Tragedy in Wisconsin

When I woke yesterday morning, early of course with the kids, I went to read the news of the day (a morning ritual).  I read news from all over, East Coast, West Coast, overseas, and most importantly from back home. As many of you are aware, I lived in Wisconsin for 36 years, my whole life, before moving out west to Las Vegas in December.  Being so, I remain keenly interested to know what is going on back home whenever possible.  Yesterday morning I was stunned and saddened by what I found.

Politic-Ed: So long Thanksgiving, hello Black Thursday!

Well, it looks like Americans just can't resist the allure of Black Friday, no matter when retailers choose to have it start.  I wrote on Wednesday, which you can find here, about how disgusted I was about the earlier start time retailers like Walmart, Target, and others chose to use for their Black Friday sales.  I also hoped that Americans would not reward retailers for this obvious incursion on the Thanksgiving holiday.  I hoped that people would put family time over shopping, that they would draw a metaphorical line in the sand, if you will, and tell the retailers what is truly important.  Sadly, none of that happened.

What did happen is millions of Americans chose to wait in line at dinner time, then poured into stores at the earlier start time.  Many of these millions bought obscene amounts of stuff, stacking TV upon TV , while filling up multiple carts.  As I saw from people who actually went out, through the wonders of Facebook,they saw many people fighting like wild animals for low priced Blu-Ray Players or pushing and shoving over bins of low priced DVD's and Blu Ray discs.  It was the same as it always was, just earlier. 

The official numbers aren't out yet, but it looks like the sales figures are up this year from last.  I would not be surprised if the numbers from Thursday night are higher than they have been in years past as well.  Numbers up, sales up, looking good for the multi-national corporations so far. Then add to that the comments made by some who shopped at the earlier times that it was more orderly than years past and you can start to see how validated these corporations and just how emboldened they will be.

Politic-Ed: Happy Gluttony/Capitalism Day America!

In just over 18 hours from now stores across the country will open their doors to throngs of eager shoppers, all looking to grab all of the doorbuster deals and low priced items they can.  There will undoubtedly be pushing, shoving, arguing, and even some trampling involved.  There will be a field of debris and destruction in the wake of these masses and there will be loads of merchandise stuffed into carts and then trunks.  There will be winners and there will be losers.  And over it all there will be corporations rejoycing.  That sounds like the perfect Thanksgiving to me. 

Yes, the national disease known as Capitalism Day, AKA Black Friday has now crept right into Thanksgiving proper. The first national chain to open on Thanksgiving Day will be Walmart at 8pm.  Followed by Target at 9pm and then the rest soon to follow. No longer is family time important for either shopper or retail employee.  No, selling and buying stuff is now the most important thing.  Keeping multi-national corporations in the black is now more important than giving thanks and spending quality time with family and friends.  It is disgusting and disheartening.

Politic-Ed: A Future Uncertain

The 2012 Presidential Election is over. The political ads are no longer flooding our television and computer screens across the country. The people have spoken and President Barack Obama has been given a second term. And the country is deeply divided.

If you have been on social media over the last week you surely have noticed a rather disturbing trend. People across the country, Republicans most likely, have went to social media, like Facebook and Twitter, and used them to vent their frustration over the results of the election. Some have declared they are leaving the country. Others have declared that the country is going to go down the toilet, is headed for ruin, or any other variation of that idea. Then there is a personal favorite of mine: some have openly wished the end of days would come so that they and their families, their children, can avoid four more years of Obama. Like he is a national disaster, a plague if you will. These declarations can be as humorous as they can be really kind of disturbing. They are the outward signs of a very deeply divided populace, one that is fractured and angry.

Why are they fractured and angry? And what can be done to bring the country back together again?

