Monday, December 31, 2012

New Years Eve-The Last Day of 2012

The last day of 2012. I'd like to spend it in bed, but I don't think that is going to work. We are hosting a New Year party tonight. I'm betting I have responsibilities.

The year was not bad for us. We're settling into our new home here in Arkansas. It takes a little getting used to. For one, I'm not used to all the snow. Nine inches recorded at our home, fifteen not far away. That was preceded by at least two inches of ice. Needless to say, it was a mess. The trees took a beating. Our power was out for 21 hours. Some people are still without power. It was a White Christmas. Just what we didn't want.

We redid our finances, preparing for the worst, updated our will, and tried to figure out how to cheat Uncle Sam. So we pretty well have our house in order. Now, for some more New Year Resolutions:
  1. I'm going to eat healthier foods. Of course, this assumes there are healthier foods. It's getting harder and harder to figure that out. And I don't count tofo as food.
  2. I'd stop making fun of people, but what fun would that be?
  3. I'm going to try to stay up later, which means after 9pm. I keep hearing about Jay Leno and David Letterman. It's about time I met them.
  4. We moved here for the warmth. The jokes on us. Maybe it's time...
  5. I'm going to start my second book. It will have something to do with sex after death.
  6. I'm going to try to improve my language. I picked up cussing from my grandfather. He believed cussing kept bad luck away. If it wouldn't have been for that semi, I would almost have believed it.
  7. I'm going to be 65 in April. Welcome to Medicare. I'll be an official ward of the state. They say 65 is the new 50. Yea.
  8. If this all sounds like the ranting of a 65 year old who is wondering what to do with the rest of his life, well, it pretty much is.
Have a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year. If we fall off the "fiscal cliff," so what? We weren't living that high up anyway.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

2012 Outlined America’s New Political Reality | Common Dreams

2012 Outlined America’s New Political Reality | Common Dreams

Yet the Republicans can still muck up progress.

Some Final Thoughts For 2012

  1. I believe, when it comes right down to it, that human beings are inherently good and nonviolent by inclination. When you look around, that's definitely an optimistic view. We had a bad year. War continues, more mass shootings, including children, of all things, people throwing others in front of subway cars because of their skin color, the NRA suggesting we put armed guards in all our schools. It can all get disheartening. With the good and responsible, there is always the bad and irresponsible. It can't be any other way. We have to learn from our mistakes, not make further one's.
  2. I continue to believe you cannot kill and expect good to come of it.
  3. I still don't think foreign terrorists are the most dangerous people we have to worry about. Congress, the Supreme Court, and an ever growing military-industrial complex are much scarier to me. 
  4. I don't think the people in Washington are working for our benefit. They can't seem to figure out anything. We have a Democratic President, a Democratic Senate, and a right-wing dominated House that stops everything. That ain't right.
  5. Capitalism is becoming more and more troubling. It does not match up well with democracy. Greed and an insatiable thirst for profit undermines an economic system on the brink of collapse. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer, and we act like there is nothing we can do about it.
  6. We need to all take an interest in what is happening. The alchemist's job is to stir the pot, hoping to turn the status quo into chaos, allowing something better to emerge. Nothing good ever comes out of sitting on your ass all day moaning about how bad things are.
  7. We continue to have no universal health-care system, and fighting in wars that are senseless and ill-conceived. We cannot make any decisions about the economy, what to do about global warming, or how to protect our children or ourselves from harm. We have a right-wing Supreme Court, continue to elect the same yahoo's to represent us, and continue to sell guns and arm idiotic people how think guns will protect us. All in all, we have a lot of improvements to make in 2013.
  8. Still, I believe common-sense can prevail. We can right this ship, if we so choose. It will take compromise, compassion, a willingness to be flexible and creative in our problem solving, and will require an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place to live for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Quote of the Day


Jimmy Buffett
“It's a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.”
Jimmy Buffett

Explaining The Downward Trend of Humanity

  1. Blame it on the monkeys. If that don't work, blame their cousins, the politicians.
  2. It could be the fluoride in the water.
  3. I personally think things started going to hell when Jack Benny died.
  4. Wal-Mart.
  5. Too many people. Not enough disease.
  6. Perfumed toilet paper. Makes even assholes smell good.
  7. The decline of intelligent sperm.
  8. The increasing gap between the rich and the poor. And the rich and the richer.
  9. If you take the creation story literally, it's time to rewrite it.
  10. When it's all said and done, I think Noah should have left the animals on board and thrown himself over. That would have been a big break for the Earth.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Quote of the Day

"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that can happen to a man."  Leon Trotsky

Peever Law #74

A dog is a much better companion than most humans. He won't bite you for no good reason.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

 Everyone should make some. New Year Resolutions. It is a great opportunity to do some life planning, to set some goals that you can work towards in the coming year. It is a time for renewal. What better way to make yourself depressed than to realize that you have very little control over your life. Still, I think it is worthwhile to get some things down on paper:


I'm going to work on my patience. I have way too much. I've been waiting for Congress to do the right thing for 65 years. It ain't going to happen.

I'm going to learn more about computers. After all, computers are the future. You can do everything and anything from a computer. I heard the other day a guy had sex with a woman in a chat room. And here I am blogging.

I recently made a commitment to change everything I possibly can in a 24 hour period. I started with my underwear. Today I'm going to work on changing people's opinions about war. Most people seem to like war. Once I explain to them how getting shot can really hurt, I'm sure they will change their mind. Later, I'm going to change my socks. Then I'm going to work on changing our health-care system. The fiscal cliff. I already fixed that. Who cares? Most of the country is already over the cliff.

