...and we get up and go to work.

The average middle class American can be amazing if we take a moment to step back and take a look. A few times in the last decade I have noticed this, but never really given it much thought. Things happen in this country that would paralyze other countries workforce, yet we go on. In this mornings paper the headline was regarding the trillion dollar bailout that the government is hammering out to save our economy. One TRILLION dollars that is basically being shifted to the taxpayer because of bad investments by our financial industry. Yet we are not in the streets demanding to know how this happened. The American citizens are not demanding that our representatives in Washington get to the bottom of this. There is no public outcry for answers. I for one would like to know why. Why do we not ask more questions, why do we not demand to know who put the policies in place that allowed this to happen, how do we prevent such a catastrophic failure from happening in the future. No one was watching out for us while this house of cards was being built with sub-prime mortgages as the base. I did not even see in the paper any reporting about the precarious situation we were in, yet you know that those at the top had to be aware of the situation. Maybe they were too scared to bring it to our attention, maybe they were told to keep quiet, maybe their salary was so gigantic that they were unable to risk it by blowing the whistle. Who knows? Well, I do know something now. Deregulation of most industries does not work, I am not saying that we need to have a communist or socialist approach to industry. Yet with the bailout, whether the Republicans or Democrats want to admit it, we have just nationalized our banking and investment system. I am saying that we need strong regulation of industries that have the potential to harm the American people. The FDA will not allow drugs to go on the market before they are thoroughly tested and proven to be safe and effective, well that is the idea anyway. Yet financial products are introduced to the market each day that are in no way reviewed by an impartial third party. I think most of us know how we got in this situation, the people that were in charge of these financial giants were greedy, they had no concern for the people that they knew were going to lose huge sums of money. The only concern they had was how much money can I get away with before this all falls apart. There seem to be very few people left who actually care about anyone but themselves. The foxes are guarding the chicken house and we chickens are happily sitting on our nests, handing over the eggs and now that all the eggs are disappearing and the chicken house is in foreclosure no one is really flapping their wings and asking how this happened. It's all about those bad people that bought houses that were to expensive for them or people who run up to much credit card debt, shame on them, they have ruined it for the rest of us. I tend to disagree. When the mortgage company is qualifying you for a house that they know you cannot afford and the credit card companies are pre-qualifying you for outrageous credit lines I think it is their fault! They are the ones with the tools to know what you can and cannot afford, not every single person in the US has a good financial background. Most people rely on others to help them with complicated financial decisions. If the bank says "Yes you are qualified to buy this house, you can afford it, just sign on the dotted line" I think a lot of people trust the bank. Not everyone understands what an interest only adjustable loan is, an 80/20 loan, a one year adustible mortgage, why should they, they are not in the mortgage industry. When these loans were being written someone knew they were going to go bad, but what did they care, they got their commissions. So all this is going on and what do we do each day? We get up and go to work, we continue to invest our money in the 401k plan that the government has given tax preferential treatment to, we continue to increase production, work longer hours, whatever it takes to get by. All this while the big guys steal our money, bring our economy to its knees and demand that we not tax them because they are the ones fueling our economy. They are not fueling our economy, they are stealing from it. The average American is the one that fuels this economy, we are the ones that make the wheels turn, we are the ones that work for the corporations and keep the doors open, we are the ones that fund the multi-million dollar salaries of the CEOs, us NOT THEM. We have to realize that the people are the ones that hold the power in a democracy, that we can demand change, that we do not have to stand for this. That when our representatives no longer take care of us, the people that they represent, we need to get rid of them. I want a public outcry, I want the lobbyists out of congress, I want the government to answer to me, not some huge corporation. It is my right as a citizen of a democracy to question and demand change. If you are reading this and you are not happy, let your representative and senator know. Write them a letter and tell them you are going to do whatever is in your power to get them out of office unless they start responding to the concerns of the middle class. Become an activist. Politicians seem to want to hold up the intent of our founding fathers as the most important of all, yet they seem to forget that our founding fathers were revolutionaries, that went to war with the ruling powers, that they were activists, they printed subversive pamphlets, broke laws, overthrew the British and took the power for the people. They were not just a bunch of nice guys in powdered wigs having tea, they were subversives. So, you know, not to advocate treason or anything, but get up and go to work, work hard, make money, take care of your family and when you have some time raise a stink with the folks in charge, complain if something is happening you don't like, ask questions, do something, do anything. Hold those in power responsible, we gave them those jobs, we can take them away!