Politic-Ed: An occasion to applaud Nancy Pelosi

Here is the link to what I am referring to with the title of this blog entry:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090709/ap_en_ce/us_pelosi_michael_jackson

I watched Representative Lee of Texas speak at Michael Jackson's memorial on Tuesday. My first thought was how obnoxious she was as she declared that the Senators and Representatives in the House and Senate know the Constitution (I would certainly hope so) and that people in this country are innocent until proven guilty. It wasn't just what she said that was obnoxious, but also the way she said it, with her defiant tone and loud delivery. It was as if she felt the need on this national stage to declare Michael Jackson innocent regarding the rumors and charges of child molestation. But she also failed to realize that her statements also implied that her fellow Representatives in the House believed Michael Jackson innocent as well. I doubt some of the Republican Representatives appreciated that implication. Think before you speak Rep. Lee, lest your colleagues take offense at what you say and ostracize you.

Sadly, Rep. Lee was not finished. She went on to declare that members of the House and more specifically the black caucus were putting a resolution to the floor of the House to have Michael Jackson honored with a plaque and designation of being an American Legend, musical icon, and World Humanitarian. Excuse me Rep. Lee, but don't you and your colleagues have far more important things to concentrate your time on...like, I don't know, FIXING HEALTH CARE!!!! This is why the American people have such a low opinion of their Representatives in Washington. They waste time with this kind of pointless, inane crap and fail to concentrate on the real problems this country faces. Ones we need them to help repair. It pisses me off to see these kind of irresponsible decisions being made by our elected officials.

I am, however, glad to see that Speaker Pelosi sees this all for what it is and has put a stop to it. Like her or hate her, you would be hard pressed to disagree with her on this decision. I am glad she is showing some real leadership here and is putting a stop to this all. Now Speaker, light a fire under the asses of your colleagues and get a health care reform bill passed with a government run health care plan included! No plan if it doesn't include a government option! Get it done. Or come 2012, some of your fellow democratic colleagues might be on the outside looking in.

As far as Rep. Lee of Texas, my advice to her is to stop wasting time and start working to help those in her home state and abroad. You know do what you were elected to do..what a novel concept. Stop being an idiot and stop grandstanding and wasting more time in response to the speaker's decision. Let it go and move on.

Politc-Ed: The Black Swine Death

For most if not all of you reading this, I don’t need to spend much time writing a lengthy preamble about the Swine Flu. You have most likely gotten your fill of information about this strain of flu from the constant coverage of it by the local and mainstream media. So, I won’t add to their reporting with lengthy paragraphs explaining what you already know.

But, as with all reporting, sometimes the information passed on is either incorrect or greatly exaggerated. With that in mind, you can find below a link to the CDC website. This link will take you to a page that deals entirely with the H1N1 Swine Flu. There are answers to commonly asked questions there, as well as other valuable information. I would recommend, even if you have been monitoring CNN daily, that you check this link out. Staying informed, with the right information, is the best defense against something like this. Here’s the link:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/key_facts/htm

Ok, I have done my civic duty and provided you, the reader, with the valuable information you need. Now I am going to put my metaphorical editorial hat on and dig in on some of the issues I have with the coverage and subsequent fallout of this Swine Flu.

Let’s start with the gross exaggeration that the media has placed on the overall threat and danger of the H1N1 flu. As of today’s date, per the CDC, there are 160 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in the United States. These cases are spread out over 21 states with California having the most cases overall with 14. Here is the link to that data: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Now to put this into perspective, there are over 300 million people living in the United States per the latest US Census data ( http://www.census.gov/). 160 people is nothing, it is so minuscule when compared to the overall US population. You may say though that the number of overall people infected may be higher than 160 because many have not sought out treatment and therefore are unconfirmed. This is probably true. But theoretically adding those people in, I’d guess there are several thousand cases right now. The point is though, 160 or several thousand, this flu is not the imminent threat that the media would like you to believe it is. It is not TB, or Polio, or any other major pandemic that has struck in the last 100 years. This brings me to my next point.

H1N1 is not a deadly flu. To clarify, what I mean by deadly in this context is a virus or agent whose symptoms strike quickly and is resistant to most forms of antibiotics or treatment, therefore resulting in a swift and certain death for those infected. It has not caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. It has not infected millions. The H1N1 flu is for the most part the same as the normal flu we battle against every year. It is treatable by and responds to antibiotics. The immune system can fight it and with rest and proper care a person infected with it can be over it in a week to ten days.

