STATE OF THE UNION SUPERBOWL

In days of yore when the head of a village, empire, state, country, company, organization or even a neighborhood watch committee gave a speech or addressed the aforementioned gathering, it was taken seriously, or at least the perception was there. You could complain, grumble, or ignore it afterward if you so chose. You could agree with the ideas presented or seethe about past performances to friends, co-workers, or even your boss at your convenience or risk, depending on the circumstances. It was a solemn, thought provoking occasion. Yep, those days are gone--thanks to TV pundits, internet blogging, and political come-up-man-ship. (I"m sorry if that's not a word: it should be.)

Before the President's speech tonight, his first as a matter of fact, the pre-pre-pre speeches and guesses about its content are already being thrown about. The count down clock is being aired on CNN. All topics they think should be addressed are being listed and expounded upon. FOX is tearing it apart and explaining how a more bipartisan approach is what is needed to avoid a "catastrophe", and gearing up for their post-speech rip-a-thon. Even the WAY he should say it is being examined by these folks. Liberals for their part, are manning the internet to expose the right wing's usual ignorance of the facts presented and their loose way with the truth. The opposition party has even selected someone to make a response to the President's speech. What? This isn't the debate team. Everyone wants to see who's going to be the devil's advocate to yell out some childish response, in house, as been done before, and that is done in Congress frequently. Kids will be kids, you know. State of the Union parties are being co-ordinated everywhere, even here in own city. Scorecards are being distributed, I assume.

What has happened to this country? Has everyone gone off the deep end? Is partisan politics and scoring points for the team become the sole obsession of our leaders in Washington? Is getting reelected the sole reason of being in Congress? Do they realize people in this country and the world are hurting? Do they even care? Who's right and who's left. Or who's right and who's wrong? Does the color of a person's skin make that big a difference? How can we proceed to become a better nation or world if we keep going back to the way it's always been done, with the same people? Why is it so hard to listen to a different voice? Why do we have to feel afraid to make changes? Is money everything? Why.....?

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: I wasn't far off, it seems

State of the Union BINGO Cards

View more presentations from Marc Ross.

GLENN BECK GLENN BECK GLENN BECK

OK, I told myself not do it. I made a promise to myself to not do it. I was only flipping through the channels waiting for the commercials on the Food Channel to be over and then: GLENN BECK WAS ON....one of his rants, that is. It took every ounce of restraint (if you don't count the string of cuss words, some pretty inventive if I do say so myself) not to hurl my glass of Pinot Grigio at the television. My husband would not have been happy with that outcome, even if it was for a just cause.

He was on a progressive kick tonight, complete with the usual sound bites of President Obama using the word in speeches. Those evil progressives are out to change the world as we know it, and to take control of your daily lives. "The progressives are changing history as we know it, and they are good at that as we already know," spouts Mr. Beck. It's a means to their end, of course.

Hello! What planet are you on, Glenn? Who ordered the wiretaps on phones? Who is changing the educational system in Texas to suit the political agenda? Who is removing books in the classrooms and rewriting history in them? Who has forgotten the original source of the bailouts? Those wars we are involved in going on in Iraq and Afghanistan; when did they begin? That bipartisanship you guys seem to blather about at the top of your lungs--where did it go? Where did this "grassroots rebellion" really come from?
What's wrong with the bible as it is written now (even if it has been revised, condensed, and totally reworked many times)? Not conservative enough for you: too liberal in that it extolls the helping of the poor and downtrodden, and not rewarding the rich? Lord knows you don't want to have this progressive healthcare reform. Insurance companies (your corporate buddies) could have to actually treat those poor and sick people: they might reproduce! Now it's even legal for those same corporations to pour millions of dollars into campaigns that influence our political system. Didn't hear much from the conservative side on that one, Glenn.

Ok, I feel better now. But it's beyond me how any sane person could believe this crap. (I didn't say what I really wanted to say.) There are people in my family and acquaintances who are true followers. They believe the "sneaky Democrat bastards" and Obama have an agenda to take this country over a cliff. What is the point in that? Glenn Beck is already there.

