Crazy & Interesting Shit

After having a good deal of time to read through news sites this morning I found three stories that were of interest to me and my life. The first being that many people are dropping cable.

We are among those people. It has been over a year since we cancelled our cable and we really don't miss it or the huge ass bill.

"Cable companies believe that the departing customers are either switching to satellite or abandoning television altogether, but a much more realistic possibility than the latter is that they're simply choosing to watch shows online; according to Ian Olgeirson, a senior analyst at SNL Kagan, "It is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss the impact of over-the-top substitution on video subscriber performance, particularly after seeing declines during the period of the year that tends to produce the largest subscriber gains due to seasonal shifts back to television viewing and subscription packages."

Read more: http://techland.com/2010/11/19/why-are-people-abandoning-cable-tv/#ixzz15pq4lVRg

When we first got rid of it we were really bummed about missing basketball, but since we really don't have any good basketball in our area any longer it really is no loss. If there is a pro game or college that we want to watch, well there are plenty of sports bars to go to. This is a college town after all. Many of the games are on regular networks anyway.

"When an institution so central to human experience suddenly changes shape in the space of a generation or two, it's worth trying to figure out why. This fall the Pew Research Center, in association with TIME, conducted a nationwide poll exploring the contours of modern marriage and the new American family, posing questions about what people want and expect out of marriage and family life, why they enter into committed relationships and what they gain from them. What we found is that marriage, whatever its social, spiritual or symbolic appeal, is in purely practical terms just not as necessary as it used to be. Neither men nor women need to be married to have sex or companionship or professional success or respect or even children — yet marriage remains revered and desired. "

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031962,00.html#ixzz15pfxeI5J


Aside from the very religious I think my generation may be the last to see getting married as what you do as a couple. If I were younger, and dating or in a relationship, I am not so sure that I would see it as something we would need to do as a couple. It really does not seem so necessary. Many jobs with benefits offer them to your partner. Marriage is no longer a requirement. Many people hyphenate their last names and they give both to their children, so again it is not needed just to name your kids.


Finally, we just could not end the post without a crazy bit from our favorite kook, Sarah Palin.


I laugh at many of here statements, but the fact that she calls herself a regular housewife makes me ROTFL!! Aside from the fact that there really has not been a typical housewife since the 1950's I think that she is just trying another snippet sound byte to capture the attention of her beloved Tea Party and religious conservatives that still believe that women should be barefoot and pregnant while totally submitting to their husband and his wishes etc.

She really needs to think about referring to herself as what she really is..... a reality television personality. I don't think that she can even call herself a serious politician any longer. An oxymoron if ever there was one!!

Growing Like a Weed & The Slow Burn

She is only three months old, but already has such gangly legs and a unique personality. People who have dogs know that everyone of them is so different from the last. Our last Golden was raised with our Lab, Cady is the first pup that we have raised as a single dog. We have always had two, so this is making for an unusual situation as we are teaching her things that she would have learned much faster with an older dog leading the way.

Now that the hubby is in Brazil I am back to single dog duty. Luckily she will sleep at night and seems to housebroken with only a rare accident.

This has all allowed me to get back to reading and looking into what is going on in the world and around my corner as well.

I am doing such a slow burn over the state of politics in general. I am sick and tired of the extreme on all sides. Happy to still have my health plan I am mad as hell at the cost increase! Between my taxes and cost of health care I am making only 1/3 of my actual pay!! Yes, I could put my kid back on, and as a responsible parent I feel that it is something good that I can offer him, it also took my share to nearly $500 a month!! I told him that he will have to pay his own co-pays, but at least he has it.

Considering the way Obama has been rolling out his,"Hope and Change", I have become quite disillusioned. That doesn't mean that I am ready to get on board with the Tea Party or back Palin, but it means that I am reading as much as I can and the look at who might be the lesser of two evils.

As someone who has totally supported Strickland and voted for him I became so displeased with him and the way things are in Ohio, we do not need any high speed rail, no one will use it!! Why waste the money? According to reports you could drive there in less time than the train would take! People just will not use it, so let it go! The jobs they talk about would only be for a short time.