I'm going to try to be more patriotic. I love this country, although there are a few things I would like to see changed, like starting universal health-care, ending corporate control of Washington, protecting individual rights, sending the Supreme Court to Afghanistan, ending corporate welfare, cutting the defense budget in half, and eliminating corporate donations to candidates to zero, and allowing individuals to contribute $20. Other than those things, and maybe a half-dozen others, this place ain't all that bad.

I'm going to try to stop cussing, although I don't see the point of it. Cussing has become quite common. Books, TV, radio, newspapers, school yards, nursery schools. Everybody cusses. The first word me son said was damn. I tried to kid myself into believing he meant dam, like a structure that holds back water, but who was I kidding. The whole "damn" thing still upsets me.

I have to get over being disappointed with ministers. I was almost one myself. I think my disappointment with most reverends has to do with expectations. I expect them to help us with our spirituality, not our ideology, although I do think Christ would have been a liberal Democrat.

Forgiveness is hard. I need to work on forgiveness. Forgiveness is closely linked to forgetting. I'm good at forgetting, but bad at forgiving. A lot of times I forget who I forgave. This can end up being embarrassing. So if I forgave you, but I'm not acting like it, forgive me.

I have to start trusting people more. After 9/11, I have become terrible. I no longer open the mail, which has vicariously helped my financial position, and when my kids call, I make them give me their social security number. The only person I really trust is my wife, which I have no explanation for. I'm beginning to trust people of color a little more, but I can't find any here in the Village. I have flown since 9/11. It wasn't that bad. I was only detained for 24 hours. I think it was the wig and fake beard.

So there, another year of resolutions.I think it will work out fine.

Have a Happy New Year. And remember, if you drink, don't talk.

17 Solutions for a Better America in the New Year | Common Dreams

17 Solutions for a Better America in the New Year | Common Dreams

Friday, December 28, 2012

White Christmas Recovery

I moved to Arkansas for this? Holy Cow! Out of power for 21 hours, which I guess ain't so bad. House stayed at about 60 degrees. Couldn't get fireplace going. Not wired for manual start. Wouldn't do a lot of good anyway. All-in-all, we didn't do too bad. Well, sort of. My sons car broke down. Seems to be power steering pump. He took our car, we will get his fixed and meet him halfway sometime in January. Got our daughter and her husband to airport yesterday. They flew out this a.m. Now in Chicago, headed for Omaha. Better weather there.
So, all in all, not terrible bad here. Definitely a white, weird, Christmas. I'm sure there were a lot worse problems experienced by many. I hope nothing bad serious. Raining now, which is helping. Hope it don't freeze.

To The NRA

How about putting a teacher in every gun store? Just a thought.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Oh Holy Night

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Only I'm not dreaming. What a storm. Had to have been at least two inches of ice followed by 9 inches of snow. I thought I moved to Arkansas, not Michigan. Trees are taking a beating. The power just came back on after a 21 hour outage. I'm giving up dreaming of a white Christmas. Sunny and 60 would be fine.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

The 12 Days of a Capitalist Christmas | Common Dreams

The 12 Days of a Capitalist Christmas | Common Dreams

Capitalism, the way it has developed, is not a good match with democracy. 

CHRISTMAS

To those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a good one. I hope you are able to find a way to give something, however small it may be. I hope, for at least a fleeting moment, you can find some peace with yourself. And I hope love, unrelenting and unrestrained, fills your heart.
Happy Christmas and peace be with you.
The Peever

Monday, December 24, 2012

A Callous and Corrupt Industry That Sells and Sows Violence | Common Dreams

A Callous and Corrupt Industry That Sells and Sows Violence | Common Dreams

The NRA has to be one of the most evil, despicable groups to ever reside on Earth. Anyone spending their life worshiping guns has failed to evolve as a human being. They appear to be stuck in the primordial ooze.

Peever Law #58

Where does it say that we have to put up with gross stupidity from Congress?

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Building a Peaceful Future for Our Children | Common Dreams

Building a Peaceful Future for Our Children | Common Dreams

Some sense among all the nonsense.

Peever Wisdom

We are each fashioned after the Divine, which I would translate into meaning we each have a touch of the Divine in us. We should treat ourselves and one another accordingly. Thus reads The Gospel According to The Peever.

Quote of the Day

George Carlin
“The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.”
 George Carlin

Saturday, December 22, 2012

To Church or Not to Church

I don’t go to church. I don’t like sermons. They drive me crazy. I like singing, and I don’t mind praying, but I don’t have to go to church for either. I probably should be a little more specific. I don’t like Sunday morning church. Not even on Christmas. I don't like the hypocrites who only go on Christmas. But I do like some churches. There are some where I get a sense of the divine, where the sacred is obviously present. There are other places where I get that same feeling, like the ocean, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Rainier, Aztec temples, Stonehenge, the pyramids. I think it is good to visit and partake of sacred sites. I’d love to go to the Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris, the Sistine Chapel, Canterbury Cathedral. I just don’t need the sermons that go along with them. I got enough hangups the way it is, I don’t need someone telling me I’m a sinner. I can figure that out on my own.

