The Thin White Duke - Live in Berlin. And classy as hell!

Look how happy he is to be making music. What a guy!



And is this song perfect for him, or what??

Philippines Birth Control Has Enemies

Luis Liwanag for The International Herald Tribune

By CARLOS H. CONDE 9:45 AM ET

"Religious figures say a bill that would expand the poor’s access to birth control is contrary to Catholic teaching."

So what? ...says this Copper-Bottomed Bitch.

Until the head of the Roman Catholic Church is a woman who's been forced to bear children and until the head of the Roman Catholic Church has to live on a very small budget; until he's been raped; until he stops covering for pedophiles; until he has to live in a neighborhood of drug addicts and alcoholics; until he has to look for work and can't find any; until he sees the children he's born sicken and die for lack of proper food or medical care--he and the Roman Catholic Church are irrelevant.

Irrelevant!

Stop being bossed around by men who live in palaces.

Get a Job!--Careers of the Future

Below find a list of jobs for the future. If this is what we should prepare for no wonder so many people are beating down the doors at the Culinary Institute of America--cake decorating beats the hell out of most of these things.
Alas, no one will be ordering cakes if no one has a job so we'd all better hope that someone likes these professional callings.

I did not compile this list--I stole it off the internet here :

1.Medical Roboticist

New technology is doing amazing things for medical patients these days, especially in the world of robotics. We aren’t quite at a Six-Million Dollar Man level yet – but we’re getting awfully close. From physical therapy exoskeletons to new and improved forms of prosthetic attachments, science-minded individuals will be needed to help develop medical technology that is better, stronger, and faster than it ever was before.

2.Genetic Counselor

As genetics continues to be fine-tuned, doctors will be able to run tests to predict all manner of markers and conditions. Genetic counselors have the job of helping families make decisions about their future children in regards to available genetic technologies. At the present, according to MSNBC, “about 2,000 counselors are recognized by the American Board of Genetic Counseling.” As technology improves and becomes more widespread, expect the need for counselors to grow right along with it.

3.Respiratory Therapist

The atmosphere isn’t what it used to be. Between congested highways, the pollutants of industry, and just plain old stress doing a number on our bodies, respiratory problems like asthma are rapidly on the rise. Under these conditions, it comes as no surprise that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting an extremely good job outlook for respiratory therapists. Practitioners and technicians from varying levels of training will be needed increasingly to help future generations breathe well against all odds.

4.Bioinformatician

Whenever new terrain is charted, maps must be drafted to document and understand the new discoveries. Not only is this true in geography, but in biology as well. As genomic and molecular research continues to intensify over the years, the science community will need plenty of young bioinformatics majors to map, analyze, create 3-D models of and compare DNA and protein structures – hopefully resulting in better understanding and treatment of genetics in the future.

5.Stem Cell Researcher

Stem cell research has been a controversial topic since the day it started gaining plausible ground, entrenched in a war of progress and ethics. Still, science finds a way. Already, researchers may have found an alternative to embryonic stem cells that may put the ethical battle to rest. If this is the case, more researchers than ever will be needed to develop cures for diseases, genetic enhancements, and whatever other secrets these cells may hold.

6.Custom Implant Organ Designer

It wasn’t so long ago when organ transplants were the stuff of science-fiction novels. Now human ears are growing on mice for science, mouse brain cells are growing within robots for art, and the next wave of scientists are using gel-suspended cell cultures to draw custom-made organs for implants from scratch. When it comes to biomedical engineering, the sky is the limit, and young ingenious scientists are needed all the time to keep on searching for the next big breakthrough.

7.Massage Therapist

City populations only get more and more crowded as time goes on, and stresses will only increase as towering office jobs become more prevalent and intense. But you have the power not only to do something about it, but to get paid doing it. As the economy levels out and city life stresses become more compact, look for the already booming massage therapy industry to go through the roof.

8.Nurse

As necessary as nurses are, it may stand to reason that we will never run out of nurses…but actually, that is exactly what is happening. According to the American Association of College of Nursing (AACN), our country is “in the midst of a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as baby boomers age and the need for health care grows.” Nurses will only be more in demand as time goes on, and it’s a profession that will never go out of style.

9.Home Health Care Aide

An entire generation is getting older, and it’s a big one. As the Baby Boomers start to collectively reach senior citizenship, home health care aids will be in hot demand to help elderly folks continue to live at home with dignity, assisting with chores and care and providing valuable company.