Looks as if I will have to have the carpal tunnel surgery after all. One last test on Dec. 10th to check the extent of my nerve damage and then I will schedule the operation. Damn! I was really, really hoping to avoid it, but at least the same doc that did John's knee surgery will be able to do mine. I would have to use a week of vacation time, but that would be a treat!! A full week off......delicious!!

It is getting busy here at Panera and I have to whisk myself off to physical therapy, so I'll douse the burn for now and head off to Whole Foods this afternoon.

Let's Rant!

Life has been full of activities; puppy, broken leg and multiple physical therapies. Far too much to have had the time to rant about any current political escapades, but the last couple of days has given rise to some awesome fodder.

I had just been giving slight acknowledgement to the Tea Party folks, but it is/has been hard to not respond when you get wonderfully inept people like Christine O'Donnell saying things that just showcase her amazing talents.

Hopefully the dripping sarcasm is coming through here. You would have to been under a rock these last few days to have missed her showing her real lack of knowledge on the Constitution and general political immaturity to run in a political race.

There are those who think it is refreshing etc. I think it is nothing short of an embarrassment to her and those who support and surround her. The "yes" people who continue to fuel the fire and encourage her and others like her.

There may not be too much else to choose from, but do we really want someone in office with no clue about how things run? Or what the founding documents or history is all about? Someone needs to give her a high school text book.

Bringing Up Baby, Work and Living in Pajamas

It has only been two weeks, but feels m ore like two months! Why don't I remember any of this from the last one? If I had remembered it being anything like this....things might have been different and other choices might have been made! Alas.....it is not so.

I have been living in either work clothes OR my Santa pajama pants, bar tee shirt and either sweater or winter coat depending on the nighttime temperatures. Flip flops or clogs, due to the ease of getting them on and off, also depending on the temps. I did not think to switch to the clogs until I had spent five days in the rain and chill in the flip flops. I was so sleep deprived that I actually forgot that I owned several pairs.

I have been working very hard to get her on a schedule. On my days off I work very diligently to make sure I follow it. Keeping her up and playing at night until she willingly, and quietly, gets in the kennel and sleeps for 7 or more hours!! Last night it was 7 1/2. Lucky me. I know when hubby gets home it will be total disruption and I'll have to teach him the routine.

Since we have lost so many employees I have been working full time and that means coming home at lunch to let her out and eat whatever is easy to grab and eat while watching and somewhat playing. Enrollment is up almost 8% at the university and our business is reflecting that increase! We are always busy. It is amazing the people who are looking for a job, but only want to work one day a week or less than 5 hours a day. Doesn't matter to me....more hours for me. With the kid back on my health insurance, Obama health plan, they are taking an additional $100 a month. I don't mind since he needs it and it's the least I can do as he is working full time and getting ready to start classes in Jan.

All in all I am busier than I have been in a long time... and managing to even read a great book!! Life is good.

She's Here!!

It really is just like being a new mom. I am getting up every 2-3 hours to take her out, I am wearing my Santa holiday pajama pants, a tavern tee shirt and raggedy sweater. I have had to start wearing nightly wrist splints, since I have carpal tunnel, and it is a mess trying to put a coat on at 2 in the morning!! Everyhting sticks to the velcro straps. I went out the door, half asleep, with only one arm in a sleeve and the coat hanging down, the dog on my other hip and going ouy into the rain trying to get her to pee.

She did not eat for the first day and a half, and as you know, when you begin to research stuff on the internet you can freak yourself out. She has started to eat quite well now. I am happy about this.

I am not sure if it was so smart to get her while hubby is out of town and I am doing this alone! Trying to get ready for work while she drags the rugs around and runs from room to room with my shoes.

It is a handful, but I have to admit, once I smell that puppy breath and see those little paws I forget how tired I am and how goofy my outfit might look.

Cady

How can you look at nine puppies and try to pick one? Let alone leave with just one!! This was our dilemma as we went to pick out our new Golden.

Our plan was to eventually get a dog from our local APL when we felt ready. Then a couple, who frequent the coffee shop, told me that their Golden was pregnant. I felt that it was time. With John going to China soon and fall approaching I was ready to commit to training a new puppy.