Quotes of the Day

"Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often."  Mark Twain

"Wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure."  The Alchemist, Paulo Cholho

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."  Mahatma Gandhi

"Children are educated by what the gronw-up is and not by his talk."   Carl Jung

"Capitalist production, therefore, develops technology and the combining together of various processes into a social whole only by sapping the original sources of all wealth-the soil and laborer."   Karl Marx

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."  Mae West

Friday, December 21, 2012

Blood On Their Hands: The Lying Monsters and Predators of the World | Common Dreams

Blood On Their Hands: The Lying Monsters and Predators of the World | Common Dreams

I can't think of another group of people dumber than this group.

NRA Foolishness

The NRA has come up with a way to protect our children. Meet violence with violence. Have armed guards in our schools ready to gun down any would-be assailants. Typical NRA. Never back off. Full guns ahead. What a bunch of lamebrains.

DISTRACTIONS

  • Globalization distracts us from the systematic dismantling of labor unions.
  • Intelligent design distracts us from intelligence.
  • Shopping malls on the outskirts of town distract us from downtown.
  • The Victoria Secret Holiday Special was a major distraction. 
  • Speaker of the House Boehner is a distraction from  common sense and decency.
  • The oil industry distracts us from developing alternative energy sources. 
  • Cell phones are a major distraction for drivers.
  • How many times have I been distracted by tight jeans?
  • The corporate, political news media distracts us from the truth.
  • Right-wing Christians distract us from finding God.
  • Alcohol and drugs distract many people from becoming the person they would want to be.
  • I get distracted when they put up graffiti in the john. The end result is I usually pee down my leg.
  • Fear is a distraction used by right-wing Republicans.
  • I pay a lot of taxes to help support a lot of other retirement programs, which is a major distraction to my own. 
  • Flags and mottoes and creeds and slogans are distractions from compassion, justice, diversity, and peace.
  • Authority is a distraction, often used in place of competence.
Distractions. They're everywhere.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Merry Right-Wing Christian Soldier Christmas

The selective use of Christianity by the Church of Right-Wing Christian Soldiers is spreading faster than the flu here in Arkansas. For these Christian Soldiers, the Ten Commandments have been whittled down to two: No abortions, and don't engage in gay sex. They serve tea for communion. These new Christian extremists apply their new found Christianity here at home and around the world, to meet their undeveloped primal needs. Christ has been cut out of the equation, replaced by right-wing Republican politicians, who continue to lead this group further and further away from Jesus. I'm not sure whether to put up a Nativity scene this holiday season or a flag?

Another Christmas List

  • I need to upgrade my memory.
  • I would like a doll that looks like Boehner. With pins.
  • I could use some underwear. Mine are all cruddy.
  • For my right-wing, Republican, Christian acquaintances, how about a new Bible. Not the King James version. They need something a little lighter.
  • I would ask for world peace, but what's the use.
  • Just one more thing. How about at least one more year? Come on Santa. I want to become a total ward of the state, what with social security and Medicare. And please, don't let the scrooges, or stooges, take them away. I'm getting used to this.

At Christmas Time

Man, there are a lot of things going on this Christmas. The world is scheduled to end tomorrow. I guess I should have waited to buy all my gifts. Might have saved some money, although I suppose money won't be worth much. And everyone is worried about "the fiscal cliff." That will also be taken care of. And we continue to do battle in four separate conflicts. Not very Christ-like on Christmas. Here in Arkansas, one in four children go to bed hungry at night. All people in the Village do is yell at the parents. "Get a job." Why not hand them food? I bet there won't be many Christmas sermons proclaiming the evils of any of these holiday happenings. The word PEACE will be used, given lip service by many a minister, but barely a one will insist on it.
My theology has always been a little weird. After spending two of three years in seminary, I prefer to look at the way Christ lived and try my best to follow. I take the story to mean I should strive to be a better person. That in my comfort, I should always be uncomfortable. That if there is a child hungry, an elderly person sitting alone and cold, someone living on the street, a sick person who can't afford help, a friend in need or a stranger looking to be seen and acknowledged, that if I now of any of those things happening and I close my heart and eyes to them at Christmas, I would be missing the point. No candlelight services would help me. I would be doing what Christ explicitly warned against. Closing my heart to the pain and suffering of others. It is in these contradictions and betrayals that have become our modern day Christmas that I find my greatest meaning and purpose: To do unto others as I would have them do unto me. I don't need all the fancy glitter, nativity displays, or Christmas sermons to understand such a simple Christmas gift given to us in a barn, amongst the filth and stink, in utter and awe-inspiring simplicity, at Christmas time.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Bye Bye Ted | Common Dreams

Bye Bye Ted | Common Dreams

He should have stuck to singing. What a nut case.If I lived next to this idiot, I would move. He's a disaster waiting to happen.

Are You Part of the Cure, Or Part of the Disease

  • Do you practice what you preach, or preach and preach and preach?
  • Do you teach racism to your children?
  • Do you promote and demonstrate violence over negotiation, compromise, and non-violence?
  • Do you take and never give?
  • Are you sure that guns are going to take us to the promised land?
  • Is your mouth constantly moving and the words generally useless?
  • Does your life mean more to you than the next guys? Are you one of those types that put a battering ram in front of your truck or car to make sure the other guy gets the worst end of the deal?
  • If you know another person who is struggling, do you offer to help?
  • Do you think any less of a person living on the street? Do you see them as failures? Do you write them off as worthless and a burden of society?
  • Is your way the only way?
It's your choice. Are you part of the cure, or part of the disease?