10.Pharmacist

Another classic. Just as the rising collective age of Americans is leading to a need for more health care workers, the same thing is also leading to a need for more prescription drugs and those who know how to prescribe them. In addition, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a growing number of pharmacies are starting to offer on-site diagnoses and patient care, stretching the amount of skilled and well-trained pharmacists needed. The demand for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians is expected to rise by over 30% in the next decade.

11.Medical Records Administrator

What’s so high tech and futuristic about a medical records administration career? As a matter of fact: everything. The world of information is rapidly changing, and medical records are at the forefront with a huge push toward going digital. Once doomed to navigate halls of bulging paper files, the medical records administrators of the future will need to be tech-savvy and quick on the draw with digital databases, in a field where fast information recall can mean the difference between life and death.

12.Nutritionist

The United States is dealing with an obesity epidemic of epic proportions – it affects 32% of adults over 20, and leads to complications that add up to $147 billion a year in health care expenditure. Something has to be done, and a healthy diet is a great start. In addition to a growing need for nutritionists and dieticians to help combat obesity, there will be an increased need for nutritionists who can work with elderly patients on adjusting their diets to improve health in the face of age-linked conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

13.Dentist

Not so futuristic in theory, but certainly a perennial. No matter how far into the foreseeable future, we will always need our teeth – and we only get one natural set, so it pays to treat them well. Unfortunately, the dental profession is seeing a shortage as populations grow while the average age of dentists rises, with many dentists retiring faster than they can be replaced. That’s good news for new crops of prospective dentists, who will find themselves highly in demand.

SCIENCE and ENGINEERING

14.Space Tour Guide

When the time comes for space travel, tourism will be there at the forefront, giving the wealthy and the curious a taste of the exotic. But who will narrate the tours and bring the majestic vistas of outer space to life? You, if you become a space tour guide. It’s not as far off as some might think – multimedia mogul Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism venture is already garnering some serious financial backing – so anyone interested would do well to start brushing up on their public speaking skills.

15.Robotics Technician

From precision factory work to precision surgery, a robot’s place in society is growing every day. Of course, skilled workers are needed to tend to robots: to build them, maintain them, and keep them running smoothly. Well-versed in both sturdy classic machinery and cutting-edge technology, technicians of the future will play an important part in greasing the gears that keep the world turning.

16.Nanotechnologist

True, science is expanding – moving ever outward with space probes and grand robotic and architectural creations – but it is contracting just as surely. Nanotechnology is the study of matter on a molecular scale: manipulating individual atoms, building structures by the nanometer. It’s a fairly new practice where sciences are concerned, due mostly to it previously being physically impossible, but scientists predict it to have possible applications ranging widely from medicine to electronics and even new forms of energy production.

17.Simulation Engineer

Advanced 3D technology is improving everyday (already movies are a far cry from the headache-inducing red/blue lenses of yesteryear), and it shouldn’t take long for holographic and other simulation-based technologies to follow suit. According to UCSD’s Jacobs School of Engineering dean Frieder Seible, in an interview with MSNBC, “simulation will be in every industry and every engineering field.” The age of full-size interactive holodecks is coming, and Physics and Comp-Sci whizzes will be at the helm of it all.

18.Energy Resources Engineer

Where does our energy come from? Mostly from electricity and oil, but perhaps not for long. As global concern over environmental issues grows, a race is on to create new major sources of energy. New engineers with fresh outlooks are greatly needed to help develop more effective wind turbines, more compact solar panels, safer atomic fission, and the next big thing in energy production.

19.Aerospace Engineer

While MIR and our probes are impressive, our country’s space program has by and large stalled for quite some time. Where will you be when it starts up again? It’s only a matter of time before thoughts turn once again toward exploring the great frontier of space, trekking to new planets and seeking out new life and civilizations – and with the right engineering degree, you could be the one to design the craft that makes it all possible.

20.Biorefinery Plant Manager

A huge talking point of the last presidential election was the potential of biofuels as a valid replacement for our finite sources of petroleum. From corn-based to grain-based ethanol, biomass technology has become a formidable opponent to our current fuel situation. If efforts continue at their current pace, it won’t be too much longer before biorefinery plants are cropping up with the frequency of oil rigs, all of them needing plant workers to make sure the crops flow smoothly on their journey to powering the nation.

21.Laboratory Technician

No man is an island, and that includes scientists: behind every good scientist is a crackerjack team that gets the job done. A laboratory technician takes care of everyday tasks like testing, sampling, measuring, recording data, and generally ensuring that experiments in progress are running smoothly. With so much focus on science and technology in industry, the job outlook for taskmaster lab technicians is quite promising.

