It kinda pisses me off...

I mean, the recent death of Whitney Houston. It’s not like I was a fan, or have ever listened to her genre, but I, of course, would have had to have been living in a Himalayan Hut to have never heard her music.

The woman had it all…amazing voice, amazing face, amazing body, excellent connections, all the ingredients one would need to cook up a successful life.

So what went wrong?

You know, I find myself thinking, if only I had had ALL those opportunities, ALL that Good Fortune, ALL that Potential…who knows what I might have accomplished!

Granted, many people “make it” in music without having all of the advantages that Whitney had, but it still seems disappointing that she, who had so much MORE of those ingredients than most people, failed so abysmally, in the final years of her life, at taking care of herself enough to be able to give her gift to the world.

But who knows, maybe we ALL do have opportunities — in our own ways, in our own fields, with our own “God-given” talents…

It’s just that her path was such a public one that one couldn’t help but notice it (you don’t hear about wildly successful doctors the same way you do about wildly successful Pop Stars).

I’m just pissed at her. There I’ve said it. What a waste! Was it a lack of self control? Was it selfish and disrespectful of her towards her talent, to let herself sink into using drugs? Or was it the fault of those who originally introduced her to prescription and non-prescription “substances” which eventually led to her death?

When you have a gift like hers, you have a great responsibility. You are the caretaker for your vessel. It is your JOB to keep that vessel healthy. It is your job to keep that vessel pure. It is your job to maintain your body. It is your job to remain strong, and not be swayed by worldly temptations. Maintaining yourself IS your day job.

Yes, what a “tragic loss” her death was. However, is nobody mentioning that she might have had a hand in causing it?

Look, I have my share of addictions…so I forgive her for not being able to get her addictions under control, however, I also have had long periods of my life when I knowingly chose to “fast” from ingesting any poisons of any kind. It was really hard, at first, but after a while I got used to going without those harmful substances. It can be done. I wonder how hard she tried, how difficult it was for her, and if she knew that she did have the power within her to overcome those demons. Or maybe she didn’t. I don’t know. I’m just pissed. Am I being too harsh? I don’t know..Fame and Success do not buy happiness. Drugs don’t always make it better, or even ease the pain all that much. I think that’s the lesson to learn.

It’s just sad. I feel sorry for her, her family, and her fans.

I am still having a hard time giving up my HOPE for CHANGE

...but all evidence points to the fact that we cannot rely on Obama to uphold any kind of Liberal agenda when it comes to our Foreign Policy and Treatment of Detainees (especially Bradley Manning - I can’t imagine what they would do if they had custody of Julian Assange, even though he is not a citizen).

Obama has proven to be WORSE than Bush when it comes to attacking and maintaining a presence in foreign countries, however the Left is paralyzed, and doesn’t know how to react to Obama’s numerous surprise policy reversals.

I am appalled at so much that he has done, and yet I keep running into Obama-bots, who think I am either making shit up, or am a looney. I post the links to the facts, and get told by these Obama-bots that I am a liar, and they will never read that crap. Open your eyes, people, Obama is not the President you thought you were electing!

One Love Peace Concert 4/22/1978

The One Love Peace Concert was a large concert held on April 22, 1978 at The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.

This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People’s National Party. The concert came to its peak during Bob Marley & The Wailers’ performance of “Jammin’”, when Marley joined the hands of political rivals Michael Manley (PNP) and Edward Seaga (JLP).

(This past May 11, was the 30th Anniversary of Bob Marley's Death, R.I.P.)

The following might be funny, if it weren't so true... Please be sure to read to the end...

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table, At which he’s fed.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him taxes Are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts, anyway!

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants,Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think.

Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries Tax his tears.

Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways To tax his ass.

Tax all he has. Then let him know you won’t be done Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers, Tax him some more, Tax him till He’s good and sore.

Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in Which he’s laid.

Put these words Upon his tomb, Taxes drove me To my doom.

When he’s gone, Do not relax, It’s time to apply the inheritance tax.