We knew that we wanted a female and by the time we got there there were three to choose from. I got into the baby pool, where they were keeping the pups, and played witht hem and let the right one pick me. After 20 minutes I put them all away from me and the one that walked back over and barked at me seemed to be the one.

Hubby and I have always had a hard time naming our dogs. It takes us forever to agree on a name, and this time was no different. I was out at the picnic table going through baby names on my laptop and he was in the house. I was in the C"s and happened to stop on the name Cady. As he was coming out the door he said,"Hey, what do you think about Cady"? I am not kidding! We knew that was the name!

They will be ready to leave between the 29th and Oct.2, so I have time to get puppy chow and toys and training pads. Ready to sleep on the couch for a week or two. Ready to spoil the new baby.

Serving the Masses

Unless you live under a rock there is no chance that you have missed the story of Steven Slater, the Jetblue flight attendant, who recently quit his job with a bit of dramatics. As someone who has often worked in the service industry, and has a husband that flies the friendly skies frequently, I have a few things to add to the discussion.

I heartily applaud his aggravated state and even though he may lose his job I love the manner in which he made his exit and told off that rude customer! The public has just gotten out of hand and extremely rude to those who are in the service industry.

I do not even know where to begin........ I guess we can start with those on their cell phones. You know who they are. The people who have so much that is important to talk about, but they still want to stand in line to purchase what you sell, but they also want to hold everything up by NOT paying attention when it is their turn to order and pay. They have to tell the person they are talking to where they are, please hold on, and then they get out their money etc! They act all pissed off that they have to halt their phone chat because you are asking them what is it that they would like to order. They have come to your shop to get what you sell and then they get all huffy when you want to sell it to them and ask for payment!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about the people who have already paid and received their product, they stand there and drink a third or more and pass it back to you and ask for more milk!! I'm sorry, but when did it become a bottomless drink? It is not a Denny's or iHop and I am not walking around refilling coffee cups. You bought and paid for one item. If there was a mistake I would gladly fix the problem, but I am not going to stand there and refill your cup AS you drink it.

Your kids might be very cute to you, but as they run back and forth, as people carry hot drinks around, screaming and banging on windows they are not cute to any of us working. probably not to any of the other people who are reading or having quiet conversation. If your kids are old enough to run around then they are old enough to behave. Buying them a sprinkle covered pink donut and giving it to them with a very sugary blended cold drink is not the way to settle them down. Also, setting a group of them up at a table with a fellow child as babysitter does not work either. If you want to have mommy chat time and you all have a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds maybe McDonalds or Chuck e Cheese is a better choice for you. I think the folks trying to read a book or newspaper would agree with me as do those of us who have to clean up all the mess that your little darlings have left!

It is also very loud in our shop. Next to a major university we do a constant business. between the sound of bean grinders, drink blenders and two very large espresso machines it can be very hard to hear you when you WHISPER your order and then get really pissy when we have to ask you several more times what it is you would like!! Especially when the line is 20 or so long and you are at the end of it!! Don't get irritated with us, you came in for our product we are just trying to move the line along. And to the gentleman that said I need a hearing aid....kiss my ass!! You try smiling and getting orders in a million dollar business with all that racket for eight hours a day. I am sorry that you had to wait in line behind 15 sorority girls getting strawberry frozen drinks, but if you choose to wait you have to deal with it!! It is not my fault that they are holding up the line!!

Finally, to those few who get so pissed that they write letters to the corporate offices trying to get employees fired..... how big are your egos that you are resorting to this action because you did not like your drink that day or because Jane did not smile at you today? Get over yourself. We deal with your big ass egos everyday and smile even though we know you are a jerk.

Don't get me wrong, I do like my job,but people have gotten more rude. My husband flies all around the world and has seen this crap on airplanes often. People who think that whatever they are doing is more important than what anyone else is doing. He is not surprised that that guy lost his cool. People bring on bags that are often too large for the overheads or under the seat and then try and force them in. They get up and try to be the first off the plane before the all clear is even given.

All of this has made me more aware when I am standing in a long line. It is not anyone's fault and it is just something to be tolerated. If you are going to shop or purchase something in the service industry you must wait your turn. Learn some patience or personal meditation techniques. Don't take it out on the service people!! They are just trying to earn a living.