22.Transportation Engineer

In just a few short years, rising oil costs and economic downturns have led most of the world to shun former single-serving social status titans like the Hummer and the Segway, while falling head over heels in love with the Prius and the light rail. The face of transportation is changing, and engineers are needed to help design newer, cleaner, and more efficient ways of moving people.

23.Seed Production Technician

Changing technology changes all factions of our lives, and even agriculture is getting a different look these days. With the rise of factory farms, jobs are becoming increasingly parsed out by specialty. Large corporations like Monsanto are consistently looking for skilled workers in fields like seed production, to distribute and produce the crops that keep the country running.

24.Technical Writer

Robots, rocket ships, computers, prostheses and enhancements: all of these are new or evolving technologies, and none of them are exactly simple and self-explanatory. Someone needs to be there to write the manuals for these products, and that person could be you.

25.Inventor

The best part about emerging technology is that it never goes out of style. Whether your interest is chemistry, biology, physics, or engineering, scientists of all disciplines are always needed to think, hypothesize, develop, and create. They are needed by private corporations and government agencies alike, to build better weapons for the army and better toys for the holiday store shelves. Inventors are necessary to progress, and will be needed for as long as progress of civilization is an option.

ENVIRONMENTALISM

26.Organic Food Producer

While it’s always been popular with the eco-conscious, now organic food is more popular than ever before. Taking up nearly 10% of the food and beverage market, a tenfold increase from a decade prior, so many people are clamoring for the “organic” label that it’s on the verge of going mainstream. When the scales do finally tip in organic food’s favor (an event that no doubt will be happening some time in the next ten years), more farmers, producers, and scientists will be needed than ever before to improve organic farming techniques and just simply grow the food that the population is demanding.

27.Sustainability Officer

Sustainability has become a real concern among businesses, but it can be hard for busy execs to find the time to learn all the ropes. Instead, many companies have started hiring on eco-savvy individuals as “sustainability officers.” It’s a new title, and it entails finding, researching, and implementing eco-friendly policies that are of the most benefit to the company at hand. Green Tech Media describes it as a little like IT Techs in the 1980s, helping older businessmen navigate a strange new world – once technology, now sustainability.

28.Waste Management Consultant

Waste is a problem on our planet, and someone has to deal with the overflowing landfills. Consultants will be needed, with backgrounds in biology and chemistry, to bring new ideas to the table on how to break down and eliminate the tons of refuse currently clogging waterways and stretches of land. In addition, scientists are needed more than ever to come up with improved ways of dealing with e-waste, which is becoming a bigger problem with every passing year.

29.Food Scientist

What’s in your dinner? In the near future, that answer may get a lot more technical. Food science is huge: in genetics, vegetables are being modified for more pest-resistant corn and frost-resistant tomatoes spliced with fish genes. In agriculture, farmers are looking for better ways to grow food more organically on a local scale. Meanwhile, in chemistry, scientists are trying to build more effective supplements to make us stronger and healthier on less. No matter what your scientific interest, there’s a way to incorporate our most important fuel of the day.

30.LEED Certified Architect

These days, even constructing houses is a delicate science. People tend to want the best for their new homes, and increasingly this means paying special attention to environmental awareness concerns. For new up-and-coming architects, the smartest career move available is to invest time and study into LEED certification, giving you the training to draft buildings that are ecologically state-of-the-art. Your clients will thank you, and the Earth will thank you more.

31.Renewable Energy Technician

Many electricians these days are still working within the same tired old paradigm of energy resources – but we’re approaching a new age of energy, and the industry will soon require a heavy influx of fresh new faces that reflect that. In the past, industry standards dictated your career to consist mostly of repairing your standard air conditioners, radiators, and electric lines. Soon, however, these tasks will be upgraded to installing and troubleshooting solar panels and integrated home climate control centers as everyday consumers continue to embrace a new world of energy in all its sources.

32.Hydrologist

Water is one of our most vital resources, and hydrologists study both the form and function of water: its distribution, its physical properties, and patterns of circulation and rainfall. In recent years though, both private and government sectors are recruiting the talents of hydrologists for other purposes, namely conservation. With their reservoir of knowledge, hydrologists can help to predict drought zones, analyze quality of newly discovered water sources, and judge how safe construction projects are for surrounding bodies of water – all functions that make the skills of a well-trained hydrologist as desirable as water itself.

