His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University."
~Mitt Romney
I swear to god that I have tried to tune out all the noise, including Donald Trump, who is mostly wind, but today he hit a new low in politicizing the plane crash that occurred in Washington D.C. and I just can't sit quiet! He's such a jackass. He took the oath of office a little over 10 days ago, and in the time he has done a lot of damage across government, but to imply that the crash happened because of DEI and democrats, with NO PROOF, is not just stupid, it is beyond cruel to the victims, families of the victims, and their friends. It sometimes take years to fully investigate the cause of the crash. YEARS! So truly, save me your conspiracy theories! I am trying so hard to not sit here with deep anger, and deep sadness, but I find myself failing magnificently. I should be posting a photo of a glorious bird, but instead Ellipsis is filing another example of yet another deep low Donald Trump has reached and how it affects a little fish like me. I am already tired.
"The true measure of a man is not what he dreams, but what he aspires to be; a dream is nothing without action. Whether one fails or succeeds is irrelevant; all that matters is that there was motion in his life. That alone affects the world."
~Mike Norton, White Mountain
Did you see the presidential debate tonight?
Personally, I found it breathtaking. It was like some kind of a weird nightmare after eating too much chili and ice cream. Obama was like something out of a 50's Science Fiction movie. You know something like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Or maybe he just showed us the closest look at his true self that we have ever seen. All I know is... at 5:45 pm Big Bird's job was safe, but by the time it was all over, Big Bird is applying for unemployment. Was he the 47% Romney was talking about?
Wait, what's that?
Oh... lookie there...
I think I have the tred marks from a bus on my back.
Damn, I always liked that sweater.
SHIT!
Don't know what to say.
But I know one thing, I am not looking forward to the next month or so.
Damn scary world... and getting more so all the time.
"A weird in which we are alive. We can travel anywhere we want, even to other planets. And for what? To sit day after day, declining in morale and hope."
~ Philip K. Dick, The Man In The High Castle
I tool this photo in the late summer of, I believe, 2005. I only had a moment to decide if I wanted to do the photo, as we sat at a red light in San Francisco. In the moment I couldn't decide if I was invading his privacy, or, if by doing so, would make him feel worse than he clearly already did. For whatever reason, he was alone, and clearly in despair. I heard myself think the word despair in my mind, and at that moment I snapped the picture. It left me with a lot of sadness afterwards. But at the same time, and in many ways, I knew I had photographed something profound, almost like I saw the lesson, or perhaps saw the meaning of the momentary play, that I had just seen.
It has not been lost on me that my camera has provided me many different ways off seeing the world. The good... following a film idol around as he makes cinema magic, the BAD... the mean spirited hatred of opposing opinions, and the UGLY...the protest signs on the Cal Berkeley Campus which had pictures of the atrocities Bust/Cheney war... and yes... the PROFOUND... the day to day life of the homeless. It's their pictures that I can't always bring myself to share here, but there are times that I feel that they need to be seen, and acknowledged.
Please take a look at the whole picture, if you feel comfortable doing so, and tell me what you see. Tell me how you feel. Tell me your impression. Every time I look at it, I see something different that moves my impression of it along like a kind of evolution. He is dressed in fairly new clothing, despite the rip in the jacket. He is wearing nice polished shoes... and socks... you don't see that often on the homeless. He has a large cart that belongs to him, and holds what is probably his only world positions. He is sitting on the bench, with a bottle of alcohol next to him... and a glass with a dark beverage inside it. Also something you rarely see, a homeless drinking from a glass, as if he couldn't forget his manners.
It seems that he was very new to his circumstance... and it had devastated him. I state the obvious. I know what I feel about it, and I will never forget him. Just a couple years later, Alan and I would go through one of our worst times in our marriage, financially speaking, and here we are, a few years later back to something resembling a more normal life. We are among the lucky ones. I thank God almost every day that we made the decision to not have children. I have seen the devastation this economy has had on families. Friends. Losing houses. Not having enough to eat, even with 2 paychecks. Sigh.
I could say a lot about the events of the last week or so. But I won't. I will just say...
I believe this photo should be required viewing for all presidential candidates.
I believe this image is the point. The point of everything.
"Where you are right now, doesn't have to determine where you'll end up."
~Barack Obama
Time flies when your having fun. Well, let's face it, time flies period when you hit a certain age. No asking for my approval. No asking if I would like yet another grey hair. No asking me if I want to ask the 20 something kid at the store to take my groceries out to my car. No asking me at all. Time is just plain rude, but it unfortunately has a monopoly on my journey. I have tried distracting myself. I have tried ignoring time, in hopes it would just go away, but then I realized what that actually meant and stopped doing that immediately. LOL. There is no negotiation with time. Time is clearly in charge, unless you are Bruce Jenner. He has decided to fight time... lol... by injecting Botulinum toxin into his face so no one will know he is 62. Good idea I suppose, because it's not like we can just Google him or reference his Wikipedia page or anything.