• Accounts Receivable Tax
• Building Permit Tax
• CDL License Tax
• Cigarette Tax
• Corporate Income Tax
• Dog License Tax
• Excise Taxes
• Federal Income Tax
• Food License Tax
• Fuel Permit Tax
• Gasoline Tax
• Gross Receipts Tax
• Hunting
• License Tax
• Inheritance Tax
• Inventory Tax
• IRS Interest Charges, IRS penalties (tax on top of tax)
• Liquor Tax
• Luxury Taxes
• Marriage License Tax
• Medicare Tax
• Personal Property Tax
• Property Tax
• Real Estate Tax
• Service Charge Tax
• Social Security Tax
• Road Usage Tax
• Recreational Vehicle Tax
• Sales Tax
• School Tax
• State Income Tax
• State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
• Telephone Federal Excise Tax
• Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
• Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
• Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
• Telephone Usage Charge Tax
• Utility Taxes
• Vehicle License Registration Tax
• Vehicle Sales Tax
• Watercraft Registration Tax
• Well Permit Tax
• Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not ONE of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely NO national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

WHAT happened?

Can you spell P-0-L-I-T-I-C-I-A-N-S ?

by Charlie Reese, Orlando Sentinel Newspaper journalist in his final column…

HELLO-O-O again.

Okay, so I haven't posted here for months and months. I'm sorry! I've been blogging over on Tumblr these days.

BUT, I am getting too many followers over there, to feel comfortable with posting all of my posts. Some are too long, some are too boring, some are too radical, or some just never are right to use. When I go through my queue of possible posts, I always pass over them.

So, I'm going to start posting my overflow posts, that have been gathering dust in my Tumblr queue, over here.

I've got lots to say...

George Carlin' s Best Rant - Who Owns this Country?

This is a full transcript of George Carlin's take on "The Owners" of our country...unedited, untouched, pure Carlin at his very best...

"There's a reason…There’s a reason education sucks, and it's the same reason that it will never, ever, ever be fixed.

It’s never gonna get any better, don’t look for it, be happy with what you got, because the owners of this country don’t want that, I'm talking about the real owners now, the REAL OWNERS, the big wealthy business interests that control things & make all the important decisions.

Forget the politicians, Politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice, you have owners, they own you.

They own everything, they own all the important land, they own & control the corporations, they've long since bought & paid for the Senate, the Congress, the State Houses, the City Halls, they’ve got the judges in their back pockets, & they own all of the big media companies so they control just about all the information you get to hear.

They’ve got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well we know what they want - they want more 4 themselves & less for everybody else.

But I’ll tell you what they don’t want...they don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking..they don’t want well-informed, well-educated people, capable of critical thinking, they’re not interested in that, that doesn’t help them, that’s against their interests, that’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table figuring out how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don't want that.

You know what they want? They want obedient workers, obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork, and just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs, with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime, and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it.

And now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your fucking retirement money, they want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall St, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later. Cause they own this fucking place..it’s a big club, and you ain’t in it. You & I are not in the Big Club..and btw it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe, all day long beating you over the head in their media, telling you what to believe, what to think, & what to buy.

The table is tilted, folks, the game is rigged, and nobody seems 2 notice, nobody seems to care. Good honest hard-working people, white collar, blue collar, doessn’t matter what color shirt you have on, good honest hard-working people, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock-suckers who don’t give a fuck about they…they don’t give a fuck about you, they don’t GIVE a fuck about you, they don’t CARE about you, at all, at all, at all...and nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care.

That’s what the owners count on, the fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red white & blue dick that’s being jammed up their assholes every day. Because the owners of this country know the truth…It’s called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” ~ George Carlin

George Carlin

Speaking of dogs and open windows...

Indian Summer weather reminds me of a hot day many years ago...we once had a Samoyed puppy, Baba, that was about a year old, when we had to leave him inside our VW Bus, while we grabbed a quick lunch in LA.

We left those little side "vent" windows cracked open, but they really were not adequate, but we didn't know what else to do, and thought we'd check on him every few minutes.