33.Sustainable Urban Planner

Individually, engineers and architects are all working on building cleaner and greener homes, offices, and vehicles. What about someone, however, who ties all of those individual pockets together into a cohesive city structure? Sustainable urban planners work hard to solve current spatial problems like urban sprawl and excess pollution with innovative ideas, or even build separate communities known as “eco-villages.” Who will construct the best solution since vertical farming? It could be you.

34.Geophysicist

The work of a geophysicist is in the study of the earth. Earthquakes, atmosphere, the shifting of the continents – these are all within a geophysicist’s realm of study. While some find work as professors, most are employed elsewhere. Some geophysicists work for government agencies, working with architects and predicting earthquake zones. Others work for mining, oil, and gas companies, charting magnetic forces and the probability of natural resources from location to location, making them a powerful asset in the corporate world.

35.Ecotourism Travel Guide

Preferred modes of vacation vary from person to person, and there is a new trend emerging in the travel world: ecotourism. Defined by the International Ecotourism Society as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people,” the main emphasis is on building awareness, fostering cultural sensitivity, and minimizing impact on the destinations visited. Thus far ecotourism has collected a niche following, but with our country’s recent enthusiasm over going green, it’s an industry poised for mainstream popularity.

36.Wind Turbine Technician

If solar power is the weathered veteran of the alternative energy trade, then wind turbines are the bright young upstart. As natural as the sun and just as plentiful, wind power is being hailed as one of the best new energy forms. At the moment, production is rocky due to the economy, but once funding picks up in the near future, wind is predicted to be one of the fastest growing industries in the green energy sector.

DIGITAL

37.Cyber Security Specialist

Back in the 1990s, hackers were demonized as the reckless pirate scourge of the internet. Who would have thought that, a short time later, their dexterous computer skills could be put to good use? Cyber security is a swiftly growing industry, and few reveal site weaknesses and better than those who know a thing or two about exploiting them. Interested in turning your cyber whiz skills into a real profession? With a degree and ambition, it’s possible.

38.Media Search Consultant

The internet is major in business these days, and being seen is everything. Nothing says “you’ve made it!” like showing up on the first page of a Google search, and media search consultants can make that happen. Armed with search engine knowledge, a good media search consultant finds clever keywords and the right ways to drive up traffic and take your website to the top (of search engine ranking)!

39.Data Technologist

Every year we are finding new ways to exchange and process data. We are conducting more business from the screen of a mobile phone than we ever could have thought possible ten years ago. It’s all thanks to data technologists, who are constantly designing and developing new technology from ever smaller processing chips to innovative operating systems to finding the next big thing. If we’re conducting business from the display of a cell phone today, who knows where we’ll be in another ten years?

40.Interface Designer

Pretty soon your PC won’t be the only interactive digital element of your home. It’s probably already started with your television, but more scientists are needed to work on ways to streamline the home experience. From integrated entertainment elements to simpler multifunction pads to adjust climate control devices, part of the challenge is to devise ways to make new interface elements attractive and user-friendly.

41.Distance Education Consultant

The future of college is online. There has been a boom in the distance learning sector over the past few years, as people struggle to balance getting a college education with holding down a day job to support themselves or a family in this economy. It’s a fairly new teaching model, however, and improvements are needed. In turn, more distance education consultants will be needed to develop new techniques and use innovation to solve any and all current problems within the structure of distance learning.

42.Site Acceleration Engineer

The internet is faster than it’s ever been before… but that doesn’t mean it can’t be faster still. The more people get online and the more data is transferred on a daily basis, the more innovation is needed to transfer that data faster and more efficiently. Computer science majors with an interest in the inner workings of the World Wide Web could find a rewarding career advancing the technology of the hypertext transfer protocol.

43.Computer Forensics Analyst

Crime takes many forms, and evidence is left everywhere if you know where to look. Sometimes evidence is locked away within computers, and that’s when computer forensics analysts are called in. In our generation and those to follow, computers and other data devices are found in nearly every household, making computer forensics a hot career commodity. With a solid education in computer science and a clever analytic mind, you can spearhead the next trend in CSI.

44.Quality Assurance Engineer

As new technology evolves, someone has to be on the frontline to observe, test, and suggest corrections for every prototype that emerges. These brave soldiers are known as QA Engineers, and the need for more sharp, analytical, computer-savvy minds will be huge as digital applications, devices, and components continue to stock our shelves at an exponential rate.

