Do We Need A President in 2013?

After the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and the Komen Story, we are beginning to realize that the people, and not just fat-cat politicians and .01% bosses, can and will have a significant say in the way things are run. If we start to examine the function of a President in 21st century American government, it\'s

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/07/it-is-lovely-book.html

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/07/it-is-lovely-book.html

If only the President cared as much for his supporters as he does for animals (in story books)

Blogger: Blogger Dashboard

Blogger: Blogger Dashboard:

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Something to Shoot For - NYTimes.com

Something to Shoot For - NYTimes.com:

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They told me "Cheer up, things can't get any worse" so I cheered up and they passed HR822. Do we need any further proof that we now have a "Rogue legislature, that the members of Congress are completely out of control? Their willful disregard of the rights and needs of American citizens has reached a point where mass impeachment is urgent. These guys will do anything to for money and I do mean anything.

The Dissent's Dilemma

American Crisis Politics | Dissident Voice:

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When you can't vote for Obama and you won't vote for any of the possible candidates on the Republican slate, what do you do?

Obama has betrayed our trust and demonstrated his intractable dedication to "business as usual". He has totally ignored virtually all of his campaign promises and allied himself solidly with Wall Street and the bankers. He has ignored the people like me and thousands of others who worked the phones and knocked on doors to get him elected. The idea of voting for him in 2012 is the farthest thing from my mind and yet it would take a command from heaven to make me vote for any of the people who have thus far presented themselves for the Republican ticket. Barring something miraculous from "Americans Elect" or another third party movement, I'm stuck. Right now it looks like abstention is the only possible solution and yet that seems like a cop out. What's a poor guy to do?

Addicted to Exercise? - NYTimes.com

Addicted to Exercise? - NYTimes.com: "On the basis of the latest brain research, as well as practical experience, let’s acknowledge this profound truth: altruism and generosity can be hedonistic pleasures.

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"On the basis of the latest brain research, as well as practical experience, let’s acknowledge this profound truth: altruism and generosity can be hedonistic pleasures." Evidently the Dalai Lama "nailed it" when he said "If you want to be really selfish, make others happy"

The American Dream is a Myth

storyimages_1319223516_screenshot20111020at11.27.19am.png (702×479):

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"Go to school, work hard, get a degree and you'll be a success" Maybe, once upon a time that was what people believed in America but it was a myth. Today,the son of a poor farmer will be lucky to farm, let alone become head of ConAgra and for 99% of us, "downward mobility" could be the latest trend. What was the
land of the free and the home of the brave" could soon become "the land of a few rich and the home of the slave"

Not surprisingly our ranking among the developed nations of the world in terms of social justice (poverty prevention,Overall poverty rate, Child poverty, senior citizen poverty, income inequality, education and health) is at 27th place only marginally ahead of Greece, Chili, Mexico and Turkey.

It is time for this country to reverse the politics and economic policies that have led to fall and take the steps that will put us back among the Scandinavian and other European nations where we belong.

Americans Staying Put More Than At Any Time Since WWII: Census

Americans Staying Put More Than At Any Time Since WWII: Census:

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"A Nation on the Move" has evolved into "The Stay at Home Nation" If you "Go West Young Man" You could end up in California which seems to in total meltdown. Our cities are in chaos, we are now witnessing the beginning of the end. The socio/economic model that served so well in the 20th century (especially the early year) has outlived its usefulness. We need a new model for the 21st

Exercised Will Power Lately?

Will power is perhaps just another of 10,000 synapses in our brain wiring. There may be some genetic predisposition towards making (and breaking) good/bad habits or behavior and if we make the synapse early in life and exercise it regularly like jogging or compassion, it will remain strong and available when needed. If we do not exercise will power, it will eventually atrophy and vanish from our cerebral toolbox.
So it's vital that we exercise it frequently with daily "presses" (not heavyweights) and ocasional "gutbusters" like quitting smoking or being nice to our mothers-in-law.

Think of something really challenging: if you're a user, give up pot or booze (for at least ninety days to reap the benefits), bike or walk to work etc. MAKE SURE IT'S REALLY CHALLENGING ("no pain...") and you'll be sure that your will power is ready and waiting when you really need it.

The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party | AlterNet

The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party | AlterNet: "Obama has been extraordinarily solicitous of Wall Street and big business – making Timothy Geithner Treasury Secretary and de facto ambassador from the Street; seeing to it that Bush’s Fed appointee, Ben Bernanke, got another term; and appointing GE Chair Jeffrey Immelt to head his jobs council."

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"Obama has been extraordinarily solicitous of Wall Street and big business – making Timothy Geithner Treasury Secretary and de facto ambassador from the Street; seeing to it that Bush’s Fed appointee, Ben Bernanke, got another term; and appointing GE Chair Jeffrey Immelt to head his jobs council."

Can or will Obama lead the country out from under the thumb of the Wall Street Fat cats. If he won't then we must find someone who will.

Confronting the Malefactors - NYTimes.com

Confronting the Malefactors - NYTimes.com:

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The Politicians together with the media kept hoping that if they just ignored the Wall Street Protestors they would go away but as usual the politicians and the media were
DEAD WRONG!
They could not comprehend how these young, often ragtag people, camping in a park near the financial center of the world, without any apparent vertical organization, could be of any real significance. These chaotic manifestations of discontent completely outside of traditional political boundaries, have already toppled two oligarchic regimes and will soon knock off a few more. They might even shake the foundations of the anachronistic and impotent political systems in the U.S.