Sadly, there has been one confirmed death in the United States from H1N1 flu. It was a 23 month old boy in Texas. He and his family, who were from Mexico, were legally visiting relatives there at the time. This boy did have an underlying condition which doctors have attributed in part to his death. So it wasn’t the H1N1 flu alone that killed him. In fact, there are roughly 100 deaths per day from flu or flu related symptoms in the United States. Most, if not all, of these deaths are caused by the combination of the flu virus and some underlying condition. The flu, even the H1N1 strain, doesn’t ever really kill you alone. Again, if you are proactive and seek treatment you will be ok.

What this all comes down to is education and then using the information gained to take the proper action. Educate yourself on the H1N1 flu, find out what the symptoms are, the easiest way it is transmitted, what treatment options are available. More important, choose a reliable source for this information, like the aforementioned CDC. The worst thing you can do for yourself and your family is receive information that has been tainted by paranoia and fear mongering. Once you have the information, be proactive but don’t overreact. If you get infected, see your physician only if your symptoms worsen. If you get infected, stay home from work if you can. If your kids get infected, keep them out of school. These are all common sense things we can do to limit the spread of this virus. These are all things you do when you or your children catch a cold or the regular flu. Nothing should change in that way. Be smart and be proactive, don’t panic.

Panic is something I have seen and been dismayed by the use and perversion of in recent weeks. Many of the talking heads from the right have used this H1N1 flu as an excuse to fire up the old “close the borders” argument. Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and their ilk have been openly advocating that we consider closing the borders to prevent the further spread of the H1N1 virus to the United States. They have criticized the President for not taking the border issue more seriously in light of this flu outbreak. In truth, this is the type of manipulative, deceitful, xenophobic bullshit I have come to expect from the right. They are once again trying to fire up the American people by using fear, false blame, and hatred. This is what Bush did after 9/11. We invaded Iraq due to this type of mindset.

Let me clear something up here. First, ground zero in the spread of this virus was in New York. The first confirmed cases were that of school children from a Catholic school in New Jersey. They had went to Mexico on a field trip and brought the virus back with them. It was not brought here by those evil illegal immigrants from Mexico, who ran gleefully into this country seeking to infect as many of us as they could. Of course, I am exaggerating a bit there. The point is our own citizens have brought, for the most part, this virus into this country, not the illegals.

Just for fun, I want to follow the assertions of our friends at Fox and the right to their fullest extent. Let’s just say that President Obama actually ordered the borders with Mexico be closed and that we use the full extent of our military to enforce it. Well of course such sweeping and broad action is going to be an expensive undertaking. We are already looking at massive debts in the government, where would we find the funding for this. Ah, we can raise taxes. I wonder how popular the idea of raising taxes to pay for this level of border control would be among the general populace. Would the 2% who make over $250,000 a year be comfortable with having their taxes go up even more than they are under Obama. Would Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, be ok with us increasing taxes on them so that we can keep the American People safe. I think not. You see the minute you mention the possible costs and fallout of “closing the borders” these talking heads backpedal and suddenly it doesn’t seem as much of a dire situation.

The next thing to consider is who we will then get to work all the menial and extremely low paying jobs in this country. Who will clean our hotel rooms, who will clean our public bathrooms, our offices and schools? Will a normal American take those jobs? Nope. At least not for the pay that is currently available for these positions. And if we, meaning American citizens, did take these jobs, the pay would, in turn, have to go up. You can’t support a family making $5 an hour, right? With the pay going up, then the extra costs to these companies and corporations would have to be made up somehow. So, you would have companies and corporations raising prices on their products and services at a time when the economy is faltering. I am well aware there are more intricacies to this issue, but I feel I have addressed well some of the inherent problems and challenges.

Not that I want this blog on the Swine Flu to turn into a dissertation on immigration. But, I do feel those working and living here illegally should be required to be legal citizens after a certain point, and that timetable should be reasonable and attainable. However, I don’t think the idea of closing the borders is a smart, effective, or practical one.