45.Cloud Computing Engineer

Look up “cloud computing” on Wikipedia and, faced with a 20 page thesis comprehensible only to comp-sci graduate students, you may assume it has nothing to do with you. Quite the contrary. Facebook, Wordpress, Flickr, Gmail: wherever you can store data and access it from any internet port, cloud computing is to be thanked. Savvy engineers are needed to brainstorm ways to streamline processes, cut costs, and enhance usability.

46.Internet Crack Team Volunteer

The internet is near limitless, but it is also fragile. Its integrity rests on the back of an elite group of programmers with the skills and the know-how to find errors, navigate the tenuous web of the internet, and restore service to damaged sectors. So far this job is selfless and volunteer only, but as the world becomes more dependent on internet service, it stands to reason that a few will find careers for themselves by doing what they’ve so thus far done for free.

47.Integrated Digital Media Specialist

Once, media outlets mostly worked independently: newspapers, film reels, glossy magazines were all completely separate entities. Thanks to the advent of the internet, however, media forms are starting to conglomerate. The journalist of the future must know how to harness the power of multimedia, working with photography, video, sound and written word to create a well-rounded picture of events that will stimulate the average media-saturated mind.

48.Casual Game Developer

PC and console video games have always been a mainstay of the gaming industry, but that industry is changing. With the advent of the internet and mobile applications, casual games have captured the hearts of people who might not otherwise be into gaming but appreciate those mini-distractions throughout the day. Advertisers have taken notice as well – high click rates for game-associated ads have made casual web-based gaming a rewarding pursuit for developers on various levels.

49.Mobile Application Developer

Progress in mobile technology has been swift and immense – it wasn’t so long ago that cell phones resembled bricks and car phones were a sign of wealth. Now, mobile phone use has spread throughout the ranks and technology has seriously blurred the line between phone, PDA, and personal computer. The mobile media industry is continuing to rise in revenue, and as technology continues to become more sophisticated, more developers will be needed to ensure its upward climb.

…AND BEYOND!

50.Intelligence Analyst

The world can be a scary place, but intelligence analysts help the general public to sleep a little more soundly at night. Usually working for the military – but sometimes for private interests – intelligence analysts examine information compiled from different intelligence operatives (think James Bond types), make sense of that information, and plot the next move of terrorists and villains before they make them. In the world’s political climate, intelligence analysts are always in need to save the day one encrypted file at a time.

51.Corrections Officer

Unfortunately, as the earth’s population continues to multiply, one of the side effects is that the prison systems start to overfill. In addition, new “tough on crime” legislations are demanding longer prison sentences and tighter control on inmates. Thanks to these circumstances, The Bureau of Labor Services is projecting growth for corrections officers in the near future, in both the public and private sectors.

52.Sarbanes-Oxley Specialist

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was introduced in 2002, to better regulate financial practices within the corporate sector. Observance of the act is not a choice: all businesses, no matter how large or small, are required to comply. It isn’t always simple, however, which is why many companies are hiring Sarbanes-Oxley specialists to work with their auditors to design business plans that both benefit the company and fall within the walls of compliance with the act. A fairly new profession, it seems poised to become a booming career choice for anyone with a mind for business and accounting.

53.Tax Examiner

Nothing can be said to be certain in life, except for death and taxes. Tax examiners have been around since practically the dawn of civilization, but as long as people are doing their taxes, tax examiners will be needed to check over those taxes and make sure that every credit, exemption, and addition is perfectly kosher.

54.Regulatory Compliance Officer

Are you a stickler for regulations? If you’re interested in a career as a regulatory compliance officer, it could really get you somewhere. Regulatory compliance officers work with corporate and administrative staff, ensuring that procedures at companies fall within acceptable boundaries for federal and state regulations. Just like tax officers, as long as we have a functioning government there will always be a need for compliance officers to keep things in order.

55.Small Business Owner

This one is really quite simple: there has never been a better time than right now to be a small business owner. Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to get your products to the public without a third party or the massive pull of corporate backing. If you have the ideas and the gumption (and a business degree for the know-how can’t hurt), then you have a mighty good chance of making your business plan work.

56.Welding Technologist

In a future world full of technology and cold metal science, few skilled tradesmen will be in higher demand than welders. Whether fitting together pieces for a factory machine, or repairing vital oil pipelines under the ocean, corporations need welders now and will only need them more in the future. In case the job security doesn’t sound convincing enough, according to Popular Mechanics most welders leave trade school making $17-20 per hour.