Some of Life's Trials and Tribulations

  • Quitting smoking for the seventh time.
  • Having to remarry the same person you divorced.
  • Drinking enough beer to forget your name.
  • Working at the same place for 30 years and getting a pen set when you retire.
  • A child dying before the parents.
  • The fear of living.
  • Being lonely, but living with someone.
  • Always being broke after working 60 hour weeks.
  • Being told you are no longer needed.
  • Hatred rising up from a place inside you that you don't understand.
  • The tenth time you've had to tell people you got that black eye by running into the door.
  • The day Alzheimer's makes it impossible for you to recognize your spouse and children.
  • Not having enough money to buy your child a Christmas present.

Quotes of the Day

"The status quo sucks."  George Carlin

"You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans."  George Carlin

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

"Americans Kill People": Michael Moore on Newtown, Mass Shootings, and the U.S. Culture of Violence

"Americans Kill People": Michael Moore on Newtown, Mass Shootings, and the U.S. Culture of Violence

It's hard listening to someone who is talking straight up.  Do yourself a favor. Listen in.

Let Them Eat Bullets: The Corporate Gun Tyrants | Common Dreams

Let Them Eat Bullets: The Corporate Gun Tyrants | Common Dreams

Scrooge Visits the Republican Party

Boehner, Speaker of the House, is just like every other Republican who is surfacing as a leader. They are absolutely terrible and represent the 1%. I can't believe a majority of the Republican Party would fall for all that bullshit.

GUNS 'R' US

(I wrote this in 1999. It appears in my book, "thepeever.com").

People love guns. This is not something new. Guns have been with us for a long time, although not a real long time, all things being equal. Cave men would have loved owning a gun, but the just couldn't quite get it figured out. They did manage to invent fire, but it wasn't the "ready, aim, fire" we commonly know of today. Then along came Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. They figured out how to get gun powder to explode and propel a hunk of lead forward. Pretty soon this invention, commonly called a gun, became quite popular. It make Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson very famous, and very rich. Mr Charlton Heston, better known as Moses, then took up the battle cry. He thought this invention was greater than the Bible. He took it upon himself to make sure that each and every one of us, if we so desired, could get one of these guns, at just about any time, for just about any purpose, just because we are American citizens. Claimed it was our right. Today, the National Rifle Association fights for our right to bear arms. They want Americans armed against "evil." This is the same evil we fight against all over the world, with the largest military in the world. With the deadliest weapons. We want to kill all the evil, which I can't help thinking is evil. Ended up, Mr. Heston believed you should not only be able to buy a gun whenever you wanted, but you also have the right to buy a Congressman.
It has always been hard to argue with such sound logic. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Wow. It's obvious Einstein didn't come up with this equation. In order. to get a gun to work, it takes a person to figure out how to get the safety off. And wouldn't you know it,  the person holding the gun is generally considered a human. (But not always). The NRA is known for this intellectual approach  to life. It seems to appeal to their membership.
Let's get this much straight right off the bat: I am not an advocate for all guns being removed from the general public. I'm not that sane. I am an advocate for making it harder to purchase a gun;more thorough background checks; and no assault weapons or handguns. No gun should be able to shot over 3 rounds at a time. Most of the guns killing people are made for just that person. It is time we started holding gun manufacturers accountable for their products. We do with everything else.
There is not an assault weapon or handgun made that is not made for the purpose of killing someone or something. Most these high-tech weapons serve no other purpose. Assault weapons are used by those who are not such good shots., which amounts to about every gun owner I've ever known. Rather than taking a chance shooting one bullet at a time, these new weapons spit out tens of rounds per second. That helps someone with a bad aim. You obviously wouldn't hunt with such a weapon. It would be cowardly to shot anything on such an unequal basis.
Assault weapons and handguns play into our national paranoia, whereby we begin to believe someone, anyone, everyone, is out to get us.  We must be prepared to strike back in order to protect ourselves and our own. The NRA plays upon this survival instinct and uses the paranoia and fear to promote its illogical and insane policies.
There are tens of thousands of sorrowful tales. Daily we hear of stories about kids killing kids, accidental shootings, rampages, hunting accidents. Recently, a six year old took what he thought was a toy gun to school and accidentally killed one of his classmates. The went out from our right-winged gun advocates that the child should be held accountable for his actions. A six year old child.
This is the result of a sad and sick society that allows a small group of gun crazed fanatics, who control a money crazed Congress, to continue taking us down a path that will only lead to more misery and sorrow.


Monday, December 17, 2012

Following Massacre in Newtown, A National Call for Action on Gun Violence | Common Dreams

Following Massacre in Newtown, A National Call for Action on Gun Violence | Common Dreams

Let's hope we can get some kind of gun control laws. They are 50 years overdue.

The Christmas Story

I'm always a little ambivalent about Christmas. I don't have any bad memories of Christmas Past, I think it is just all the commercialization. I recently read the early Roman merchants complained about slow holiday seasons. Seems the bottom line has always relied on good Christmas sales. It always comes to my consciousness that perhaps Christmas was always a way to help the bottom line, rather than to celebrate the birth of Christ. I suppose it really doesn't matter. The story, whether fiction or non-fiction, economic or spiritual, is still a great one. Christmas is the time for giving. Giving. You give in proportion to what you can afford. A rich person giving a million dollars is no more admirable than a poor person giving a dollar. The point is to give with no intention of receiving. And it should be until you can feel it, not just your pocket change. Peace. Peace is another yuletide word thrown around a lot. This year, it will once again be just a wish, as we remain at war. Maybe we need to concentrate on inner peace, or peace with your family, or neighbors. What a Christmas it would be, if all of us made a commitment to remain physically and verbally non-violent. That would set the stage for a more loving world. And Love. Another word frequently used at Christmas. To love and be loved. A hard word to define. Love is a personal word. It derives its meaning from your heart. It is a mystery word. You can feel it, you know when it's around, but you can't box it up and put it under the tree. Christmas gives us opportunities to experience and work at things that we put off during the rest of the year. It prepares us for making meaningful New Year resolutions. Giving, peace, love, community, sharing, compassion.. I guess I'm ambivalent about Christmas because I don't do near enough in any of these areas. I don't think about them enough. Practice them enough. I never feel that I ever quite get to the heart of the Christmas story. I play it way too safe.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