Surgery Day

Today is surgery day for hubby's knee. Not nearly as invasive as the accompanying photo would suggest! We have to be there all day and since I can not take my laptop I am taking a book, one that I found at work and have just started, planning on several trips to the cafeteria and many caffeinated beverages!

I may even take a nap...who knows, but as hospitals usually do, I am sure that it will provide much blogging fodder, as this entire leg scenario has seemed to do right from the start.

The Junk Drawer

It has been almost two months since the, "broken leg of aught 10", and hubby has become quite mobile on his crutches. We go to the doc next Wednesday and hopefully he will get the all clear to begin walking on it. He has three trips coming up and walking would be a good thing.

Now that Cleveland sports has completely fallen off the face of the earth I think we may just throw in the towel and start watching cricket. I mean it! We have nothing left except college sports.

Summer has been fantastic here with the exception of the ground hog family of four that has eaten everything in my gardens. I had to go out and buy potted plants to fill in the spots where they ate everything down to the ground. They have two babies this year and I have never seen them eat so much of my stuff. It pisses me off, but they are just so damn cute. So, I just get potted plants.

Work at the coffee mega giant has been so much nicer since I gave up my managerial position. I love just coming and going without any worries about the place. I have found some joy again in my work. I have been learning to back off and not always have to be in charge. I have decided that I like NOT being the boss anymore. I would rather enjoy my life than worry about work. I come home and enjoy my garden, sitting outside and relaxing. All that stress is gone. Sure, I miss some of the money, but have finally gotten it through my head that there is SO much more to living.

Just finished a nice 5 day mini vacation and read a good book, played Scrabble with my mom, and sat out and had a big fire. Life is very good indeed.

Broken Leg Story

Sunday before Memorial Day hubby was putting new brake pads on the car. It was a beautiful day, I had the day off, and was sitting on the picnic table talking with him while he worked. I was doing my suburban hillbilly thing and rolling him cigarettes. I saw the car rolling forward.....................

He could not move in time and it all collapsed on his leg. The rotor hit his thigh and calf.

I dropped to the ground and tried to get that stupid jack to work, but could not do anything with it and called 911. They were here within two minutes.

They had the largest jack I have ever seen, but oh...I forgot, as I was messing with the jack I am not sure where my brain went, but I remember looking up and there was a face just a few inches from mine and I remember thinking, who is this, as I looked at her. Turns out my brain recognized her about 15 minutes later. My neighbor had heard me screaming and calling 911 and she had rushed over to assist. We even tried to lift the car, but it is a 4 door sedan and not a little Yugo!!

He was in shock and I have not ever seen a living person the color of putty. His blood pressure was down to 85! No external bleeding, just internal damage and shock. I rode in the front of the ambulance to the hospital.

After 8 hours in the ER and 8 x-rays later they tell us that his tibia is broken, the main long bone in your shin, and we will need to this leg immobilizer until he sees an orthopedic surgeon.

He has been living on Vicodin because it has been a very painful break, but now we know that surgery is not necessary. The break is too close to his knee and any metal they put in would be too uncomfortable and need to be taken back out after a year or so. NOT!!

You may think that this is the end of the story, but no............ there was something even more scary than the whole broken leg. What could that be you ask? The part where we had to get home!!

They told us that he would be getting a room and staying the night, so mentally that is what we were prepared for. Then later the nurse came and suddenly told us that we were being released! It was 1:00 AM. We were totally unprepared to go AND we had no car! The nurse said that she would call us a cab that they do it all the time. We did not want to call family, or friends, at that hour to come all the way to the city where the ER was located. It was a good drive from where we live. Our local hospital is not a Major Trauma facility.

So they wheel us out and we wait for the taxi. This rickety cab, a term I use loosely for the vehicle that arrived, pulled up and we proceeded to load hubby & myself into the back seat. It was so filthy that I could not have even tried to get in the front seat! I was smashed against the door as hubby was stretched out on the other side of me. He was still reeling from the morphine that he had been given several times that night, so he was not as aware of the scariness of this situation.