57.Employment Recruiter

Quite simply, a growing population demands a growing number of jobs, and the job-hunting climate in our country isn’t always the kindest. Regardless of our economy’s fluctuations, ever larger masses of people will be flocking to employment agencies to help them find suitable careers in a time when “suitable careers” are far from a free-flowing commodity.

58.Financial Engineer

Entrenched in both finance and technology, the financial engineer is a unique animal. Financial engineers are well-versed in finance and mathematics, money and technology, and the relationships between them. Unlike risk-taking stock market cowboys, financial engineers

59.Quantitative Finance Analyst

Also known affectionately as “quants,” quantitative finance analysts are the numerical wizards of the finance world. Rather than gamble stocks and bonds based on trends and feelings, quants employ mathematical concepts, patterns, and even calculus to better understand investments and offer quality solutions for investors. If this line of work interests you, rethink that economics major: most quants hold degrees in physics and mathematics.

60.Virtual Services Worker

The internet has changed everything, from the way we communicate to the way we handle daily transactions. Role playing wonderlands like Second Life may have started out purely recreational, but forward thinking captains of industry have established nightclubs, shops, and even online colleges within its cyber-walls. Of course, someone has to keep those establishments running. As more people venture into virtual reality otherworlds, more people will be needed to conduct sales and offer a friendly personal voice, without ever leaving home.

Ignoring Our Own

While mulling the prospect of sending up to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, we’ve stood idly by, mute as a stone, as school districts across the nation have bounced 40,000 teachers out of their jobs over the past year. That should tell you all you need to know about twisted national priorities.

This is from Bob Herbert's piece in the NYTimes.

I have a lot of respect for Bob. He just speaks the plain truth.
It's so easy to look at the BIG PICTURE and to forget what's under our noses. We become so blind to the little things, the everyday things that before you know it they eat away the fabric of life and kill you--or make you so weak and useless--and juiceless that you'd be better off dead.
America: beating it's chest and blowing hard and ignoring its own.

Markets

I was going to post a major rant today but I've decided to simply observe-- I'm wading through the crap trying to make a few things clear to myself.

Obama's Nobel- I understand why he won--he is hope and a breath of fresh air from this side of the Pond. The powers that be on the Nobel Committee are rewarding positive behavior. Ouch. Now we have to work with that.

Health Care and Banking - both are bottom line businesses, always have been and always will be. It's counterproductive to insure the chronically ill or to refuse money from the gullible and uninformed, especially when they're just screaming to give it to you. Now we have to work with that.

The Military - has reached it's goal for enlistments for the first time since the volunteer army was instituted. No jobs. No brainer. Hmmm--what to do?

Social Security - will be out of business in 2 years?...3?
No jobs. No brainer. Grab that early retirement...and make it 1 year.

The bottom line truth is that everything is a market. Everything. It's an inescapable fact.
So it falls to the people to teach their children well--and even then human nature is going to get in the way at every turn...that's not fair, you say? What is?

Equity and mercy and trust are lies...nice concepts to be sure but in the end they're fiction, I was going to say that they were fairy tales but really, have you read the Original Brothers Grimm?

We are all gullible and we've been mass hypnotized to believe that there are experts out there who know what they're doing--no, no, the experts are expert at getting their next paycheck--that is all. And that's what we all should be doing--adapting to a changing world and moving on. We have to teach our kids to use history as a jumping off point--not something to clutch at and be nostalgic about--analyze the facts, babies, and go from there.

Respect and honor, equity, mercy and trust are things that only come from each individual and they have to be tempered with skepticism and well-timed ruthlessness.
It's a hard road to teach that, because it's not profitable to have an occasionally ruthless, always skeptical and intelligent public.

Now we have to work with that.

Timor Mortis Conturbat Me.......NOT!!!

In 1992, following the death of a beloved family member, my husband and I decided to purchase a burial plot in the same cemetery in which he was buried. It's a small cemetery, and we knew that space might be getting tight, so we wanted to ensure that we had an 'in' when the time was right.

The picture above is of a circle of sod that I excavated from our plot and replanted in a Corning Ware soup mug. It's sitting next to me as I write this.

I made no changes, except for the addition of the stones. Two of the stones are from Dorset in England and the other two are from Montauk, Long Island. I think they give it a nice Stonehenge-ish look.

I'm very fond my little plot. It, like me, originated in the same town where I have remained for the last 55 years. It feels like a relative. It feels like home.