Sheesh! That guy is spooky looking, and it's not even time's fault! Go figure.
I am 50 now. My goodness, when did that happen? Wasn't it just the other day I was out partying with my best girlfriends, drinking screwdrivers, dancing with cute guys, and rocking out to Madonna, and our personal theme song from Cyndi Lauper, Girls Just Want To Have Fun? If you are under 50, you are not allowed to laugh at the memories of my days as a single girl on the town. Your reflective days will come soon enough, and what I am saying will make perfect sense. Believe me. And while it might sound like I am mourning that time in my life, I am really not. I did it all just the way I wanted to, and finally settled down when I was 28. I wouldn't change a thing. Oh don't get me wrong, I made some mistakes in dating, like that time I became a republican, briefly, all for a guy no less, but it all happened as it should, and today I can say, I love my age, grey hair, ability to finally say what I want to in the moment, and say the most lovely word in the English language... NO. I am just not sure when it all came into perspective.
What is all askew is that as hard as Alan and I have tried, we both thought that there would be more opportunities when we got to this age. I don't know, it has seemed that things in the last 15 or so years has began to slide as prices have soared. Gas prices... forget about it. Clothing... what the hell? Food... really, $5 for a decent loaf of bread? Movies... $12.50 for a matinee? Ice Cream... $4.50 a quart? Prescriptions, with health care... $35.00 a month, without... $300.00? It's scary! And it's getting scarier! And as much as I want to buy into the whole HOPE & CHANGE idea, I can't. Not again. Not like 4 years ago.
For the first time, in a very long time, I have been seriously considering sitting the whole national election out. I don't think President Obama comes close to representing my ideals, and values as a progressive liberal. However, when I think of a Romney/Ryan administration, cold chills run up my spine. Especially after the events this week. We are still held in somewhat contempt by the rest of the world because of the actions of the Bush administration, if Mitt Romney is elected to office, we will continue to slide farther and farther down in terms of world wide view. And what he, and the GOP as a whole seems to miss, is that we do indeed need to be apologizing to the world for our actions, in fact it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask for forgiveness.
Sigh.
I don't have much HOPE anymore, because I don't feel Obama has kept his promise for change. Washington is still Washington. And politics is definitely still politics. End of story. I had hope that after 8 years of division in AMERICA, folks on both sides would try to put it behind us. What was I thinking? I don't blame Obama so much for the lack of change, no Rush Limbaugh and Fox News said up front that they wanted nothing more than to see Obama fail, even if it means America fails as well. I put the responsibility for my frustration on myself, for buying into something that seemed a little too good to be true. I can't say that Obama lead me down a primrose path or anything, no, I believe he had all kinds of good intentions, but you know that old adage... The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions.
Unfortunately, we are all right there on the road with him.
I am not 100 percent sure what I will do in November. I know if Mitt Romney is elected we will be in another full on war, and I don't know how much more war we can all take to be honest. It might just be the beginning of the end, if we aren't there already. Mitt Romney, politicizing the death of the Ambassador to Libya this week did nothing to make the world better, or to keep us safe, or improve our credibility in the eyes of the world. Sigh. At least Obama has that going for him. I think. We'll see. I know I am not taking reaching my 51st birthday for granted, assuming we all survive December 21st. The day the Mayan calendar seems to end on. For the most part, I don't believe the world will end that day, but just in case I am eating all the fucking ice cream I want. At least that's my HOPE. And I don't plan to worry that it is almost $5 a quart.
~Me
And Now For A Little Humor. SNL's Kardashian Wedding/Divorce. It ALWAYS makes me laugh!
Today's link comes from our friend JR. He's awesome!
The presumptive GOP nominee, Williard "Mitt" Romney has chosen Paul Ryan for his V.P. pick. So? So, I thought I would care more than I do. Paul Ryan, who is plenty polarizing mind you, just doesn't bring out the same kind of ire Sarah Palin did in me. I know. I know. Give it time. It's not like Ryan hasn't pissed me off from time to time. YES HE DID, and while it's there, there is also a strange kind of ... of... competence that he exudes that makes me at least a little less frightened that if Mitt Romney is elected, and God forbid should pass away in office, that we would be thrust into an apocalyptic mood swing of a crazy person. Ummm... woman. Ummm... person.
Is it possible for women to be sexist against her own gender?
