Poverty in America

"Poverty in America" should be unheard of.  A nation that can afford to throw money away on the killing, maiming, and mutilation of innocent men, women, and children should be able to withhold that money and redirect it toward the betterment of its people.  There is no excuse for poverty in America.  It is unnecessary and downright obscene!  It should make every thinking person miserable!  We should all be walking around with our chins dragging on the ground instead of puffed up, beating our chests and shouting "God BLESS America!"  Bleh!

Books, Books, Books!

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a book in my hand.  I don't mind waiting in line at the post office or anywhere else for that matter so long as I have a book in my hand.  I see people in line looking up at the ceiling, at the four walls, down at their shoes, at the back of the person in front of them, etc. etc. etc., and I think to myself, "How can you walk into anywhere and stand in a long line without a book?"  In fact, I am very disappointed when it's finally my turn to go up and be waited on, especially if I'm at a really interesting part of my book. 

Some of my favorite authors are John Steinbeck, Pearl Buck, Elizabeth Berg (Becky and I went to the Elgin library a few years ago to hear her speak there), Anita Shreve, Maeve Binchy, Daphne Du Maurier, and Mary Higgins Clark.   Those are just SOME of my favorite authors.  I have quite a few others, but Joyce Carol Oates is not one of them.  She doesn't believe in proper sentence construction and punctuation, and her plots are, to me, a lot of mish mush.  I may be in the minority in my feeling about Oates because she has won all kinds of prizes as an author.  I guess there's no accounting for tastes.

Kicking God Out???

All of us have heard the comment "They've kicked God out of the public schools."  Every time I hear or read that ludicrous statement, I cringe.  Why do I cringe?  I cringe because God is the Master of this universe that He has created.  He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  God is everywhere.  After all, this is HIS universe.  How could anybody "kick God out" of a school, a church, a forest, a camping ground, a mall, a turnpike or anyplace else?  I don't know who thinks God has been kicked out of the public schools, but whoever thinks such a thing had better read the Bible and once again familiarize himself/herself with the truth about the Creator of this vast universe. 
The public schools belong to everybody in this country.  They are as American as apple pie, and we ALL pay taxes to the public schools.  Even atheists pay taxes and have a right to send their children to the public schools.  Government-sponsored prayers have no place in the public schools of America.  The place for prayers is in the home and in the church.  It seems that those who are so gung-ho for prayer in the public schools are the evangelicals who think it's great so long as the prayer that is being recited is THEIR kind of prayer.  "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." 

Our Planet

Our planet is called "earth."  It is the smallest of all the planets.  Now, one would think that since we dwell on the smallest planet, it shouldn't be all that difficult to honor the Lord and take care of this planet "earth" that he has entrusted to us.  However, we have raped it, polluted it, disgraced and dishonored it every which way, and then we have the nerve, the temerity, the unmitigated gall to say and sing "God BLESS America!"  Bleh!!!

"Weeper of the House"

We used to have a "Speaker of the House" with a charming, sunny personality, and a Colgate smile.  From the pretty Nancy Polisi we have gone to a  "Weeper of the House," with a duh personality, someone who doesn't know how to smile but cries a lot, and when he isn't crying, he looks as if he is about to cry.  And that is what so many people voted for last November.  I understand that right now John Boehner's popularity is at about the level of lower than  a snake's belly.  If the president wins a second term, then the "Weeper of the House" will really have something to weep about. 

Ah, life CAN be beautiful!

"Extremeties"

If you haven't seen this movie, if it's the last movie you ever see, please try to see it.  I don't know whether it was a made-for-TV movie or whether it was a regular movie that was shown on TV.  I saw it twice!  It is not easy to watch.  There is no swearing in it, and, in fact, there is nothng indecent about it except that you would never want your children to watch it unless they are at least sixteen years of age, and then only if you feel they are emotionally mature enough to handle this movie.

Farah Fawcett, one of my favorite actresses, stars in this film.  Farah Fawcett was an extraordinarily gifted actress except that Hollywood apparently never realized how gifted she really was.  She was a very intense, very realistic actress.  Her talent was completely wasted on "Charlie's Angels!"

"Extremeties" is a film you will find it hard to forget.  It will stay with you for a very long time.  Farah Fawcett is spectacular!!!