What concerns me is using a virus such as this as a means and platform to spew hateful, xenophobic, and racist things. I haven’t been able to show you all that has been said, but I am confident that if you are industrious you will be able to find plenty in short order. Here is one example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8JDJrFmiml. The illegal immigrants are not the ones to blame for the spread of this virus. Nor should they be the ones punished for it. As Americans, we should not allow fear or paranoia to push us into thinking or saying things that go against our very nature as a country. We should not also allow these feelings to persuade us into taking a course of action that is incorrect and one which could cause harm for years to come.

It all comes back to what I said in the beginning. Be smart and rational. Seek out the facts. Be proactive. If you do these things, you and we collectively as a nation will be fine.

Politic-Ed: Hannity of Fox News Tortured?!?

Yes, you have read that right folks, Sean Hannity will be tortured. Specifically, he will be water boarded. And it will be for charity. And yes I am serious. At least if you believe what Mr. Hannity said on his very program this past week. A link to those comments can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNTXhdRuwc&feature=related

As you will see, should you click on the link, Mr. Hannity was engaged in a conversation with his guest for the night, Charles Grodin. And yes that old man in the video is the same Charles Grodin that was of the Beethoven films or of many other 80’s comedies. Anyway, off point. Mr. Grodin asked Hannity if he considers the act of water boarding to be torture, or something to that effect. To which Hannity stated no, he does not think it is. And this is where things get interesting, as you have seen. Mr. Grodin then asks Hannity if he would be willing to be water boarded. Hannity then goes on to say that he would be willing to do just that and in addition he would do so in an attempt to raise money for the families of US servicemen and women.

Hello crazy train, you have a new passenger! His name is Sean.

Now of course it goes without saying that Keith Olbermann, the most left wing news personality on television caught wind of Mr. Hannity’s offer and ran with it on his show Countdown. I do like Keith Olbermann for the record, but he has always been firmly standing to the left politically and unabashedly so. But anyway, you may find Mr. Olbermann’s offer on this subject to Sean Hannity here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sm8Os3mXv8

I feel the need to take Mr. Olbermanns’s offer to Hannity one step further. I would like to enlist the help of those who are reading this in raising money for the families of the US servicemen and women. I would like to formally announce The Sean Hannity tortured for charity event. This event will take place two weeks from today at an undisclosed location just outside the jurisdiction of the United States. Mr. Hannity will be water boarded by one of the same interrogators who committed this procedure again and again on detainees at Gitmo. Mr. Hannity will be given a piece of information unknown to the interrogators. The longer Mr Hannity lasts without giving up this piece of information, the more money he will raise for the familes of the troops. The event will be broadcast on all major networks and news stations. It will be great, heart-warming, family programming. So get some popcorn ready, your drinks in hand, and your checkbooks open because Mr Hannity is going to give you a hell of a show!

Coming back to reality, Mr. Hannity is an insensitive, moronic, and obtuse human being. First, water boarding is torture. I think our friend Sean should take some time to brush up on something called Aricle 3 of the Geneva Convention. You see we, the United States, agreed that the International Red Cross would be the deciding body in determining when torture has taken place and by extension violations of the Geneva Convention. Well I have news for Mr. Hannity, the International Red Cross (after visiting Gitmo) determined that many of the interrogation techniques used, including water boarding, were torture and in clear violation of the Geneva Convention. So the governing body we agreed would determine if torture was taking place determined that we were engaged in torture. Let me definitively lay this to rest for any of you out there that are clinging to the idea that water boarding is not torture. It is, without any doubt, torture. Water boarding is torture.

This is not a joke Mr. Hannity. I am sure the families of the service men and women do not find the act of the United States committing torture to be very funny. Nor do they find the increased risk their loved ones are in to be tortured themselves by Al Queda or the insurgents due to our immoral actions at home to be hilarious either. This is no laughing matter Mr. Hannity. Our CIA interrogators, their superiors, military personnel, the Pentagon, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and even most likely former President Bush all willfully broke international law, they violated the Geneva Convention. They tortured.