As we began to pull away this cab was creaking and grinding. When he hit the expressway, at 65-70 MPH, I was white knuckled all the way home! There is no way that car should have been going that fast! He had several engine lights on and it smelled weird in there. He had the radio up and I had to tell him how to get to our town. Once we got off the highway, as we drove through town, he was continuously crossing the yellow line! He was either drunk or very high. I was thankful to make it home.

Once I got hubby out and up to our front porch I leaned him against the wall. He chain smoked and I got a gallon sized glass of wine!! Thank god....day over!! Home in one piece.

Getting off the Roller Coaster

This past year has been one big ass, crazy, out-of-control roller coaster ride for me. Hopefully I will get some closure, and medication, on Monday that will make it all seem right.

Seeing this new doctor on Monday has me all excited. I have been planning what I want to say to her ,and the quickest and easiest way to say it, for a few days now. I also know that there is a very good chance that I will start to cry and may not be able to stop for some time, so I hope she has a good chunk of time set aside for this new patient!

Due to all my anxiety and whackadoo, nut job craziness I am now appreciating the "step down" that I took from my management position at work, but most definitely not the drop in pay! That part sucks and now I have new stress and anxiety over that!! Just figures. Hubby has been very supportive over this change and has reminded me over and over again that he has thought that I did too much for them for years. He is happy that I am doing less and have more time to myself. It has made me ask myself what was I thinking when I took that promotion.

Just like anything I always take a job or activity to heart and become immersed and want to be an ultimate achiever and get sucked into the system and get to the top etc. I am trying to let go of that behavior. I am trying to say, "I just don't care."

I am also going to go back to substitute teaching this fall. Now that the economy is not so bad and schools around here are holding steady I could sub somewhere that could end up as a job opportunity. I am also looking into starting one class towards my masters. Nothing too crazy, but stuff that is more about me, us and my future. Hubby is traveling allot now, business has picked back up, and I could easily give up the insurance at this job if a permanent teaching job became available in this area.

I used to think that I had to be strong and put forth an image of thus, but trying to hold myself together this past year with all these chemical changes has been a real bitch! As have I. I have no doubt that I have been a total certifiable nut job. I have told hubby many times that if this is what mid life is going to be like that I want no part of it! I have been so desperate that twice I have called the suicide hot lines for help, but they pissed me off so much that I actually hung up on them!! Sadly they did not even try to call back and check on my safety or sanity!

Having tried all the herbal supplements etc., wine and pot I am truly of the belief that only good ol' pharmaceuticals are going to get me through this part of my life. The Internet has been a big help in researching and I feel like I am armed with enough info to make some rational choices. I am going with a legal pad of questions and hope to come out of there on my way to a happier and healthier version of me!

I have been on this ride for too long and have always hated rides! I am ready to get off.

Not Surprising

Newsweek Magazine poses the question as to whether Tea Party members are racist. No surprises in that one!

"A new survey by the University of Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality offers fresh insight into the racial attitudes of Tea Party sympathizers. "The data suggests that people who are Tea Party supporters have a higher probability"—25 percent, to be exact—"of being racially resentful than those who are not Tea Party supporters," says Christopher Parker, who directed the study. "The Tea Party is not just about politics and size of government. The data suggests it may also be about race."

"Surveyers asked respondents in California and a half dozen battleground states (like Michigan and Ohio) a series of questions that political scientists typically use to measure racial hostility. On each one, Tea Party backers expressed more resentment than the rest of the population, even when controlling for partisanship and ideology. When read the statement that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites," 73 percent of the movement's supporters agreed, while only 33 percent of people who disapproved of the Tea Party agreed. Asked if blacks should work their way up "without special favors," as the Irish, Italians, and other groups did, 88 percent of supporters agreed, compared to 56 percent of opponents. The study revealed that Tea Party enthusiasts were also more likely to have negative opinions of Latinos and immigrants."

Just goes along with the scary remarks made by people like Sarah Palin and Glen Beck. These people and groups are only gaining more followers and momentum.

Toxic Tea

If you Google the Tea Party you will find more signs and images than you can believe. These were just two of my faves.

Up till now I have been largely ignoring them and their rhetoric. I have only marginally been listening to Sarah Palin and the crap coming out of her mouth. I also include Glen Beck in that as well.