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Do not for a moment think former PSEUDO-president George W. Bush was lying when he told us over and over again that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.  They certainly did, but the reason nobody could find them was because the tooth fairy flew away with them to her teeny tiny castle in the clouds.

"God BLESS America???"

If I hear "God BLESS America" one more time, I think I will scream.  I believe in God, but I do not believe we have anywhere near earned his blessing.  How can a warmongering nation expect to be "blessed" by God?  And what about the other nations of the world?  Why should "God BLESS America" and not "bless" the other nations of the world?   How in the world do we expect God to "BLESS" America when we use deadly weapons made from money that says "In God We Trust" on it to kill and maim innocent men, women, and children?  How in the world do we expect God to "BLESS" America when we invade and bomb a sovereign nation that had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11? 

We, as a nation, need to do away with the propaganda and lies concerning our country and face the difficult, unvarnished truth.  "America the Beautiful" by Katherine Lee Bates comes to mind.  The second verse goes like this:  "Oh beautiful, for patriot's dream that sees beyond the years; our alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears."  "UNDIMMED BY HUMAN TEARS???"  I think not!  The streets of our nation have been awash with the tears and blood of our black brethren as their loved ones were strung up in the trees of the south, and our police dogs and firemen's hoses attacked them without mercy.  We burned crosses on their front lawns and told their children they couldn't attend the same schools our children attended.  Nor were they allowed to drink from the same public fountains, nor use the same public restrooms, nor could they sit in the front of our buses, nor be served in our restaurants. 

"Undimmed by human tears" indeed! 

Rick Perry for President?

Perish the thought!  Perry is a fad, a fly-by-night, a tiresome, buzzing mosquito on the national scene, a here-today-gone-tomrrow character.  Once his bravado and macho-man egotistical personality wear off and people begin to see that his election would spell the doom of this nation, they will come to their senses and re-elect the president.  Unless the American people have a deep-seated, psychological desire to destroy themselves, they will go into the voting booth and make the only sane decision.

Listen My Children!

"Listen my children, and you will hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere."  That is the opening line of that famous poem.  Go to your friendly, local library if you don't already have the poem in some book at home and read of Paul Revere's ride.  Whatever you do, please, please, please dismiss Sarah Palin's version!  We don't want a nation of historical illiterates running around loose!

The 2012 Election

Although the president has made some mistakes and not kept all of his promises, I wouldn't dream of voting for the opposition party.  If we get a Republican president in the White House, we will be well on our way to becoming a third-world country!  And you can take that to the bank!

Free Publicity for COMCAST

Becky, Joy, and Anders have left, and I am now at my local, 24-million-dollar library that I am helping to pay for, and that's why I have made this my second home.  I am playing around with my blog since I have lost Internet connection at home.  And that is why the four of us went to Panera's--so that Joy could set me up with my blog at my favorite coffee shop.

I am going to call COMCAST tomorrow (Wednesday).  They have their work cut out for them.  They are going to have to see why we're not getting the kind of service we're paying for.  Read your COMCAST invoices very carefully before you make out that check.  One time a fellow came and worked forever outside with an extension ladder in order to replace a worn-out cable.  I was charged for this service in my next bill.  Huh???  I called them up right away and asked why I was being charged for the replacement of one of  THEIR worn-out cables.  The gal told me it was an error and immediately deleted the charge from my accocunt.  "An error???"  Hmmm.  Anyway, the last time I called for service (something to do with our TV's), I complained that some of the commercials go silent and then the sound comes up again; off, on off, on.  There were two COMCAST fellows at that time.  They shook their heads and told me they had no idea why this was happening, and one of them said, "Consider yourself lucky." 

HOWEVER!!!  Now some of the channel programs periodically go silent, and this, my friends, is unacceptable!  This has been happening to three out of our four tv's.  I should have called COMCAST long ago, but I've been putting it off.  The day of reckoning has finally arrived, and it is tomorrow!

Enjoying my Great-Grandson

Becky,  Joy, Anders and I are at Panera's having good food and fellowship (actually, Anders doesn't eat yet; just drinks his mother's milk, which I would think can get pretty boring after a fellow has reached the age of seven months).  He kept eyeing my potato chips, which made me feel very guilty.  Poor little kid. His mother should leave him with me for a few hours.  I'll show him what real living is all about!