My Christmas List

  • Please, no personal checks.
  • Dear Santa. I think all Americans should have equal health-care. The same as the Congressmen get.
  • How about hooking up your sleigh and bringing home all the troops.
  • Please do not deliver any guns this year. All the nut cases will be building their arsenal, worried about gun control. Give them water guns, maybe a BB gun.
  • I could use a new car, but I suppose that's asking too much.
  • An inflatable doll that looks like that girl that waits tables down the road would be good. One that don't get a headache or laugh when I undress.
  • That's about it. Don't come down the chimney, it's too narrow. Just knock at the front door. The dog might bark, but he won't bite.

What's Wrong With Us | Common Dreams

What's Wrong With Us | Common Dreams

Christ-Poor and Homeless

Christ, born in a stable, amongst the filth and stink. Not a very noble start. Pretty much homeless. Today, we clean up all the pictures and manger scenes. After all. The wise men are always portrayed as good looking in the Christmas nativity scenes and plays. They would have probably been pretty rough looking and stinky. The swaddling clothes was probably strips of a gunny sack. Used. No one likes to think of Christ in this manner. It doesn't fit. We like the clean-cut version. I have always thought that if one were to take the life of Christ seriously, and use him as a role model, you would definitely get your hands and clothes dirty.

Christmas is Approaching

Christmas is a time of mixed emotions for me. I don't like the consumerism involved, although I readily participate in it. I keep going back, wondering if I've bought enough. What troubles me most is that-the weakness. What do I do it for? Am I trying to buy love? I know better than that. Am I duped by the ads, the commercials, the sales gimmicks, the discount hype? I know too much psychology to fall for all of that. Still, I go back, right to the end, sometimes just hours before we open our presents, looking for that one last item, that one special something that will bring happiness to the receiver, the one that will put me in a good light. It all is ridiculous, I know it, but I continue to do it. That's what I don't like about Christmas-the contradictions.

Happy Right-Wing Sunday, From All Of Us At Hot Springs Village

Robert A. Heinlein
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”
Robert A. Heinlein

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Shopping in Hot Springs

Ah, the sweet smell of Christmas. I was in an art studio downtown and asked about a guy I saw a couple blocks away sitting on a bench. He seemed to be in pretty sad shape. I handed him a couple bucks, which he did not ask for. The lady in the shop stated that a panhandler outside of her business probably made more money than she did. I asked her why she didn't trade places with him? She didn't answer.

Stupid Quote of the Day-He Could Have Been Our Vice-President

Hey, I'm a Catholic deer hunter, I am happy to be clinging to my guns and my religion.
Paul Ryan

Friday, December 14, 2012

GUNS

What a tragedy today. Just hardly believable. You can't imagine the pain. I can't think of anything so sad as losing a child, especially to something so senseless. It is time that we take a stand on making assault weapons and handguns so available to the public. For that matter, so available to anyone. Watching the news reports today, I was struck by the number of weapons present. That in-and-of itself would be frightening to children. The time for being bullied by right-wingers and the NRA is over. It is time that we bring some sanity to our gun laws. The time is now and the day is today.

A Pre-Christmas Lesson

Possessions. Holding on to what you have. Things. I carried a rock in my pocket for the last 25 years. A Petosky stone, found only in Petosky, Michigan, along the shore of Lake Michigan. I picked it up the summer of 1971. My wife and I were just married and working in Traverse City as camp counselors. It sat in a box for years until I stuck it in my pocket one day. Why? Maybe to remember the times. Maybe for good luck. A talisman never hurts. Forty-one years that rock spent with me. I LOST IT THE OTHER DAY. Like any possession, it can hurt if you are holding on to it too tightly.
Everything is temporary. It comes and it goes. You have to let it go. It's not yours. It was a pre-Christmas lesson. Let go.

Stalemate

Suicide. I've thought about suicide a lot over the years. Professionally, that is. I worked in the field of mental health and substance abuse for 30 years. My first job in mental health was on an emergency response team. I saw someone shot himself in the head. It's one of those things you never forget. Over the years I've wondered about people who kill themselves. I can think of at least 5-6 other suicides during my 30 years. The emptiness they must feel in themselves. The loss of hope that things can get better. The courage they must have. Is it a courageous act? One of desperation? Selfish? Sane? Insane? I don't pretend to understand it, but I do accept it. People have that right, however wrong we might think it to be. In the end, it's you and your life. For better or worse, it always comes down to you, no matter how we'd like to change it, or what we think about it. It is always you. Wrong, cowardly, thoughtless, sinful, whatever words we put to it, none of them are deep enough, or sufficient enough, to meet the emptiness that the person must be feeling. It is a hollow feeling we are left with, filled with sorrow, regret, lose, and the presence of an unfulfilled history. We may not have done what we could have, or said what we should have, but in the end, it was not our life to make or take. Always, in the end, it is your life to live or end. Some thirty-five years after I witnessed that suicide, I still cry at the thought and fumble for the words to describe it. But it was his decision, not mine. I have to live with that. The game ended. There was no winner. Stalemate.