Ron Rosenbaum, of Slate Magazine, wrote an excellent article about the Tea Party and how dangerous they are to ignore. How they flagrantly misuse words like tyranny, communist, Marxist and socialist. They are also quite guilty and misrepresentation of history, but does that surprise us?

I am a great believer in used-bookstore serendipity. Sometimes when you're thinking about how to express something, you find a perfect exemplification of it just by chance in the musty stacks of such an emporium. Here's a remarkable example. I'd been trying to find a way to write about Tea Party ideology, and in particular about the fraudulent history and distorted language it indulges in. Listen to Tea Partiers on cable news—or read the signs they hoist or their Internet comments—and you frequently encounter the flagrant abuse, the historically ignorant misuse, of words such as tyranny, communist, Marxist, fascist, and socialist. "

"You hear them say, for instance, that we live under "tyranny" because one side lost a health care vote in an elected legislative body. And that, in all seriousness, the president is a communist. For many Tea Party members, the word is not just a vile epithet; it's a realistic political description. Check out this clip in which Tea Party "celebrity" spokeswoman Victoria Jackson flatly tells a flummoxed Fox News host, "The president's a communist." When the host (the Fox host!) starts to object, she responds that Glenn Beck has taught her that progressive is a code word for communist. (Time to put that ugly hammer and sickle logo inside the "O" on your I-hate-Obama T.P. protest sign!)"

How can they play so easily on the fears of the weak minded and how can these people be so lead? I shake my head when I think about this. I am continually stunned, although I guess I should not be, that people like Glen Beck can gain suck a foot hold upon the public.

These people scare me.

Going, Going, Gone!!

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. Ever hear that one? Well, it's true.

I am solidly right in the middle of a break down. I am slowly circling the hole that will lead me into mental oblivion.

Still in my 40's I did not know what was happening to me.....I just thought that it was a year long extended session of PMS. Now we have the facts. It is the ugly word that I never thought that I would speak......MENOPAUSE. OMG!

I had the mental vision of this only happening to "older women". I never saw myself as someone that was heading into this area. Well, let me tell you I am standing knee deep smack in the middle of it and holding my nose as I sucked deep into the vortex.

I am trying to get into a new doctor since my old one, literally, has never mentioned it or talked to me about it. My mom says that she was totally done with it by the time she was my age. Done!? I can not imagine how that might be. From what I have been reading this could last for years. YEARS!!!!!!!! Are they serious. I may have to move into a quiet, padded room long before this is over.

During any day I dance through such a myriad of emotions that I don't know if I am coming or going! I have enough patience that would fit inside a thimble. Sleeping is a thing of the past. I just can't. Sleep. I toss and turn every night and that, in turn, sets me up for the emotional roller coaster that is the rest of my day.

I had talked to my "old" doc about this and he just told me to get more exercise and that it was okay to keep taking the night time PM sleep pills that I have been taking. As I stabbed him in the heart with his own pen I knew that it can not be good for my kidneys to keep taking this crap just to sleep each night. Did I also mention that I am taking them with a glass or two of wine? Oh yeah, that's safe!! Never has he mentioned that it might be the "M" word or that blood work might be necessary to see where all my hormone levels are. As if I have any left!! They have to be all wazoo. He said get more exercise....hell, I can't get out the door. I have been so depressed that I am lucky to even get dressed or go to work!

I found a new doc and am trying to get into her office. I have been reading a good deal about HRT and other drugs and I am ready to say,"Hook me up"!

Out the Door

Today was the first time that I have taken a walk, without a dog, in almost 20 years. I had to force myself out the door. well, really I had to force myself to get my shorts on, and shoes, an Id then out the door. It was/is a beautiful 80 degree day here and I wanted to begin getting myself into walking/running for my 5K this fall.

Last year I did not make it due to a knee problem, but now I am slowly making my way back. Hopefully by October I will be able to run again.

It was the most boring walk ever AND i did not know what to do with my arms and hands! I am so conditioned to either walk a dog or pick up poop that I don't know what to do otherwise.

I don't want to listen to music because I want this time to be for meditative thought or reflection or whatever. I listen to music when I run, so I want my walking time to be more peaceful.

I know that as time passes it will become more natural, but for now it is hard to leave the house and take the same routes that Casey & I used to take. I think that I will change them for awhile until I don't think about it anymore.

