Can't Stop Shaking My Head

If you want to understand why the people are mad all around the world, watch the HBO movie "Too Big To Fail."  It took me three attempts to get through it because it is so bleak and depressing.  It seems to be a well dramatized re-telling of what caused the financial crises beginning in 2008.  It is painful and raw, but I think important to see.  How screwed you must feel if you worked for Lehman Brothers.  How pissed you feel when they pass TARP, force the banks to take money from the government to hold them all up, and all under the pretense that the banks would start lending money again.  Wow, that didn't happen.  They held onto all the money and made bags more.  

It is easy to be mad at the banks and Wall Street.  They make it so easy.  All the 99% of Americans hear about is their profits and vastly obscene bonuses.  Hard to understand why they deserve such huge bonuses.  What did they produce? Create?  Nothing but more paper and money. It doesn't feel like the men in charge of Wall Street and the banks have any conscious at all.  It wouldn't take much for these obscenely big companies, these "too big to fail" companies, to gain the admiration of the people.  I really think that it is the lack of atonement, for lack of a better word, that makes the people appalled and frustrated.  

Remember when Mark Zuckerberg gave $100 million dollars to the city of Newark for their schools?  Not sure what ever happened with that, but if they can pull it off, it will be life changing for the area.  Remember when State's introduced lotteries under the guise that all the money raised would go to education?  That was a pack of lies.  If all that money raised went to schools, we would have the education that we so richly deserve, but somehow that money gets squandered.  It is why many are skeptical of what good it would do to raise taxes.  Another pay raise for Congress? They should start getting less money for the obstructionist government they are running. 

This theme of money will keep coming up because it is the root of all things, whether you have money or not.  If you want money out of politics, sign the petition at getmoneyout.org.  If the people rise up, maybe some day we can "take the country back."  Away from the lobbyists, the corporations, the partisan supreme court, and so on.  Wait until I see the movie, Margin Call!

Sidebars:  Madoffs, go away!  Snow in October! Happy Halloween!

If you can give the smallest amount to help defeat Proposition 26 in Mississippi, please do.  They are trying to rule our womb's.  www.votenoon26.org

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Prop 26

In two weeks, the State of Mississippi is trying to send women back to the dark ages.  There is a ballot initiative called Proposition 26, better known to the people of Mississippi, the Personhood Amendment.  Do you know what they are trying to do??  Makes my head completely explode.  This amendment would give the same rights to a fertilized egg as it does to you and me.  Really?  No, really?  That means, not only if you get pregnant from the result of rape or have been a victim of incest, you can't get an abortion.  Okay, that's not new news for proponents of life but if you use an IUD, IVF, morning after pills, you can't abort.  Really??  These methods of science for women and couples can't be used?  That means if you are an infertile couple seeking the help of a fertility doctor and you are lucky enough to have the embryos implanted take, you have to have all the babies???  OR you are lucky enough to go through an IVF cycle and get 20 viable embryos. Can't get rid of them under this new law.  You have to have all 20 embryos implanted?  Come on, what the hell is the world coming to?  Why are people thrusting their beliefs on all?  I can't stand this.  If I respect your right to believe that life begins at conception/fertilization, why can't you respect my belief that it doesn't begin until the fetus can breathe on its own.  I believe that life is breath so if you can't breathe independently of machines and science....Don't argue with me, it's my belief.  Period. End of story. 

It isn't.  It never ends. The crazy people want to tell all of us how to live, feel, and believe.  I touched on this abortion topic a few days ago and then I started reading about this Prop 26.  Are you kidding me?  It is so over the top. Incomprehensible.  If the people of Mississippi vote to pass this law, then my tax dollars can't be used to help the unwanted babies, the back alley abortions, and the medical expenses for the women that will be effected.  The men of Mississippi need to stay home and care for all the babies that nobody wants.  They have to pay for the care, education, and the health costs.  If this law passes, then every person who voted for it, should have DNR tattooed on their foreheads.  That way we don't have to keep their lives extended by any medical means available. My brain is really gurgling and bubbling over this latest attempt to send women back to the 1920's.  Please, people, if you know anyone that votes in Mississippi, talk to them. Implore them to take the time to vote and vote this outrageous amendment down. 