Random Thoughts

  • Meth is a profitable drug that in the short term offers the maker a good living and the user a bittersweet high. In the end, both maker and user will succumb to one of three results: prison, insanity, or death.
  • Being somewhat of a curmudgeon, one of my acquaintances recently suggested that I read Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking." I asked what the hell good that would do?
  • I think about my father a lot. I suppose one of the reasons is that he died suddenly when I was 18. He was 46. (I played softball against him the night before. The young guys won). Our relationship was close, but at my young age, not near complete. I think it is the unfinished business that keeps its presence with me after 46 years. The wondering what our relationship would have developed into? What he would have thought of me? I am much different from him, yet in many subtle ways, the same. Had he live, he would now be 92. He would have lived another lifetime. That would be a lot of time for things to really go good, or really go bad. It's funny to think that death ends a relationship. It doesn't.
  • I think I thought up a new word: automagical. It's when something happens but you are not really sure how or why. It happens out of thin air. No planning. A big surprise. Automagically.
  • For all you patriots out there who think the United States is the greatest democracy in the world, forget it. We rank 17th. Waving the flag and singing the song won't help.
  • I asked God the other day why he allows homelessness, poverty, hunger, and injustice in the world when he could do something about it. He answered by asking me the same question.
  • You can't kill your way to peace. Even a child knows this.
  • I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Keep Christ in Christmas." Why not, "Keep Love in Christmas," or "Keep Peace in Christmas." Christ has to be in Christmas, or it would be "mas."

Thursday, December 13, 2012

DRUGS

Speaking of drugs. There's a new drug for every ailment nowadays. The pharmaceutical industry has become the wizard of the 21st century. Here are a couple magic potions I would like to see:
  • How about a drug that helps Congress become smarter?
  • I'd like to see a drug that makes a rich man poor and a poor man rich?
  • A good anti-religion drug would be good.
  • There's a new drug to not make you pee so much. How about a new drug to not make you talk so much?
  • Here's a good idea: How about a drug to turn Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts, our right-wing Supreme Court members, into gay, transexual, Democrats?
  • People take all sorts of drugs to make them feel better. What ever happened to Cracker Jacks?
  • Drugs are automagical-something happens, but you're not sure what or how. The same holds true for doctors or the pharmacy. They're not sure how or why.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A story worth listening to. Something of a Christmas Tale.
Janine Shepherd: A broken body isn’t a broken person | Video on TED.com

Disguises

  • I woke up this morning disguised as someone who gives a damn.
  • Most of our holidays have become disguises for military recruitment. Watch for Santa in fatigues this year.
  • A pretty woman uses a disguise to fool old age. A man usually uses a pretty, young woman.
  • Freedom and justice are often disguised as a flag and a song.
  • The rich disguise themselves as better and more capable than the rest of us.
  • My golf game is disguised as an opportunity to rant and rave and cuss like some uncivilized barbarian.
  • Many for-profit, money mongering charities disguise themselves as nonprofit, caring agencies.
  • The truth disguises itself as absolute and attainable.
  • Many a politician disguises him or herself as a human being.
  • I wore a disguise all day yesterday. No one noticed.

Food For Thought

The Place:  The Shack, Highway 7, Jessieville. I think it's the only restaurant in town, so you shouldn't miss it. Right across from the high school.

Ambiance: A cute place, not fancy, but comfortable. They were putting up Christmas decorations while we were there. Our lunch, which included sandwiches and fries, were served with no plates. Good idea. Less overhead.

Cleanliness: Excellent.

Service: Fast. Friendly.

Main Course: I had a smoked pork BBQ sandwich with fries. I had them put my cold slaw on the sandwich. It was plenty big. The fries were average. Being a french fry expect, I am very particular. (Hand cut and fried crisp usually scores big with me). I had a small strawberry shake with my meal. It was good. My wife had a patty melt which she said was tasty. 

Dessert: Skipped. But I did see pumpkin pie.

Affordability: The price was right and the place was nice. We will definitely return.

Overall Score: B

Would Recommend: Yes. For a casual lunch.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Fight of Their Lives | Common Dreams

The Fight of Their Lives | Common Dreams

Give em' hell and  take no prisoners.

The World Boiled Down to a Hundred People (Right-Wing, White, Male, Republicans Need to Study This)

57 would be Asian
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South
8 Africans

52 females
48 males

70 non-white
30 white

70 non-Christian
30 Christian

89 heterosexual
11 homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the wealth, all from the U.S.

One would have a college education

Quote of the Day

"The culture of drink endures because it offers so many rewards: confidence for the shy, clarity for the uncertain, solace to the wounded and lonely, and above all, the elusive promises of friendship and love."   A Day In The Life, Pete Hamill

Monday, December 10, 2012

Quote of the Day

"I Read The News Today. Oh Boy."  from A Day In The Life, by John Lennon & Paul McCartney

IMAGINE-A TRIBUTE TO JOHN LENNON



Photo
  • Everyone having a place to live.
  • No one going to bed hungry.
  • Getting adequate and fairly priced health-care when you need it.
  • Peace being more of a priority than war.
  • Everyone having meaningful work.
  • A college education being free.
  • Being able to retire comfortably after 30 years of work.
  • That we place environmental concerns above profit.
  • A living wage being paid to all workers.
  • Electing public servants, not politicians.
  • No one person or family being about to hold more than 25 million dollars in assets.
  • Someone once imagined going to the moon. Imagine all the above.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Sunday Morning Church School Lesson-The Naked Dancing Llama

One day, many moons ago, a missionary came to our land and converted our people. Because I was a great dancer and usually ran around naked, they gave me the name Tom Smith and put clothes on me and said not to dance anymore. They said this was the moral and righteous thing to do. So I bought fancy clothes, got a job from 9-5, and began attending church on Sunday morning. I did this for many years. On my death bed, someone asked me about my beliefs and where I wanted to be buried. I told them to ask the missionary. He seems to know what is best for me.