UP AND AWAY....WITH B OF A

I just saw George Clooney's new movie Up and Away. It was a very good movie for today's economical environment; definitely not a love story. I told my daughter she'd better not see it.

My daughter--actually two of them--has worked in the mortgage business for many years, with several large companies. She was with Countrywide which is now Bank of America. (Yes, I know the EVIL ones) But the stories you read about and what you see on TV are about the CEOs, the bigwigs, not the everyday people in the trenches doing the actual hard work, toting the company line, making the money for all those shareholders and those bonuses. It's a totally "whole nuther" world there.

She has always cared for her employees, remembered birthdays, had team events, encouraged them and scolded when needed. It is her job to give evaluations, set up and monitor new offices and their staff, hire and fire, and report to the Big Boss. She is a Regional Operations manager and goes to several states in the area to do her job. It was always challenging, exciting and rewarding for her. Now that has changed drastically. This is where the movie comes in......

She has to go to offices, evaluate, then go back to give out the "separation of employment" packets provided by BOA. She realigns regional branches, and lately, closes them. She has a "script" to follow, a time span in which to do it, and reports to file. The only problem is that unlike Up and Away where there is no personal connection: she KNOWS these people, she KNOWS their circumstances.
There's the single mom with two kids, one who needs medical attention. Or the woman in her mid-50's who'll probably not find another job soon. Or the gentleman who had a heart attack right after their discussion. Or even the people who can keep employment but at a branch 50 miles away for much less than their current salary. (My other daughter) While CEOs are getting huge salaries and ungodly bonuses, she and her employees are having their salaries "reevaluated" and their small bonuses dropped. We're not talking millions here, folks. She had to attend a meeting all last week in NC to find this out, and then received an e-mail while returning home that even those rules had changed again. Since she was a "new" BOA employee she's well aware that after doing all this, she could be dumped, too.

There is something inherently wrong with the big corporate structure we have let come into play today. We know whose side the government is on. The deck is stacked against any hard working person in this country today. Need more proof? Look at our Supreme court to see whose side they're on now. And seeing that movie would really dismay my daughter.

THIS COUNTRY, GOVERNED BY THE CORPORATIONS

Ok, that's not the way it was intended to be, not the way it was written. But as of this morning the Supreme Court of the United States just handed Aetna, Cigna, AIG, McDonalds, United Healthcare, Exxon, Microsoft, Apple, Blue Cross-just to name a few-majority control over our political process. Yes, I know, they have it already, but now it's really legal. Now they can pour ungodly amounts of money into the pot of what ever political party or behind whatever profit making scheme (for them, of course) and it's OK. See, corporations are now viewed not as separate entities but as citizens, with the same political rights. For every $25 you contribute to the party or cause of your choice, they have the right to invest $1,000,000 or whatever. You work hard for that sum. They can take it from their coffers. Of course, the political party or movement is going to take that into consideration when deciding what actions they are going to take. Yeah, right.

Right wingers think everybody should work for what they want in life: no "entitlements." God, I hate that word. Everybody should contribute to society, according to their talents, work, time and ability. Sometimes situations arise that are out of a person's control and we need to be able to help them over the rough spots. Now it's those with the biggest pocket books that will be getting what they want or need to the detriment of the rest of the country. Our representatives are only in it for themselves, I'm afraid. Or they're too chicken to fight for what's right. Don't get me started on healthcare reform, women's productive rights, immigration, or fate of our global economy. Big business rules the day, and the GOP is a friend of free market, big business, and big churches.

Members on both sides of the aisle (which is one big mess, at the moment) aren't too happy about this. But a lot of them are smiling. We've just been sold to the highest bidder. And that doesn't count China, Saudi Arabia, Japan........

CONSERVATIVE COMPASSION

If you have read any of my posts (polite rants) you are aware that while I am not a totally-absolutely- way left kind of person, I really don't buy into the absolutely selfish right wing, teaparty culture either. Both extremes are doing severe damage to this country and its future. But yesterday's responses to a major tragedy in the small island country of Haiti makes my blood boil.