Although it was weird the sun was shining and the 80 degree day felt good on my skin. Like they say...time heals everything.

Heads and Shit Rolling Downhill

I can't help laugh as the latest Catholic follies are coming into light. The church/leadership that has always acted so far above everyone else is now being shown for the liars, hypocrites and fakes that they really are.

I think that Maureen Dowd, of the NY Times, says it the best in her recent editorial.

"It doesn’t seem right that the Catholic Church is spending Holy Week practicing the unholy art of spin.

Complete with crown-of-thorns imagery, the church has started an Easter public relations blitz defending a pope who went along with the perverse culture of protecting molesters and the church’s reputation rather than abused — and sometimes disabled and disadvantaged — children.

The church gave up its credibility for Lent. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are now becoming Cover-Up Thursday and Blame-Others Friday."

Instead of playing all pious as the Easter weekend comes upon its followers they are instead ignoring all of this and focusing on things as they wish to divert attention. I don't think that this is going to happen!.

"The Catholic Church can never recover as long as its Holy Shepherd is seen as a black sheep in the ever-darkening sex abuse scandal.

Now we learn the sickening news that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, nicknamed “God’s Rottweiler” when he was the church’s enforcer on matters of faith and sin, ignored repeated warnings and looked away in the case of the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, a Wisconsin priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys.

The church has been tone deaf and dumb on the scandal for so long that it’s shocking, but not surprising, to learn from The Times’s Laurie Goodstein that a group of deaf former students spent 30 years trying to get church leaders to pay attention."

These most recent abuse revelations are some of the worst yet! Still the pope tries to cover it all up under that big hat. Then they also trot out the blame for the gays defense as well!! They must either be on drugs or so out of touch with reality that they think that that age old line still works.

With this much heat coming down it might be time for the millions of followers to finally toss in the towel and look at these men for who and what they really are. It's a sham.

Farewell Good Friend

March 28th we lost Casey. She just suddenly passed away on a Sunday afternoon. She had been having some back trouble, pinched nerve, and was recovering nicely. Her death came as quite a shock. We were, and are, still numb.

She was just eleven and we had expected her to live at least 5 or so more years. John and I were having our usual Sunday. Eating some junk and watching Weeds. I walked into the dining room to put the disc in the Netflix envelope and noticed that she looked odd lying on the floor. An unusual position. That was when I realized that she was not breathing.

Monday we buried her in the spot where she used to lay behind our yard chairs. It was the very same hole that she had been digging last summer. We figured it was her favorite hole and it was only fitting that she be buried in it. I plan to plant many red impatiens there this summer.

It will be the first time, in almost 20 years, that we will not have a dog in the house. It is so quiet.

Catholic Follies

You would have to be either living in a cave or under a rock not to know all the latest about the Catholic church and their carrying on with little boys. Not to mention the cover up. Ah yes, the cover up. How crafty and clever they had been with the cover up. Their solution ? Just move the offending individuals to new locations, yet still near and involved with children. Let's just put the fox right in the middle of the hen house!!

"Pope Benedict XVI’s latest apology for the emerging global scandal of child abuse by predatory priests — an issue that the Roman Catholic Church should have engaged years ago — is strong on forgiveness but far short of the full accountability that Catholics need for repairing their damaged church. "

More than falling short on accountability it holds no one accountable and seems to let them roam about unhindered still within the church! Forgiveness my ass! The axe should be falling and heads should be rolling...including the pope's. The fact that he had knowledge long ago just makes the situation worse. The church has hidden behind the big hat for too long. They are a black eye on and for all who belong to that church.

Now there are deaf men coming forward to say that they had been abused, as children, by the priests! Deaf children! Is there anything more repulsive! Not just children, but those who are less able to report and respond to what they were going through.

"Three deaf men who say they were repeatedly sodomized and abused by priests as children confronted the church diocese yesterday about why it had not punished their abusers, saying they wanted justice.

The three men first interviewed last year by the Associated Press, appeared on a prime-time talk show on Italy's state-run RAI television, squaring off with the spokesman of the Verona Diocese amid a global sex-abuse scandal that has inched closer to Pope Benedict XVI."