Sunday Morning Worship Hymn



Sunday Morning Sermon

Sometimes I'd like to ask God why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when he could do something about it, but I'm afraid God would ask me the same question.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Hightower Lowdown | Wall Street, the Kochs, and Rove lost to the people-- so let's make Washington govern for the people

Hightower Lowdown | Wall Street, the Kochs, and Rove lost to the people-- so let's make Washington govern for the people

Peever Law #68

Health-care is not a commodity, it's a right.

Ten Things To Do In The Village

  1. If you're really bored, count the number of right-wing Republicans.
  2. If you don't have much time, count the Democrats.
  3. You can go to eat. It's usually busy during the "early bird" specials. People are still awake.
  4. I like reading The Village Voice. I'm not sure if it's a religious journal, a military story-book, or a POA publicity stunt.
  5. You can go golfing. The price isn't bad if you own property. Of course, the price of the property is bad, so you probably come out even. 
  6. You can go fishing, although there are better lakes not very far away.
  7. How about joining a club? We got all sorts of clubs. We even got a club that teaches you how to start clubs.
  8. I like to walk the trails. We got a lot of nice trails. Of course, none of them really lead anywhere, but what the hell.
  9. I like to go to POA meetings, but they are a lot less interesting now that the general manager is gone. I started a game online to guess why he got the axe. So far, misuse of credit card is ahead, but being an asshole is a close second. 
  10. I love to drive DeSoto. It's a challenge better than a video game. Between the road itself, with its dips and curves, and the drivers, old and old, it can turn a dull, boring day into an adventure.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Congress Arrested For Being the Most Prolific Killers In Nation’s History | Common Dreams

Congress Arrested For Being the Most Prolific Killers In Nation’s History | Common Dreams

At last.

Walmart: "Not Financially Feasible" To Take Minimal, Legally Required Steps to Save Workers' Lives | Common Dreams

Walmart: "Not Financially Feasible" To Take Minimal, Legally Required Steps to Save Workers' Lives | Common Dreams

After all, making a profit is the name of the game. It has always cost lives to do so. Wal-Mart could care less.

Peever Law #80

Why run when you can walk? What's the big hurry?

IT'S GAME TIME

Let's play a game. Since the POA won't tell us why the general manager got the ax, we're going to have to guess at it. I'm going to give a few possibilities which have been making the gossip circuit. Vote for the one you support. You are welcome to add more. In fact, I greatly encourage you to take a shot at it. It's sort of fun.
WHY THE GENERAL MANAGER GOT THE AXE:
  1. Misuse of credit card.
  2. Deemed to be more of a domineering asshole than allowed.
  3. Lost the favor of the president of the board, who reportedly hired him. (And who is now quitting).
  4. Was having trouble controlling his wife's wardrobe.
  5. Would not buy a house in the Village. Along with perhaps sending out resumes'.
That's all I've heard from this end. Don't be shy. This may be way off track.  You know how gossip can be. Let us know "the truth" if you got it. Otherwise, people are going to keep making stuff up. I don't think it's fair,but what are you going to do when they won't tell you. And we do deserve to know. After all, we were paying for him.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Ann Coulter Sings "If I Only Had A Heart" Caitlin Muelder

The Flub-A-Dub Award

(The Flub-a-Dub Award is gong to be given, at least on a monthly basis, to that individual or entity that best deserves it. It is based on the stupidist, craziest, most outlandish mistake, or flub, that could possibly be made by a human, or group of humans).

The first Flub-A-Dub Award to be handed out has to go to the Republican Party, for its arrogance in thinking that they had won the last Presidential election before it was even held. Number one, they selected the least likely person to win, in picking Mitt Romney, a rich man who is completely out of touch with America. He then picked Ryan, who is a washed up Tea Bagger with absolutely no idea of what is going on in America, or how to help right the ship. In total, I made $1200 on fifteen winning bets. About all you can say for the Republicans is they are suckers. Now, Boehner, Speaker for the Tea Baggers and rich boys, is trying to leverage power against Obama, who recently threw them back in the Boston harbor. I swear, they'll never learn. This is a Flub that will be hard to beat in the future. Congratulations Republicans, you never fail to amaze me. What Flub-A-Dubs.

UNIONS

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Peever Law #85

Beware of anyone wearing a white, long sleeved shirt in 90 degree weather.