We had just gotten our food, and were peacefully starting to eat with our friends, when before we'd even been there long enough to need to check on Baba once, (or so we thought) suddenly we heard a "group gasp" as all the patrons who had window seats along La Cienega Blvd, where our van was parked, stood up en masse, hollering and running toward the window, pointing, and exhibiting minor states of hysteria.

We went to the front of the restaurant, to see what the commotion was all about, having a hunch we maybe knew, and sure enough, there was Baba, our fluffy white Samoyed, who had obviously had it with baking in a hot car, parked on a hot street in LA. He had worked himself into quite a pickle, in his effort to get out, and was now stuck...trying desperately to get out of his embarrassing predicament.

While everyone was watching, he was floundering about, with half his body in, and half of it out, wedged in the tiny slit of an opening of the little mini vertical side window. It didn't seem possible that he could have even fit in that tiny opening, yet there he was.

In retrospect, we laughed and laughed when we retold this story, but at the time it was terrifying. As we watched from across the street (the moment is frozen in time) Baba's rump did a huge "pop" and he was ejected out of the VW Van in one giant swoop, and somehow, miraculously landed, on his feet, in the street, while cars went careening past him!! The restaurant onlookers shrieked in unison as he hit the pavement, and were beside themselves all hollering and waving their arms about, with their eyes glued to the scene.

Luckily, at this moment, my ex-husband was now racing towards Baba, who stood, bewildered, in the middle of the busy street, cars honking on every side of him. Chris, my ex, was nimbly dodging traffic, and flagging down cars as he raced across the street. He quickly corralled the confused Baba off the street, and back to the van, just long enough to grab his leash, slap it on him, and walk him back across the street, where the owners of the restaurant happily let our overheated pup sit in the shade, on the sidewalk, outside their establishment, until we were done eating.

They even brought him a bowl of cold water! Baba was quite proud of himself, and regally accepted the patrons' adoration (he was a beautiful all-white puppy), as they all felt compelled to pet him on their way out the door! Whew! What a comical memory!!

Republicans are still to blame...

I just don't get it. The Dems really need to explain to the voters that the reason that this congress hasn't been able to make any major changes is STILL the fault of Republicans! The public has been misled into thinking that the Dems are now in control, and this is just not true. We've never had a solid 60 vote, on any issue, it seems.

Usually, in previous sessions of Congress, there would always be a few reps from the other side that would vote for a bill, regardless of party. Nowadays, that is not a reality. Every Republican will block every bill they can this session. They vote in a block, now, without exception. So, if there is any Democrat that has any reservations about any bill, there is no chance of it passing.

And over, and over, that has been the case. Dems need to explain that in order to get good legislation passed, there needs to be a surplus of Democratic votes, not just barely 60. If more Democrats, not less, were elected in the fall, it would be much easier to get the good bills passed. This session has been plagued with errant Dems. First there was Liebermann, blocking something, then Ben Nelson, then Blanche Lincoln...if we had say, 65 Dems in the Senate, then those pesky nay-saying right-leaning democrats wouldn't be able to stop bills from getting passed.

Republicans are still blocking legislation, and I don't think the voters realize that, many times, it hasn't been the Dems fault. If people are dissatisfied with Congress, they need to understand who is keeping Congress from passing good bills.

Also, WAKE UP, Dems. The Republicans have pulled the same nasty trick on the last three major bills that have been "passed."
They select one of their number to PRETEND that, with just a few small changes, they will be on board to vote for a bill. The Dems then bend over backward, removing ALL the teeth from the bill, and then the lone Republican changes his/her mind, and decides not to vote for it after all. Why don't the Dems put the provisions back in that they took out for that lone deceitful Republican before passing it? They just continue on, and end up passing watered down, crappy versions of the bills over and over again. Can't they back up ever? Can't they put the good stuff back in the bill again?

And how come Bush managed to get ALL kinds of bad bills passed without the magic 60? Why does Obama have to adhere to this policy when the Bush administration never did?