Goat Soap

In wandering my new neighborhood to see what surprises it holds I made it down to the Farmer's Market last weekend. The Dallas Farmer's Market is very large and can be quite confusing because up until recently there were stands set up in the sheds that basically provided produce and products imported from the same far off lands as the local Wal-Mart. Luckily for those of us that are interested in buying locally made products, produce & meat they have changed things around a bit this year. Now all the local farmers are located in one shed and if one or more of their products is locally grown or made by them they have a sign up that says " I grew this _________. So no more guessing as to whether they actually grew those tomatoes or stopped by the local Wal-Mart on the way to the Farmer's Market bought them on sale and then marked them up, nice trick. There was not a lot of local produce available at this time of year, it being very late summer and all, but we did find some locally grown cucumbers, tomatoes and okra, all which tasted amazing compared to the local grocery fare. I also came across a nice lady sitting behind a stand full of soap. I seem to always be fussing about soap as I have kind of sensitive skin that is prone to becoming itchy and red if exposed to any unkind detergents. This lady is one of the owner's of French Cross Ranch in Hubbard, Texas. They raise three breeds of dairy goats: Tottenburg goats, the oldest registered breed of any animal in the world, LaMancha goats, which is an ear less or gopher goat (scary!) and French Alpine goats that originated in the Alps. From these dairy goats they make goat's milk soap. No weird additives from China, just soap the way people used to make it. I was intrigued since I am particularly fond of warm spice scents and she had some cinnamon oatmeal soap for sale. So I bought a few bars and started using it this week. Amazingly enough it is the most wonderful soap I have ever used. No dry skin or itchiness, no weird chemically produced fragrance, no worries that it was made from Chinese battery acid. It made me feel good to buy a locally made product directly from the producer. She got a fair price for her work, I could ask all the questions I wanted about it and it kept my money in the local area; what a concept. So anyway, if you live in these parts go see her at the Farmer's Market or give the Ranch a call (903) 641-2003, I am sure she would be glad to take your order or send you an order form.

McCain pulls a Moose out of his hat!

On occasion I will get a comment or e-mail asking "Who is it that tricked us". Well, the characters pulling the slight of hand change all the time, but I have to get the soapbox out on this trick in particular.

I think the best way for me to explain it is for you to imagine a huge stage filled with important & powerful characters, these characters decide the future course of the United States and therefore the world. In the spotlight are two men debating the direction this country will go in. Do we stay on the same path or do we decide it is time for a change. This is one of the most important moments in U.S. history. Deadly serious as in the background we see people losing their homes, people suffering because of no health care, foreign powers ratteling their sabers at us and a general mistrust of the U.S. by all the foreign players. One of these men tells us we cannot go on like this, that we must change the course we are on. That we can no longer be dependent on foreign oil, that we can no longer isolate ourselves on this world stage, that all Americans deserve and have a right to health care, that we are all equal and the rich and poweful will no longer decide the course of American history. The other guy looks around takes off his top hat and pulls out a Moose. It is a woman moose and it wears nice glasses. All of the sudden we stop talking about serious issues and want to know all about the moose. Who is the moose, does the moose have kids, wow the moose can read a speech that someone else wrote for her. Maybe the moose is a puppet? This moose is from Alaska, a state pretty much controlled by the Oil Industry, after all all the folks in Alaska get a big fat check each year from the oil they drill up. This moose will not talk to the press because basically she has no idea what to say. But boy does she get the attention. Moose is on the front page of the paper every day. The paper tells us what a good decision it was for Mr. McCain to pull this moose out of his hat, who would have ever expected him to do that. Well, I did. Because like one million times before when a certain group of people don't want to discuss the real issues, they trick us with a distraction. A DISTRACTION that is all it is!!