How in the heck can you say a country doesn't deserve our help, because "they don't produce anything." But it's perfectly OK to send thousands of our young men and BILLIONS of dollars to a country (invade) to help them because they have oil? And of course, the people on Haiti are black while those in the Middle East are not. Well, they might be Muslim, but that's a another story for a different time. According to Rush, the administration will probably use this tragedy to raise its popularity with the "dark-skinned population." Not unlike the Republican in Congress using the "almost" bomber attack over the holiday to boost his campaign coffers.

Then there is the religious right, in the form of Pat Robertson. This man makes my skin crawl: a charlatan in the tradition of Oral Roberts, Jim Bakker, Rick Warren, and Benny Hinn. Apparently the Bible these guys read went out of print soon after I got mine. They preach the gospel of selfishness, exclusiveness, and racial and social division. That's not to say all church-goers are evil, they're not. It's the ones that have the public stage that seem to be preaching their own "religion." To say that these poor people in Haiti "made a pact with the devil, and deserve all their hardship" is ludicrous. I'm getting totally repulsed by all these men of god who are anything but godlike.

Someday, someway, somewhere God is going to get tired of all this hatred, too.

INSTEAD OF RESOLUTIONS....

In a departure from my usual musings (rants) I'd like to offer a post for people of all political leanings, sexual orientations, religious affiliations or none, ages, and national origins.

Things to forget in the New Year:

The mean things others have said about you.
The injury any person has done you.
The mistakes you have made in the past--except as they may warn you in the future.
The kindness you have tried to do others.
The days when you were better off than now.
The promises other people have made you.
The ill-natured gossip you have heard concerning others.
The secrets entrusted to you confidence.
The worry that destroys your happiness.
The drawbacks that seem to stand in the way of your success.

Anonymous

H IS FOR HYPOCRISY

You'll have to excuse me if I seem a bit perplexed: I just had a Twitter session with someone of a different mindset and I'm at a loss for words. Hypocrisy seems to be the affliction of the day and it makes me want to pull my hair out.

This person ranted on about how great our health care system was, everybody had access, and he didn't feel HE should have to pay for somebody else who was too lazy to get coverage. (No, I was NOT tweeting Rush Limbaugh.) He said when he was younger and his wife had problems (but no insurance) they received excellent care at the hospital, and didn't have to pay a dime! Therefore, he felt we didn't need to change it. I asked him who paid for it---the taxpayers? (No response.) Now after working hard, he had a business and felt he didn't need to pay any more taxes to fund other people's health policies. The government was always out to make the little guy pay for everybody else's life. And according to the constitution this wasn't necessary: everybody had the right to look out for themselves. If I worked harder I, too, could be successful (and selfish) just as he was.

Getting nowhere in that vein, after stating I felt that the constitution and the Bible were often contorted to mean whatever a particular group wanted it to mean, I calmly pointed out that we had lost $500,000.00 in the last couple years---a business that took all our savings and pensions, and a condo. Due to being self employed and major preexisting conditions, insurance was out of the question. We've been paying down $40,000 due one hospitalization. We are "starting over" at not a young age. (No sob story here, just facts for this twitter guy.) And I would NEVER deny help to anyone that ever needs it. (No response to that either, I'm afraid.)

Then the subject somehow changed to the economy. "It was the Dems in control of everything the last few years: President Bush only rubber stamped what they sent to him." This boggles my mind somewhat. Today EVERYTHING is President Obama's fault, even if it's not been sent to him to look at yet. And I won't even start on the bungled terrorist attack the other day or the funding for homeland security being vetoed....

This country is going through some tough times. Everybody has a complaint about something: he's doing too much, he's not doing enough, The Dems this, the Repubs that. But the one thing I simply cannot fathom is the hypocrisy, the complete denial of facts, and the "truth as we tell you it is." And I don't like the constitution shoved down my throat. Our founding fathers had no idea the hate and division that little document hath wrought. Lewis Carroll's "The Jabberwock" makes more sense today.