There Really Are Genetic Monsters in Our Midst

An Icy Political Vision - NYTimes.com:

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Perhaps we are looking at the most dangerous evolutionary trend the human race has ever undergone. That is the "depersonalization" of significant portion of the population. Maybe there are non-persons among us who exhibit most of the superficial characteristics of human persons but the genetic predisposition towards empathy and compassion are not present in their DNA and (most disturbingly) their descendants will continue and even further this genetic disorder in successive generations. When they cheer at execution statistics, defile military heroes because of their sexual orientation and display other forms of inhumane behavior, they are demonstrating seriously anti-social, perhaps even sociopathic tendencies. How do we this situation? It should not be ignored but most of the alternatives seem at this point, too horrible to consider.

The Lost Decade? - NYTimes.com

The Lost Decade? - NYTimes.com:

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Mr. Brooks recommends that we "End corporate taxes and create a consumption tax."
That certainly clarifies which side "his bread is buttered on". It's a short hop to full-fledged Tea Party membership. Maybe he'll come out of the closet and start openly campaigning for Rick Perry. I've been an admirer Brooks' journalistic skills and occasionally his insight but this time he's stepped a bit too far. Note how he and his employers have studiously avoided the subject of the Wall Street Protests

NYPD, Unprovoked, Peppersprays Women Behind Barricade at Occupy Wall Street Protest | AlterNet

NYPD, Unprovoked, Peppersprays Women Behind Barricade at Occupy Wall Street Protest | AlterNet:

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Is this just a preview of a conflagration that could envelope the entire country ? With police and eventually the National Guard and Homeland Security on one side of the barriers and the people on the other?

Small Donors Are Slow to Return to the Obama Fold - NYTimes.com

Small Donors Are Slow to Return to the Obama Fold - NYTimes.com:

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Many people, like me, gave money, time and passion for Obama in his last run for the presidency but this year, I'm going to wait for "a sign" not from heaven but from Obama. A sign that he will deliver on at least some of the promises he made in the last campaign. A sign that he will not always act like a pragmatic college professor weighing all the pros and cons until the issue at hand is dead, trying to create bipartisan legislation with a totally polarized Congress matching our passion for true democracy and fair and just government with some of his own and most importantly, standing up to bullies in Congress and Big Business for average Americans who have been screwed over too much and too often.

Free to Die - NYTimes.com

Free to Die - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this' During the last Presidential elections, when Barack Obama was challenging John McCain, some of the rallies hosted by VP candidate, Sarah Palin seemed to attract what I thought of as the "lunatic fringe" of the American electorate. They shouted things "Tell the government to keep their hands off my Medicare" and other inanities that made me wonder if they'd been released from local mental hospitals. They also shouted "kill him" from time-to-time when Sarah Palin mentioned the Democratic candidate's name. I would never imagine that I would see these "right wing-nuts" act as the foundation for an apparently significant caucus of the Republican Party. Shouting "Yes,yes" when the moderator of the last Republican debate asked if a young man who had not obtained health insurance and was now suffering from a life-threatening condition should be just left to die. Call them "Goons" "Ghouls" or Right-Wing Terrorists, these are the people who support Rick Perry, who might possibly (God forbid) be the next president of the United States

Why Are the Corporate Media In Denial About the Right-Wing Terrorist Threat? | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet

Why Are the Corporate Media In Denial About the Right-Wing Terrorist Threat? | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet:

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It is unlikely that the average American would connect Jihad Terrorists like Al Qaeda, the Taliban and similar MIddle Eastern political activist groups, with the Norwegian Islamophobic Christian fundamentalist Anders Behring Breivik, or Jared Lee Loughner who failed in his attempt to assassinate Senator Gabrielle Giffords and yet there is in fact, a strong connection these right wing terrorists and with those who support and promote the ideas that have inspired them. Certainly people like Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and the Fox News Network have been instrumental in the inspiration of the current right-wing rhetoric that is now even common[lace on the Republican campaign trail.

The question is "How did we get to where we are"? and how can we reverse direction before it foments mob hysteria and wholesale violence. It seems counter-intuitive to suggest that the "powers that be" like the Wall Street bankers, the Hedge Fund Managers and other leaders of the "Military Industrial Complex" that Dwight Eisenhower warned us about more than fifty years ago and yet it is becoming increasingly likely that "Big Money" is indeed fomenting the right-wing revolt, working towards the dissolution of our already seriously flawed democratic system. Obviously, Homeland Security and the FBI are not interested in biting the hands that feed them, so who or what will stop our home-grown terrorists?

Oh, Grow Up - NYTimes.com

Oh, Grow Up - NYTimes.com: "The contemptuous reaction from the House speaker, John Boehner, to the president’s request to address a joint session next Wednesday — the day Congress returns from its summer recess — was appalling."

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One more nail in the coffin of a fatally flawed governmental system. Ours just doesn't work anymore and we must do something very soon to repair or replace it or the future of America is very bleak indeed.

City of Austin Might Close Our Pool

City of Austin: " Ned Smith
Your e-mail address: mythster@me.com
Subject: Winter Closing of Dick Nichols Pool
Categories: parks
Comments:
I have recently heard from several of my fellow swimmers that closing of the swimming pool at Dick Nichols Park is under consideration. The apparent reason for the discontinuance of services is purported to be the costs of heating the pool during the winter.

The majority of my neighbors in the area immediately adjacent to Dick Nichols Park are not aware of the possible closure and I only learned about it today (Aug. 29, 2011) . The use of the pool throughout the year is of major importance for many reasons including health, social interaction and recreation.

If such an action is under consideration it should be examined in open forum since it does concern a fairly wide swath of the community.

Please provide full information about this possible curtailment of services at your earliest convenience.

Thank you,

Ned Smith

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Rants by Ronni: Cheese...and its Relationship to Rice Pudding

Rants by Ronni: Cheese...and its Relationship to Rice Pudding