Ten Reasons Why I Don't Like War

  1. Nothing good ever comes of it.
  2. A lot of innocent people die. Collateral damage they call it. I call it murder.
  3. War always ends up being evil and bringing out the worst in people.
  4. We idealize war. We give it a measure of rightness. Religions call it a "just war." I call it a bunch of tomfoolery.
  5. War always involved terror, which we supposedly dislike.
  6. War fuels the Osama bin Laden hiding in all our hearts.
  7. It relies on killing and destruction to win.
  8. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters die.
  9. Children, friends, grandmothers and grandfathers die. We never refer to these people as such. They are krouts, Japs, towel heads, Charlie, infidels, slant eyes. If you called him or her by their names, it would be harder for you to kill them. It all is impersonal an gets further and further away. (Drones).
  10. War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Quote of the Day

Paulo Coelho
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
Paulo Coelho, Alchemist

Local Hero: Trump Nemesis and Feisty Farmer Wins Top Scot of the Year Award | Common Dreams

Local Hero: Trump Nemesis and Feisty Farmer Wins Top Scot of the Year Award | Common Dreams


Trump is just another rich man who ain't got a clue. Just what the world needs, more golf courses. Trump, like his hair-piece, is a misfit.

Peever Law #64

Racists are nothing more than scared people hiding behind false beliefs.

Some Donut Shoppe Wisdom

  • If it looks like a donut, smells like a donut, feels like a donut, and tastes like a donut, don't let a cop see it.
  • The older you get, the more likely it is you'll forget to pay.
  • A hole in the center of a donut is clearly not for the customer's benefit.
  • Republicans never eat donuts with sprinkles on top. Way too risky.
  • Never buy a paper until you see if someone else did.
  • Never discuss same sex marriages.
  • The men love to talk about sex. The women love to talk about anything else.
  • Donuts have no redeeming qualities, which is probably why they taste so good. Remember, "A donut a day keeps the oatmeal away."
  • It doesn't get any better then that first cup of coffee in the morning, a good maple long john, and friends that you can rely on to disagree with just about everything you say.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Tale of Two Worlds: The Rich Get Richer, Still | Common Dreams

Tale of Two Worlds: The Rich Get Richer, Still | Common Dreams

More of the same.

A Ken Hess photo

Photo

The GOP's Big Budget Mumble | Common Dreams

The GOP's Big Budget Mumble | Common Dreams

The Republicans have absolutely no bargaining power left. They are dead in the water. The economy will not fall apart without a deal. But they might.

FISCAL CLIFF NONSENSE

The Republicans never learn. They are back to their scare tactics. "The world will end if we don't come to a deal". That's just about as much nonsense as them selecting Romney as their Presidential candidate. They absolutely have no bargaining power. Boehner must be sniffing stupid gas. Obama had better stick to his guns and give them nothing in regard to social programs and protecting the middle class and the poor. Otherwise, 51% of us are going to be on his doorstep at the White House, suggesting perhaps he should move out and let us take over. The Republicans have absolutely nothing to bargain with. Nothing. They are dead in the water. The economy will survive their stupidity.

And you wonder why we have a deficit. Check it out for yourself. Research the figures. The rich are not paying their fair share.

Five Facts About America's Pathological Wealth Distribution | Common Dreams

Five Facts About America's Pathological Wealth Distribution | Common Dreams

The rich get richer and the rest of us suffer. Or put another way: The rest of us pay for it.

Peever Law #62

If you're hungry, words or promises are not going to cut it.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Hundreds of Fast-Food Workers Strike for Living Wage, Inspired by Wal-Mart Strike

Hundreds of Fast-Food Workers Strike for Living Wage, Inspired by Wal-Mart Strike

This warms my heart. I got my New Years wish early.

Moyers and Company: Encore: United States of ALEC | Common Dreams

Moyers and Company: Encore: United States of ALEC | Common Dreams

Get it from the best.

How to Cultivate a Spiritual Life

  • Attend church irregularly.
  • Spend more time practicing good. Get rid of the racial talk and jokes. Give up the idea that your way is the only way.
  • Rather than collecting possessions, collect friends.
  • Don't believe everything you her, even if the messenger is wearing a collar, a robe, or a designer suit. In fact, be especially skeptical if they're wearing any of these.
  • It is better to approach faith inwardly rather than outwardly. That way, you can own what you find rather than buying or borrowing it.
  • If you think your God is bigger and better than mine, how about letting me see you walk on a bed of red-hot coals, as a sign?
  • If you're practicing right-wing, Republicanism, get out. It's a cult. You been brain washed. Assuming you started with one.
  • We are each fashioned after the Divine, which I interpret to mean we each have a touch of the Divine in us. We should treat ourselves and one another accordingly. Thus sayeth the Gospel According to The Peever.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Food For Thought

PLACE: Via Roma, 1521 Malvern, Hot Springs

AMBIANCE: Excellent. Table clothes, candle light, soft music. Waiter held the door open as we entered and left. A little dark, but I think that's what they refer to as romantic.

CLEANLINESS: Excellent.

SERVICE: Excellent. Fast. Friendly. Not overbearing. We were a bit early, so it wasn't real crowded.

MAIN COURSE: Excellent. Starts with bread and dipping sauce, not just olive oil. Both were good. We both had variations on Veal Parmesan. Comes with new potatoes and vegetable. Was plenty, and both were excellent.

DESSERT: We skipped the dessert. Maybe next time. They do have tiramisu and canolli, which I seldom pass-up. Each priced at $4.50.

AFFORDABILITY: Good. Cost was a bit high, but would not be bad without alcohol. We had a total of three glasses of wine with our meal, together. Including a 20% tip, the total cost was $64.60. You could get away with at least $15-20 less.

WOULD RECOMMEND: Highly. Will return.

Two New Features

Starting today, I am adding two new posts. One will be "Food For Thought",   a review of places I eat, and the other will be "The Flub-a-Dub Award", given to persons, organizations, politicians, etc. who manage to do unusually stupid things. Hopefully you'll enjoy.