Have you been tricked? Do you discuss the Moose? Do you read about the Moose? Do you listen to others talk about the Moose? If so please stop it. Discuss the issues important to this campaign. Discuss the people we are voting on for President and what they have to say. Right now moose has nothing to add.

We Moved

After three and a half years the great suburban experiment has come to an end. Mark and I moved out of our home in Frisco, Texas and moved into a loft in a section of Dallas known as Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum is a bit north of downtown and is known for being a bit weird, very artsy and full of historic buildings.

The building we moved into is a former cotton gin manufacturing company and was built in 1914. Our loft is a corner unit with an unobstructed full view of the Dallas skyline and as an added bonus we have a 12 x 24 foot bridge that serves as our private patio.
So what do I say but that I am in love with my new home. The people that live in the building are the nicest people that I have met since moving to Dallas and yet they are the people most would look at and think what a bunch of wierdos. My next door neighbor drives a Harley and while we were moving in She and her friend actually helped us move a very large and heavy piece of furniture up to our place. She told me if we ever needed anything at all to just bang on the door. A lady down the hall introduced herself and brought us a couple of bottles of wine as a moving in gift, she wanted nothing in return. Everyone I have run into so far has a big smile and a Hi when you pass by. This is nothing like the Dallas I am used to. Most in Dallas always seem to be so consumed with their lives they don't even have time to notice those that pass by them. Ear to the cell phone, hand on the wheel and eager to tell you how busy they are, kind of like saying I am so busy that I really don't have time for you. I guess the people who are a little more interesting, a little less busy, and a bit more artistic have found a haven in Deep Ellum. I am glad that I finally found out where they are hiding.

Spewing Hate

As a constant consumer of Internet news I am always amazed by the comments people leave below the news stories. Recently I have noticed that no matter what the story is about there are a number of posts relating the story to politics in some form or fashion. Mostly I find comments by republicans which are so mean spirited it is unbelievable to me. Is this truly a representation of the average republican. Are they really so unhappy that they gladly spread lies, hate & promote division? I know they do not agree with democratic principles, but what happened to intelligent debate? All I can say is that when spreading hate and lies about some group of people is the principle argument for staying in power we are a step away from fascism. Namaste

Boycott China?

Ok, so I know this is going to be next to impossible. But I am finally fed up with the way China treats its people, the poison crap that they export to the U.S. and now they are killing Buddhist Monks who are peacefully protesting. We've done a lot more for a lot less. Boycott "Made in China"!!

http://www.boycottmadeinchina.org/

How Obama convinced me to go with Hillary

So being the democrat in Texas it is important for me to decide who to vote for in the primary early so all the Republicans can tell me how wrong I am. It was a bit hard to make up my mind this year with two really good candidates running. But, I guess it was Obama who finally made up my mind for me. I was listening to one of his speeches and he started going on about how Hillary is a Clinton and do we want the bridge back to the 90's or some such rhetoric. Well, it got me thinking. I was pretty darn happy during the Clinton administration. The economy was in good shape, the government were actually paying down the national debt, not running it up. We weren't in a bunch of wars around the world. The price of gasoline was around $1.00 a gallon. I was making more money each year. The nation in general seemed to be in a pretty good mood. Well, except for the neo-cons, they were all grumpy and inspecting blue dresses for DNA. But the neo-cons are always pretty grumpy I think, must be in their nature. Anyway, so after my temporary transition back in time to the Clinton administration, the screen got all blurry and the harp music played and I came back to the present moment. It sucked. So I decided right then to help Hillary build that bridge that Obama was talking about. I am also looking forward to the mischef that Bill will get into as First Husband, maybe he can get the neo-cons busy inspecting dresses again, I think it kind of got them hot. And you know, even neo-cons deserve a little excitement now and then.