Sidebar:  Can't believe that I missed the most exciting and exhausting 6th game of the World Series.  I thought the Cards were out of it at the end of the 8th and fell asleep, only to wake up to the most talked about 9th inning and then 10th, and 11th!  The Cardinals pulled out a win to force tonight's Game 7.  How completely deflating for the Rangers.  Had it in the bag and then....GO CARDINALS!  

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A Head Swirling

Politicians.  What is it about them that makes people recoil.  It wasn't always like this, was it?  Has authenticity become obsolete?  What if a candidate stood up for his/her own integrity, beliefs.  Didn't give a rat's ass what the base of the party liked.  Wouldn't that be a slam dunk?  Isn't that part of the inherent problem?  If you are running for elected office and you have to spew ridiculous rhetoric that you never believed in just to get the nomination then what is happening to the true, solid people?  I read and watch about these Presidential candidates and can't believe what comes out of their mouths.  Mitt Romney seems to be doing the best job of playing both sides of the fence, but don't we think that he and all the candidates are having to compromise too far to the right?  What if the far right hated all the candidates?  Would anyone care?  What happened to the bigger picture?  What happened to what is best for the majority of the people?  

Today there was a new CBO non-partisan poll that said that the top 1%'s income has increased 275% from 1979-2007. Really?  275%  Have they added value to the world?  Have they created 275% more jobs?  Products?  Is there no wonder why there is unrest among the rest of Americans?  The middle class' income up 40%; poor 18%.  Isn't that stunning?  When you see the graph visually it is staggering.  I am not a socialist.  I believe in capitalism, but capitalism used to manufacture products in this country.  The railroad magnates improved the country by increasing the rail lines from coast to coast.  The automobile inventors put hundreds of thousands of people to work, while, yes, people like Henry Ford, were getting rich.  There was a capitalistic hierarchy that doesn't exist anymore.  The creators and the builders.  The brilliant minds that have the vision of a better world for all and the middle class that helped the dreams come true.  Today, the super rich aren't thinking about the entire country, what's best for all.  They seem to only be interested in what is best for their small, little world.  

Sidebars:  Lindsey Lohan has fallen so far, that posing for Playboy just makes her more pathetic.  A desperate move to make money.  I heard her mother is whoring Lindsey out by writing a book. Please don't let it be successful.  Please let her fade to black.  Dancing With the Stars had a lot of fireworks this week.  Chaz and Lacey were sent home.  It was a very bittersweet ending.  Chaz made incredible parting remarks.  He said if there had been someone like him on TV when he was growing up, his whole life would have been different.  He did this for all the kids and teenagers struggling to find themselves.  He said it better.  Quite moving.  

Dizzy

This morning my mind is reeling with so many thoughts.  Trying to hone.  What I do know is that the biggest buffoon and luckiest man to still have a job is Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix.  How is it possible to single-handedly tank a company by one's decision making and still have a job?  Netflix tanked another 29 points yesterday.  It is the lead story in all the business sections here.  BUT he still has his job?  It's as if Reed Hastings works for Blockbuster secretly and is trying to take down the company.  I have never witnessed anything so public and so blatant in my life.  Other companies have had problems before, but Netflix' problems were self made.  The company was doing swimmingly until Reed Hastings made decisions that dismantled its success.  I have no doubt that MBA programs will be studying this model of what not to do in years to come.  But really, he still has his job??  Only in America, folks.

As long as I can remember, the political debate has continued to be on the same subjects.  Abortion is still debated in every election cycle.  Really?  Why is it still a political football?  The Supreme Court (before it was partisan) made its decision.  The Justices heard arguments and decided to legalize abortion.  The High Court didn't say you have to have abortions.  It gave women the right to choose.  Why is that a problem?  Choice is good.  CHOICE.  Every woman can decide what works for her.  Oil.  We have been tortured by the debate to be energy independent for over 50 years.  We have decided to just keep arguing and not doing anything at all.  It is ridiculous that we have lost all these decades with partisan interests.  Climate change gets shredded during every campaign season.  Gun control gets argued about every election.  Who has the most guns?  Who killed the biggest animals? Don't take my 2nd Amendment away from me.  Really? What I don't understand is there have to be answers to all these issues.  Maybe not one answer, but isn't it better to err on the side of caution?  Isn't it better to discuss ways to conduct industry, energy, business, ourselves that may save the planet in the long run?  Politicians throw religion in our face which is grounded in blind faith.  Why can't politicians have the same "what if"  in our planet and its people?  Why can't politicians look at the greater good and not immediate gratification? Oh, this won't be the last I spew on this either.  I, too, am sick of rehashing the same issues, but until we get off the treadmill....