When I walk through our cemetery, I see the names of people that I knew as a child, families who lived on our street, parents of friends that I worked with. And I know that when it's time for me to get off the bus, I'll be buried under pine trees, next to long-dead Quakers (who have a reputation for being good neighbors), and I'll quietly decompose, unembalmed, encased in a large egg carton (or a wicker basket) in the town where I will have lived and died.

Who needs Heaven? I'm already home.

- Maggie

Email MADNESS!

I received this in my email a few days ago. It's another one of those inaccurate rants that are mindlessly forwarded and propagated like an insane fractal pattern, eating up bandwidth and irritating me.

The original was written in a rainbow of colors, with font sizes varying from large to larger. (The screenshot at the top of this page of the email's final sentences will give you some idea.)

What I received is in red.

What I replied is in Blue.




2010 is an election year for 1/3 of the senate and all of the house of representatives.
It would be nice if congress got the message; the voting taxpayers are in charge now.

Social Security 2009

LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT! KEEP IT GOING!!!! Propose this in 2009: START A MOVEMENT TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY ------------ --------- --------- ---- SOCIAL SECURITY:

(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.) Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years. Our Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it. You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves

So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no congress person has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan. For all practical purposes their plan works like this: When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die. Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments. .....

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7, 800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275K during the last years of their lives. This is calculated on an average life span for each of those Dignitaries. Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan to them is $0.00. NADA!! ZILCH!!! This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"! From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer), We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement. Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made. That change would be to Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Platform under the Senators and Congressmen. . Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us Then sit back..... And see how fast they would fix it! ALSO ALLOW ONLY 8 YEARS OF SERVICE FOR CONGRESS AND 12 YEARS FOR SENATE

This is my reply:

Oh, poop!

Monday, September 28, 2009 11:46 AM

From:

"maggie kampp"

To:

"Zernardo Holler"

You didn't give me anyone to reply to but you! Nevertheless..... There are 2 (that's 'two') reasons that I wouldn't forward your attached email. First, with all it's different font sizes and colors it resembles a doctor's eye chart. Second, it doesn't appear to be accurate. I did 1 (that's 'one') search on Google and ended up with this..... http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm .....which may be equally inaccurate, but has the benefit of not appearing to be written by a frothing maniac. (I know that you're not a frothing maniac. You're just.....forwarding the froth onward.) I'm under no illusions. I know that people of power and influence will always cut the best deal for themselves. Those who have much, want more. And they will take more at the expense of those who have barely anything at all. If we apply that truism to the world at large, we might see that "The US consumes 25% of the world's energy with a share of global GDP at 22% and a share of the world population at 5%." - Wikipedia Or that "... 16 percent of the world's population is consuming some 80 percent of its natural resources. - As reported by CNN If we did a little research, we might see that it's not just Congress that grabs more than it's share. As a nation, we are very greedy people! "Problems in Paradise “If the levels of consumption that...the most affluent people enjoy today were replicated across even half of the roughly 9 billion people projected to be on the planet in 2050, the impact on our water supply, air quality, forests, climate, biological diversity, and human health would be severe.” Today’s human economies are designed with little attention to the residuals of production and consumption. Among the most visible unintended byproducts of the current economic system are environmental problems like air and water pollution and landscape degradation. Nearly all the world’s ecosystems are shrinking to make way for humans and their homes, farms, malls, and factories. WWF’s Living Planet Index, which measures the health of forests, oceans, freshwater, and other natural systems, shows a 35 percent decline in Earth’s ecological health since 1970. Environmental Impacts of Consumption Calculations show that the planet has available 1.9 hectares of biologically productive land per person to supply resources and absorb wastes—yet the average person on Earth already uses 2.3 hectares worth. These “ecological footprints” range from the 9.7 hectares claimed by the average American to the 0.47 hectares used by the average Mozambican." - WorldWatch However, I AM in favor of political activism, so 'screed' on. And get thee to a voting booth! How many people will you forward this to? I may put it on my blog. (I'm not the only author, but you'll be able to pick out my posts.) I haven't posted there in many months. As I recall, my last post concerned hot dogs combined horribly with pasta. This will make a pleasant change. - Maggie (TiaHermanaMaggie) ps: Oh, by the way, I've never written any of my opinions anonymously. The Offices of the former and the current Presidential Administrations can tell you that. But I must reciprocate the thoughtful offer you made during our last exchange. If you want me to expunge your name from this before I post it, I will happily do so. Since I never received permission to use this person's name, I have expunged it. - Maggie

This is a voice you can lean against....

.....and feel like you've got a sun-warmed pillar of granite at your back.