I'm starting to think that EVERYONE in Congress is on the dole. And we are getting the exact bills that the corporations ordered Congress to pass. The Dems like having Republicans blocking parts of bills for them, so the Dems can look like they care, and it's just not their fault, when in truth, neither party wants what's good for the American people, they just all want to keep the money flowing into their coffers, so they have enough money to buy the ads that help them keep their jobs, come next election.

Every bill has to be considered in terms of the next election, and where it fits into the Presidential schedule, and things that NEED to be addressed often aren't, because it just doesn't fit into the needs of the congress or President's reelection plans. How is that serving the people?

After thinking it all through, it seems to me that the major thing needed is Election Reform, however, how is that ever going to happen, when we are asking the reps to vote against their own best interest?

One would have to be truly altruistic to vote to improve our election process, and there are only a handful of reps in either house of congress that are in that mindset!


We should 1) Eliminate the electoral college 2) do major campaign finance reform 3) have a MUCH SHORTER run-up to the election.

And is it REALLY election time again, so soon? I have to say, I was really not ready for "Election 2010" to be the daily news story...didn't we just go through Election 2008, so very recently? I'm not ready for this again, so soon! Who but the pundits really is?

No work for teens...wonder why?

The experts are mystified by the fact that teenage unemployment is at 25% nationwide, 30% in California? They are also surprised that unemployment, in general, is higher in California. As a resident of the state of CA, I am not at all surprised. I have seen the trend happen over the last 30 years or so. We also have the largest number of illegal immigrants in our state. That is why, hearing the teenage unemployment statistics today did not come as a surprise, or seem like a coincidence to me. I'd already noticed the trend a while ago.

Employers hire the cheapest labor they can find. A few years ago I asked my friend, while we were out shopping, if she had noticed that all the jobs where you used to see teenagers, now there were Mexicans. She noticed it, too. It's frustrating, because, when you go into a department store nowadays, you can expect to receive no service, because the employees that work there these days don't know the stock, or the lingo, and can't really answer any questions...in all fairness, in the past, teenagers weren't much better, but at least sometimes they could answer a question, or might know what you were talking about, when you were trying to describe what you were looking for. Now, it's just accepted as a given, that when you go into a store (unless it's a mom and pop establishment that has been around for years, and is actually manned by the owners), you can expect to be on your own, because nobody is capable of helping you, except to take your money at the cash register.

Blame it on the greedy employers/corporations. In order to save some money, and make even bigger profits, they're hiring illegals instead of resident teenage citizens, because the employers can pay the illegals less, and give them less (or no) benefits, as well. It's a win-win for employers who have no scruples (which here, in California, seems to be just about everybody - even organic farmers hire illegals to work the fields).

So, I don't see why the experts are surprised, except that they are unwilling to face what is really happening in this country. We have more illegals than we can comfortably handle. Experts might not want to face the fact that, actually, illegals have a great deal to do with the country's unemployment problems. My ex-husband was forced out of a job by illegals, and had to find a whole new occupation, when all his clients started hiring illegals for $2 less per hour. They truly are taking away jobs from citizens, including teenagers, as now reported, and the situation has become really bad, because employers have gotten used to paying unfair, lower wages, and not reporting to the government, and not offering benefits, and basically making out like bandits, while screwing both the legal citizens who they are no longer hiring, as well as the illegals they now do hire.

It's sad that nobody wants to make the connection between unemployment and illegal immigrants. And nobody wants to address the issue of why they are coming here in the first place - why can't they make a living in their own country? And nobody really wants to enact legislation that would stop this practice, because nobody wants to go up against the employers who are only concerned about their bottom line, and illegal workers cost them way less than Americans, even than American teenagers, apparently.

If illegals could not find work here, they would not be coming here. If they couldn't find housing, they couldn't stay here. There should be laws, with serious penalties, enacted, against employers and landlords that perpetuate this detrimental cycle.


I kinda miss the ditzy teenagers.