Have you considered Mr. Hannity that besides the known Al Qaeda operatives, we may have tortured men who were completely innocent. Men who had no ties to Al Qaeda. Normal men, good men who have done nothing wrong except be Muslim, or look or act in a certain way. I am certain as time passes here that we will see written confirmation that innocent men were not only detained but also tortured at Gitmo and abroad. These men knew nothing, did nothing illegal or illicit, and were tortured anyway.

So Mr. Hannity why don’t you step right up and be water boarded. Perhaps we will give you the most accurate experience possible and water board you 83 times, like we did Abu Zubaydah, or if we really want to kick it up a notch- 183 times, like we did Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. I believe if someone says something as stupid as you did, they should have to follow through on it or be punished for it.

So mark your calendars, program your DVR’s, and clear your schedules- Sean Hannity of Fox News is going to show all us intelligent, compassionate, moral, Americans how mistaken we are.

For those who would like to honestly help the families of US Servicemen and women, you will find several links to accomplish that below:

http://www3.ausa.org/webpub/DeptFamilyPrograms.nsf/byid/KCAT-6DCK7U

http://www.opgratitude.com/

http://www.cfsrf.org/

Please, seriously, do give if you are able. These families and soldiers do need your help. They certainly are not going to get Mr. Hannity’s.

Politic-Ed: Angry Populace

Yesterday it was reported by all major news outlets that David Kellerman, the CFO of Freddie Mac, was dead due to an apparent suicide. Unconfirmed reports stated he had hung himself in the basement of his home and that his body was found by his wife at 5am Wednesday. She called the Fairfax police shortly thereafter. I am certain most of you who are reading this are already well aware of all of these facts.

I found out about Mr. Kellerman’s death yesterday morning through a conversation two of my co-workers were having cubicle to cubicle. One of these two, who will remain nameless, said something to the effect of “good riddance” in relation to Mr. Kellerman’s suicide. He went further and added that all of the CEO’s, CFO’s, and heads of these banks should follow Kellerman’s example and either resign or kill themselves. He recalled how during the fall of 1929, investors jumped from buildings and that that was an appropriate response. This co-worker wondered aloud why there was not more of this type of reaction now by those in the most powerful positions at banks and financial institutions.

Now I know many of you reading this may find agreement with most, if not all, of what my opinionated co-worker said. I certainly don’t fault you or think worse of you for doing so. There is a lot of resentment and hate from the working class toward the wealthy CEO’s of these companies. It is understandable and perfectly justified. They, the CEO’s, are partially to blame for this whole financial mess we find ourselves mired in. Their bad decisions and greed helped create the housing market collapse and its subsequent domino effect on all sectors of the US and World Economy. But, what specifically bothered me, and continues to concern me, was my co-workers expressions of “good riddance” toward the news of Mr. Kellerman’s death.

Has our collective resentment, anger, hate toward the CEO’s and their ilk grown to the point where we feel satisfaction in news of their deaths?
That was the question running through my head for the last 24 hours and it is an important one. The truth to remember here is that Mr. Kellerman was a human being. He was someone’s husband, son, brother, friend, and perhaps even father. Prior to writing this, I was unable to confirm whether Mr. Kellerman had any children. In any case, those family and friends are grieving now, just like any of us would be if we suffered a similar loss. I just find it inappropriate to feel satisfaction over another person’s death or to dismiss it in such a callous way.

I know many will say that Mr. Kellerman took the coward’s way out. This may be true. But none of us truly know the pressures he was under or his mindset as he committed to taking his own life. We don’t know his involvement or the extent thereof in the mistakes that Freddie Mac made prior to the financial crisis. There is just a great deal we don’t know and may never know as outsiders looking in.

I disapprove of the actions and attitudes of those CEO’s and executives at the top. But I will never feel satisfaction in their deaths, nor wish ill toward them or their families. I feel sadness for the wife, family, and friends of Mr. Kellerman and wish that he had made a different choice. He didn’t and I am sure he will not be the last as we go forward from here.

What do you think? Is my co-worker just one bad egg or is this something you feel as well?