Tom Waits sings about the gritty side of life. As he says in one song, he's "across town from Easy Street". And yet there's a wry joyfulness in his words, room for hope, plenty of time to wait for a better day.

Except for two songs. One is 'Georgia Lee'. The other is this one. 'Burma Shave'.




Here's a song about getting off of 'Burma Shave' and getting on with life.



- Maggie

Music Appreciation day

We haven't done one for awhile. I was going to do Tom Waits, singing 'Burma Shave', but decided on this one instead. It's a song for our times, performed by the best singer you've never heard of; Mr. Arnold McCuller!




- Maggie

Education in the USA

Our business as Americans is to see that every other American is educated and healthy.
There are those who would reduce the USA to a collection of city-states, each providing (or not providing) their citizens with these necessities and each fighting the other--those are the factions who would make us weak and they are succeeding.
Every American needs to be be provided with a solid education and with solid health care.

That being said: This is the Man I Love:

PAUL KRUGMAN

follow both links.


PAUL KRUGMAN

If you had to explain America’s economic success with one word, that word would be “education.” In the 19th century, America led the way in universal basic education. Then, as other nations followed suit, the “high school revolution” of the early 20th century took us to a whole new level. And in the years after World War II, America established a commanding position in higher education.

But that was then. The rise of American education was, overwhelmingly, the rise of public education — and for the past 30 years our political scene has been dominated by the view that any and all government spending is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Education, as one of the largest components of public spending, has inevitably suffered.

Until now, the results of educational neglect have been gradual — a slow-motion erosion of America’s relative position. But things are about to get much worse, as the economic crisis — its effects exacerbated by the penny-wise, pound-foolish behavior that passes for “fiscal responsibility” in Washington — deals a severe blow to education across the board.

About that erosion: there has been a flurry of reporting recently about threats to the dominance of America’s elite universities. What hasn’t been reported to the same extent, at least as far as I’ve seen, is our relative decline in more mundane measures. America, which used to take the lead in educating its young, has been gradually falling behind other advanced countries.

Most people, I suspect, still have in their minds an image of America as the great land of college education, unique in the extent to which higher learning is offered to the population at large. That image used to correspond to reality. But these days young Americans are considerably less likely than young people in many other countries to graduate from college. In fact, we have a college graduation rate that’s slightly below the average across all advanced economies.

Even without the effects of the current crisis, there would be every reason to expect us to fall further in these rankings, if only because we make it so hard for those with limited financial means to stay in school. In America, with its weak social safety net and limited student aid, students are far more likely than their counterparts in, say, France to hold part-time jobs while still attending classes. Not surprisingly, given the financial pressures, young Americans are also less likely to stay in school and more likely to become full-time workers instead.

But the crisis has placed huge additional stress on our creaking educational system.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States economy lost 273,000 jobs last month. Of those lost jobs, 29,000 were in state and local education, bringing the total losses in that category over the past five months to 143,000. That may not sound like much, but education is one of those areas that should, and normally does, keep growing even during a recession. Markets may be troubled, but that’s no reason to stop teaching our children. Yet that’s exactly what we’re doing.

There’s no mystery about what’s going on: education is mainly the responsibility of state and local governments, which are in dire fiscal straits. Adequate federal aid could have made a big difference. But while some aid has been provided, it has made up only a fraction of the shortfall. In part, that’s because back in February centrist senators insisted on stripping much of that aid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a k a the stimulus bill.

As a result, education is on the chopping block. And laid-off teachers are only part of the story. Even more important is the way that we’re shutting off opportunities.

For example, the Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported on the plight of California’s community college students. For generations, talented students from less affluent families have used those colleges as a stepping stone to the state’s public universities. But in the face of the state’s budget crisis those universities have been forced to slam the door on this year’s potential transfer students. One result, almost surely, will be lifetime damage to many students’ prospects — and a large, gratuitous waste of human potential.

So what should be done?

First of all, Congress needs to undo the sins of February, and approve another big round of aid to state governments. We don’t have to call it a stimulus, but it would be a very effective way to create or save thousands of jobs. And it would, at the same time, be an investment in our future.

Beyond that, we need to wake up and realize that one of the keys to our nation’s historic success is now a wasting asset. Education made America great; neglect of education can reverse the process.

Obama's Prize

Oh no!!
They've surely put the kibosh on Obama now...
Jimmy Carter, Al Gore...

Peace prize winners just don't make it in America.

Although they are the ones who really do the work and stay in it for the long haul...