Sidebars: Dancing With the Stars last night was Broadway night.  It is always thrilling to hear great music, but it did take me aback when one couple's song choice was Walk Like a Man.  That's a Frankie Valli song. Oh, yeah, right.  Jersey Boys.  Though it is a Broadway show...stretching it to call it a Broadway song. Okay, okay, I digress.  Fireworks two seasons in a row with Max and the judges.  He was pissed at the judges for their comments.  I actually think that Max was right, but wrong in his delivery.  He didn't like the comments that he and Hope Solo received, but he was sticking up for all the dancers and some of the comments.  I do think sometimes the judges cut below the belt and I think Max had had it up to here.  He may just be the wrong spokesman but he has the biggest set of balls.  I think that the bottom two couples tonight will be Hope and Max and Chaz and Lacey. Chaz should go home.  Love him, though, and admire his journey. 

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A Slight Cut

Can we discuss circumcision?  I keep getting postings from people about making it against the law in the once liberal State of California.  Really?  Now, thankfully, at this writing Governor Gerry Brown nipped it in the bud and passed a law that makes it a family choice.  Those that are anti circumcision don't like that the patient has no choice at the newborn age, which is true for so many choices that parents make for their children. That's why there are parents and children. Children don't choose to get vaccines, parents make that choice.  Those shots can hurt.  The law the anti-circumcision people wanted past was that it was illegal until the young man was 18 years old?  Really?  Men should wait until there is more blood flow pumping through and more nerves alive. Really?  Now, you are talking pain and memories that will never go away.  Ask anyone that chose, for one reason or another, to have an adult circumcision!  

It also smacks of anti-Semitism.  Both Jews and Muslims believe in circumcision.  It is part of both religions.  Many Christians choose to have their sons circumcised for general practice. Many doctors are pro circumcision for cleanliness and to stop the spread of diseases.  Dr. Berry Brazelton advises parents that the son should look like the father, if they were trying to decide what to do. So these people in "liberal" California,  S-T-O-P it!  Stay out of our bedrooms, wombs and diapers.  These are personal decisions, not taken lightly.  Stay out of it.  And "liberal" California, it's time to take your State back, before it's too late.  Come on now. You can do it.  Get your mojo back!

Making a 180 degree turn, back to language.  There are two more words that are repeatedly mispronounced and I don't really know why.  The first is the fabulous word etcetera.  The first time I really remember hearing that word was the great Yul Brynner as the King in the movie, The King and I.  He said it perfectly clear and crisp.  E-T-C-E-T-E-R-A. It begins E-T.  Like the cute little alien in Steven Spielberg's classic film. Why, then, do so many people say E-K-C-E-T-E-R-A????  E-K.  No, it's not E-K and so many people say it that way.  Don't know how it got started.  I hear it in life, in stores, on TV, etc.  Bugs me.  The other word that has evolved into a similar problem for people...espresso.  It is an Italian word.  It is a type of coffee. E-S!  Can you see how it is spelled?  And yet, I hear many people saying E-X: E-X-P-R-E-S-S-O!  Really?  Come on people, if you can't say it, don't order it or offer it. 

Media Overplaying and more....

I am irritated.  This isn't about Guiliana Rancic, so to speak.  It is about the media.  Guiliana Rancic was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.  She had to go through a lumpectomy and 6 weeks of radiation which is the standard protocol for all women.  Yesterday on the Today Show, they promo-ed, do fertility drugs cause breast cancer?  Up next with Dr. Nancy Snyderman.  Hated that promo.  Just hated it.  I bet so many people watch the Today Show in and out, akin to reading headlines and not the entire article.  Misinformation floating in the air.  For the record, there is no correlation between the two, but if you didn't wait around for the segment....I and many women have had lumpectomies and gone through radiation.  I hate that this is being used as a ratings catcher.  It's not a big story.  I hope that Ms. Rancic gets through radiation with little muss or fuss and that she gets her deep desire fulfilled to have a baby.  

