*&HOLE KILLERS. It's not the neighbors responsibility to (check on) the neighbors. YOU A&^HOLE for even saying that. Yeah it's the neighbors right to put a HOT ONE in your FOCKEN ear A&%HOLE. IT"S CALLED MURDER, 1st DEGREE MURDER and it's your fault you fat pig greedy bastard.

People screamed for the blood of the power companies but failed to find out the true facts of the case.   Yes, the power company limited power consumption to the man's home.   Yes, he froze to death.   Yes, its a horrible situation - but it was ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE.

Marvin Schur was NOT some poor victim.   He was not unable to pay his bill - he simply failed to send in the payment for SEVERAL months.  He had STACKS of money sitting in his home - they were sitting next to the bills.  He had over a half-million dollars saved that he has left to the Bay City Medical Center.   So HE HAD THE MONEY TO PAY!!!

Marvin Schur lived alone but he had family who never bothered to check up on him.  He also had neighbors that never checked up on him.  Where were these people to make sure that good old Marvin was paying his bills?  Why weren't they checking on dear old Dad/Grandpa/uncle?  Why are people screaming for the blood of utility executives yet feeling bad for a family that obviously didn't provide the care their he needed????  They knew enough about the man to know that he had damned nearly a half-million dollars in bank but they didn't know enough to know that he hadn't paid his bills in months.

Now there are rumors that the man had alzheimers.  Again I ask - where was the family?  Let me tell you my grandparents have health problems and we check on them constantly.  If there was ever an issue that I thought they have alzheimers disease - I would be over there several times a day.  I would NEVER expect a utility company to do my job.   This goes for my granparents, my parents, my aunts and my uncles.  It goes for EVERYONE.

This is not the case of a poor senior that couldn't pay their bill because they had no money.  This is not the case of Executives gone wild in their power and randomly hurting people.   This is not the case of the evil corporation hurting a defenseless consumer.

This is a case of a family that failed their father and uncle.  They need to accept responsibility and stop shifting the blame onto a company who was not responsible for caring for a man.  This society is really going to hell when we expect a corporation to care for a man more than his own family does. 

President Barack Obama excited me when he declared that his administration would be a "no-lobbyist" zone.  It established a sense of integrity in him and his administration.  Unfortunately, in his first week in office, he broke that rule with the nomination of Bill Lynn, a former Raytheon employee/defense industry lobbyist, to the office of Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Now, in my wanderings, I found that many people are confused by what a lobbyist does, so let me explain.   A lobbyist is an individual that uses the contacts, relationships they have built, influence and money for a client to get favorable legislation and/or spending passed in government.   Now, the clients can be anybody - non-profit organizations, charities, issue oriented collectives, and commercial entities.  Basically - they are the people that get Congress to act.

In the case of Bill Lynn, he is a commercial lobbyist for Raytheon.   If you don't know who Raytheon is, they are the defense company that was awarded a 3 BILLION dollar contract in December to sell/implement/manage the American Patriot missile system to the United Arab Emirates in December '08.  This is the man that made their governmental contracts a reality.  Now, Obama wants him to help hand out those contracts as the deputy secretary of defense.  

Can you say conflict of interest?   Can you say preferential treatment?

Obama criticized other politicians for doing this very thing - he was supposed to be above handing out jobs to lobbyists who paid were beholden to companies.   For me, this knocks his claims of a "new kind of government" to an all-time low.   Had he not promised me a better, more honest government, I would not even care about the nomination.  It would be just another lobbyist getting a job.  However, Obama SWORE he would be different.  He set the rules but broke them the first day.

So where is the change that I can "believe" in?  Right now, I only see hypocrisy.

President Obama began declaring that his economic recovery package was non- or bi-partisan before he ever stepped into the Oval Office.   While many people sat agreeing that Mr Obama's bill was indeed a bi-partisan wonder that would save the country, they forgot to do one thing - ask the opinion of the other party.  You see, most of the people talking were die-hard Democrats.  Republicans have made their thoughts known over the past couple of days and guess what happened?   The Republicans don't like the bill.  Shocker.

Now, I am still debating the merits of the bill as I am a fiscal conservative (socially extremely liberal).  So I have not decided where I stand on the bill.  However, I do no one thing - the bill is EXCEEDINGLY liberal.  It follows the Democrat platform almost verbatim.  So how did Mr Obama ever think that it would pass as some non-partisan approach to economic recovery? 

It really frustrates me that Obama makes a decree and expects everyone to fall in line with his thinking.  I spent the last eight years of Bush jr doing the same.