The goblins are gone and the gobblers are in. Our most festive holiday season is about to begin. It is a time when I traditionally entertain. You may have noticed that I have spruced up the place a bit. The old template I used was rather stark. After looking at it for eleven months, I decided that it had all of the appeal of a mud wall. I have chosen a different template and added brighter colors. I think that helps, but it is still unadorned. I am afraid I am not much of a shutterbug, and they left artistic talent out of the mix when they poured me into the mold. I am now looking for some public domain pictures I can use to reflect the holiday spirit.
I never know how many visitors I have over the holidays or any other time. I wish Google would give me a more accurate count. I know that at least one unethical twit found me. This parasite latched onto one of my stories, turned a large portion of it into gibberish, and then treated the garbled version like a suppository by inserting it into his or her worthless blog. My blog is cited as the source of the abomination, thus damaging my reputation as a writer. Fortunately, this despicable creature is the exception. Most of you are good guests, and I value your input. I have recently added a poll to give you an easier way to express your opinions about what I write. I want you to feel welcome here. I want to entertain you. In this regard I am afraid I have violated the rule to avoid politics, religion, and other subjects that might upset you. I would like to tell you I will not do this again, but I know myself too well to do that. The absurd vitriol of the tea bag crowd and the fact that so many legislators are putting the profits of the insurance companies ahead of the health of the nation simply will not allow me to remain silent. I am, however, looking for a way to let you know when a particular post is political. You cannot always tell from the title. “Fickle Winds of Change,” for instance is a fictional story rather than a political statement. Hopefully, I can find a way to mark the political posts without changing the titles and having to re-post what is already there. But enough of that; it is time for a few holiday thoughts.
Thanksgiving is more than a feast. It is a time to count our blessings and think about all of the things that make our lives better. I know this is not an easy thing to do when times are tough, but that is when we need to do it the most. That is why I am starting my list a bit early.
1. I am grateful for my wonderful family and friends.
2. I am grateful that I have a job at an age when most people have retired. I need the money, but of equal importance is my need for activity and interaction with other people.
3. Blogger may not be all that I would like it to be, but I am glad that I have a blog. It motivates me to write on a schedule.
4. I am grateful for you. Particularly those of you who found some of my writing entertaining enough to form links to it.
5. I am grateful for a terrific education that makes me seek out the facts even when those facts force me to change some of my assumptions and beliefs.
6. I am grateful for a political system that allows the majority to challenge the special interests and hold government officials accountable. Although I will concede that it frequently takes something as important as the life and death issues of health care reform to motivate us to do that.
7. I am grateful for the laughter that helps us cope with adversity and is so much a part of how we celebrate overcoming that adversity.
8. I am grateful for the courage and the optimism we need to move forward and come up with solutions to our problems.
9. I am grateful for the decency and kindness of the people I meet.
10. I am grateful for the fact that we can disagree with each other and still be friends.
I will post again before thanksgiving. Thank you for visiting me. Please feel free to search the index for stories and other writings that might entertain you. It would please me to know that I made you smile or laugh.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
DAMNING JOE LIEBERMAN
Look at the entire picture. Concentrate on the bottom line. Those gems of advice are not mutually exclusive, but Senator Lieberman is acting as though they were. So here is another piece of advice. Focusing so hard on the bottom line can result in losing your bottom. A few days ago I sent an email to Senator Joe Lieberman. It was a very strongly worded statement in which I expressed my displeasure over his threat to join a filibuster against any bill that includes a public insurance option. The reply I received was a form letter. His reply politely thanked me for my input. He then went on to say that since I do not live in Connecticut he does not care about what I think. Okay, Senator, but you might want to consider the fact that Senator Harry Reid and the other members of the Democratic Party with whom you caucus do not live in your state either. I might add that millions of people who do not live in your state are also very likely to contribute to your next opponent’s campaign. I know I will.
The Democratic Party’s diversity and tolerance of dissent has always made me proud to be a Democrat. We do not want to act like Republicans and start purging our party of dissenters for the sake of ideological purity, but there is a line the dissenters must not cross. Tens of thousands of people suffered an early death this year because they could not afford health insurance. Millions more had to declare bankruptcy because they could not pay their medical bills. A robust public insurance option would solve the problem of cost. And the cost of health care coverage is literally a matter of life and death. Voting against the public option is bad enough. Joining a filibuster to prevent the bill from coming to a vote on the floor is intolerable. The filibuster has always been considered an extreme measure. In this case it means defying the will of the majority of your party and the will of a large majority of the American people. If you are going to do that, you had better be prepared for the consequences. There shall and should be a severe penalty for being an obstructionist, particularly when there is so much at stake.
Senator Lieberman has made himself the lightning rod on this issue. The Democratic senators generously took Lieberman back into the fold when he lost the primary and won the general election as an independent. Senator Lieberman showed his gratitude by campaigning for John McCain. He then joined the opposition on such absurd things as criticizing the President for appointing czars to oversee programs and regulations. If Senator Lieberman carries through with his threat to join a filibuster against the public insurance option, it must be his last betrayal! He must be expelled from the party, its caucuses and all positions of leadership in the Senate. The penalty for letting dissent degenerate into the role of the obstructionist must be severe for all other blue dogs as well. A message must be sent. There is a limit to what we can tolerate. Now is the time, and the need is urgent. The days when the top insurance company executives are being paid millions of dollars at the expense of people who have to choose between starving to death and dying of treatable conditions must end now. We must loosen the stranglehold the insurance industry has on the health and well being of our citizens!
The Democratic Party’s diversity and tolerance of dissent has always made me proud to be a Democrat. We do not want to act like Republicans and start purging our party of dissenters for the sake of ideological purity, but there is a line the dissenters must not cross. Tens of thousands of people suffered an early death this year because they could not afford health insurance. Millions more had to declare bankruptcy because they could not pay their medical bills. A robust public insurance option would solve the problem of cost. And the cost of health care coverage is literally a matter of life and death. Voting against the public option is bad enough. Joining a filibuster to prevent the bill from coming to a vote on the floor is intolerable. The filibuster has always been considered an extreme measure. In this case it means defying the will of the majority of your party and the will of a large majority of the American people. If you are going to do that, you had better be prepared for the consequences. There shall and should be a severe penalty for being an obstructionist, particularly when there is so much at stake.
Senator Lieberman has made himself the lightning rod on this issue. The Democratic senators generously took Lieberman back into the fold when he lost the primary and won the general election as an independent. Senator Lieberman showed his gratitude by campaigning for John McCain. He then joined the opposition on such absurd things as criticizing the President for appointing czars to oversee programs and regulations. If Senator Lieberman carries through with his threat to join a filibuster against the public insurance option, it must be his last betrayal! He must be expelled from the party, its caucuses and all positions of leadership in the Senate. The penalty for letting dissent degenerate into the role of the obstructionist must be severe for all other blue dogs as well. A message must be sent. There is a limit to what we can tolerate. Now is the time, and the need is urgent. The days when the top insurance company executives are being paid millions of dollars at the expense of people who have to choose between starving to death and dying of treatable conditions must end now. We must loosen the stranglehold the insurance industry has on the health and well being of our citizens!
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