Up next, to make me sit shaking my head.  The man who was allowed to have a menagerie of exotic animals in a residential area. He let them all loose: lions and tigers and bears.  He then killed himself.  Perfect.  Can you imagine driving in your car and seeing a lion pass by?  That's how the police were called in.  Motorists saw the animals.  The police were brought in and were ordered to shoot to kill.  I can't imagine what the officers were feeling.  Fifty wild animals roaming an Ohio neighborhood.  All shot dead.  All of them.  Not their fault.  The animals are innocent in all this.  They didn't ask to live out of their natural habitat.  They certainly meant no harm. They are meant to be wild.  They are meant to hunt for food.  They are not meant to be living with some nut case in a neighborhood.  They are not meant to be shot down dead for doing what they do naturally.  I understand that the vast amount of animals versus the safety of the community made it impossible to use finesse, but the animals are innocent in all of this.  Even Jack Hanna, from the Columbus Zoo, supported the shoot to kill order, but was horrified at the sight of all the dead animals. Private ownership of exotic animals should not be allowed.  The only exception I can think of is Siegfried and Roy and you heard how that turned out.  This is a tragedy that could have been avoided.  The man should never have had the animals in the first place.  Heartbreaking.

Sidebars:  Lindsey Lohan needs to go away.  She needs to go to jail.  She is making the whole judicial and probation system in Los Angeles a mockery.  Why is she getting such incredibly special treatment?  She once was special, now she's just tragic.  Time to treat her as if she was just a poor person in the system.  She is not a movie star anymore and may never be at this rate.   Stop putting her on the cover of magazines, newspapers, and top stories.  It's ugly, pathetic, and very disconcerting. 

Still Over My Head

Since I wrote yesterday, something very disturbing has come to my attention.  The Occupy Wall Street protest is sprinkled with anti-Semites.  Really?  The "leaders" of the protesters need to nip that right in the bud.  There is no place for hate remarks just like there was no room for hate remarks by the tea baggers.  The difference here, I hope, is that the haters will be denounced and marginalized.  Instead of all the great support by President Obama, Minority Leader Pelosi, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and all the rest, they must stand up loudly and not allow hate rhetoric to dilute the message of discontent.  As far as I am concerned, if the hate signs and remarks are allowed to continue, then shut it all down.  Clean up Zuccotti Park, send everyone home.  I do not want to be supportive of any group of people that allows "members" to spew hate rhetoric.  Please don't tell me about Freedom of Speech. I know, I understand, and I don't care.  It changes the tone and the focus of any protest when hate mongers get a hold. I don't know where this movement is going but it will not get my support or my blessing if the public, the media, and the civil servants don't shout them out. 

On the heels of the exciting and emotional reunion of Shalit Gilad with his family and country men, today's reports state that Hamas wants to kidnap more Israeli soldiers so they can get more of their comrades back.  Really?  Is that what this is all for?  As I said yesterday, I do not presume that I know the answer, that I understand the situation, but does this type of reaction from Hamas create an atmosphere of trust to continue negotiations?  Mahmoud Abbas should stand up to Hamas and denounce those who are shouting this.  Peace will never be successful if the State of Palestine just wants the demise of Israel.  That won't happen.  So, President Abbas, do what is right.  Don't just stand up in front of the UN General Assembly and ask for statehood; stand up in front of those in your camp that are only interested in the total annihilation of Israel.  That's courage. 

Sidebars:  Carson Kressley was voted off Dancing With the Stars last night.  Chaz Bono still survives.  I am guessing next week may be his last, though he is getting better each week.  Shockingly he wasn't in the bottom three....Did I talk about Godspell on Broadway at Circle in the Square?  A show close to my heart with a light book and a very singable score.  Went with a friend who also had a lot of love for the show and 3 teenage girls.  It was such a shockingly terrible, cheesy, and appalling theatrical experience, we left at intermission.  What a huge disappointment!  

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