By the time the pope apologizes to every person and country that has suffered abuse by his priests it might be the "end of times". He might just as well throw in the towel, put the big house up for sale and take the big hat and get out of Dodge. The church is falling down around him. Just like the pants of the priests!!

Pitchforks & Torches at the Gates

Just like the days ,when the angry mobs were at the castle gates looking for the Wolfman or Frankenstein, I expect them to show up at the gates of the White House any day now. Yes, now that health care seems to be on its way, their are Republicans that are ready for blood.

In the mornings, as I get ready for work, I listen to talk radio. The guy is not a real big name, but syndicated I believe. As you might suspect, VERY conservative. The caller told him that he, Rush and Sean Hannity are the voice of their future. The torch bearers for the voice of the party.

They scare me. It reminded me of the way the villagers would storm the gates of the castle. They get people riled up after they are already not happy with the way things are going. I just get so pissed off at the juvenile ways that they pick at and on people to stir the pot. Very high schoolish.

Health Care Reform & Welcome to Barbara O'Brien

Owner/proprietor of The Mahablog (est. 2002)

Guide to Buddhism at About.com.

After several years of editorial and production management in the book and magazine publishing industry, I set out to be a freelance web content provider. My personal politics blog, The Mahablog, was launched in 2002. I am a frequent contributor to several websites, including The Guardian’s Comment Is Free site. Since 2008 I also have been the Guide to Buddhism for About.com.

Note: I’m looking for work as a writer — permanent, temporary, part time, full time, on location (New York City area) or telecommuting. Contact me by email if interested.

Barbara contacted me, via e-mail, and asked to be allowed to publish on my little blog. As someone who appreciates those with liberal and vocal viewpoints I heartily welcome her and add her to this little corner of the blogosphere! She has an excellent blog of her own and you should think about checking it out.

http://www.mahablog.com/



Would Health Care Reform Help You?

Many obstacles and stumbling blocks remain in the way of health care reform. The House and Senate bills will have to be merged, and then the House and Senate both will vote on the final bill. We don’t yet know what will be in the final bill, or if the final bill will be passed into law. Passage will be especially difficult in the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to pass. It is still possible that after all this angst, just one grandstanding senator could kill the whole thing.

But just for fun, let’s look at what conventional wisdom says will be in the final bill and see if there is anything in it that will be an immediate benefit to people with mesothelioma cancer and other asbestos-related disease.

It is likely that the final bill will provide additional funding for state high-risk insurance pools. Currently more than 30 states run such pools, which are nonprofit, state-sponsored health insurance plans for people who can’t buy insurance because of pre-existing conditions. The biggest problem with such pools is that, often, the insurance they offer is too expensive for many who might need it. Both the Senate and House bills provide $5 billion in subsidies for state high-risk pools to make the insurance more affordable.

Under the Senate bill, beginning in 2014, private companies would no longer be able to deny coverage to adults with pre-existing conditions, nor could they charge higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions. Until then, the state high-risk pools could provide some help.

Closing the Medicare Part D coverage gap — also called the “doughnut hole” — is another potential provision that could help some patients with asbestos-related disease. The “doughnut hole” is the gap between the coverage for yearly out-of-pocket expenses provided by Medicare Part D and Medicare’s “catastrophic coverage” threshold.

For example, in 2009 Medicare Part D paid at least 75 percent of what patients paid for prescription drugs up to $2,700. After that, patients must pay for all of their prescription medications until what they have paid exceeds $6,154. At that point, the catastrophic coverage takes over, and Medicare pays for all but 5 percent of the patient’s drug bills. The final health care reform bill probably will provide for paying at least 50 percent of out-of-pocket costs in the doughnut hole.

You may have heard the bills include budget cuts to the Medicare program, and this has been a big concern to many people. Proponents of the bill insist that savings can be found to pay for the cuts, and that people who depend on Medicare won’t face reduced services. But this is a complex issue that I want to address in a later post.

The long-term provisions probably will include many other provisions that would benefit patients with asbestos-related disease, including increased funding for medical research. Although there are many complaints about the bill coming from all parts of the political spectrum, on the whole it would be a huge benefit to many people.

— Barbara O’Brien

March 16, 2010