Hmmm.
I wish I knew what to think. In August, 4 years ago, I was still smarting from Hillary Clinton's primary loss to Barack Obama, when along came Simple Sarah. I believe I described John McCain's choosing her as...any old vagina in a wind storm... or something to that effect. I didn't come to that conclusion on the first day of her introduction to the national political stage, it wasn't even after the interview she did with Charlie Gibson of ABC News. No, it came somewhere around her disastrous interview with Katie Couric. Who knew Katie Couric would be the one to ask the toughest question of the presidential campaign...
Katie Couric..."And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?"
Sarah Palin... "I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media, coming f—"
Katie Couric... "But like which ones specifically? I’m curious that you—"
Sarah Palin... "Um, all of 'em, any of 'em that, um, have, have been in front of me over all these years. Um, I have a va—"
Katie Couric... "Can you name a few?"
Sarah Palin... "I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news too. Alaska isn't a foreign country, where, it's kind of suggested and it seems like, 'Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C. may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska?' Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America."
That was it. Right there. Sigh.
"Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck leads the flock to fly and follow."
~Chinese Proverb
Barack Obama was spreading HOPE. Who couldn't use a little hope after enduring 8 years of the Bush presidency?
Barack Obama was spreading CHANGE. Who didn't want that, after the incompetence of 8 years of the Bush presidency?
Barack Obama was spreading the possibility of the country being whole again, and who didn't want that after 8 years of the Bush presidency?
Obama had a lot to spread. And while it felt like a huge stone was being lifted off my shoulders, I wasn't ever particularly impressed with him. Our house had solidly supported Hillary Clinton, but when Hillary lost the nomination to Obama, she asked her supporters to get behind Obama... and we did. Hope sounded good. Change sounded especially good. And competency would have been especially good... if only it would have actually happened.
Don't get me wrong. No one in the Obama administration is Bush level incompetent, but I have some serious questions about how Obama arrives at the decisions he does. Shrug. Honestly, I don't know why anyone on the republican side of politics would want anyone else in the White House. Obama has caved so often, I don't know how he can still say he is a democrat. Not much of what he promised as candidate Obama has materialized. And he still seems obsessed with pursuing the fantasy of bi-partisan politics.
"Always behave like a duck... keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath." ~Jacob Braude
It's pretty telling that the current Obama/Biden campaign slogan is... "Barack Obama... Are you in?" "Stand With Barack And Joe." "Forward."
If tears could build a stairway,
And memories a land,
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again.
~Author Unknown
**Warning... this post is not a lighthearted one. If I offend anyone, I apologize... but I am not sorry.
FUCK YOU! The Rant Paragraphs...
Every time I hear someone say American is the greatest country on the planet I want to borrow their rose colored glasses, so I could see the world the way they do. And yet at the same time, I want to point out how very wrong they are. I did a little Googling, and as an example, we don't lead the world in EDUCATION, but want to know what we do lead the world in... HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS. That is what we are doing for our children, that's the world we are giving them.. AMERICA... LEADING THE WORLD IN SCHOOL SHOOTINGS SINCE 1999. 1999... And the Columbine Massacre.
Both Mitt Romney, and President Obama held their respective press conferences today, and neither candidate had the BALLS to say ENOUGH. GOD BLESS AMERICA and GOD BLESS THE FUCKING NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION. If I hadn't made up my mind before, it's made up now. If President Obama doesn't do anything SUBSTANTIAL about gun control between now and November, I will NOT vote for him, or anyone else who can't stand up the NRA. And don't give me that BULLSHIT about if you don't vote you can't complain... SHUT UP! As a matter of fact I can, and I will. LOUD. Because that's what AMERICA is about. The freedom to speak. To seek change. To insist that our government DO IT'S JOB!
The Government has kept us safe since 9/11? No, not really. The government has us being molested at airports. The Obama administration has more guns on the street now, then when George W Bush was in office, and oh by the way, we weren't being molested at airports during his administration.
There are more Americans, then members of the NRA. It's time for those of us who can think straight to make our voices known, not just loudly... DEAFENING!
PRESIDENT OBAMA. DO SOMETHING NOW! I DON'T WANT A PRESIDENT WHO CAN'T STAND UP TO THE NRA!
WEEP... The Sadness Paragraph...
Every time one of these shooting takes place, invariably I will learn about someone's life. Someone extraordinary. And while I may have never met them, I never forget them.
NOTE: I am taking a few days off. I thought I would make it to my goal, but I just feel the artist in me draining out, and an exacerbation of my Fibromyalgia flowing in. I will be back soon I think. Gotta take care of the health first.
