I am of the opinion that many intelligent, educated people on both sides of the aisle want fiscal conservative policies. The problem is that the party that seems to own fiscal conservative as it's issue also wants social conservative values. They have hi-jacked fiscal conservatism, so to speak.
So, if you want to have a fiscally conservative government and you vote them in, then you also have to accept that in so doing, this same government is going to do everything in it's power to force women to have children they do not want, prevent gays from marrying, demonize and alienate American Muslims and interfere in our personal lives any time they believe they have the moral right to do so.
We have been dragged into a very expensive war in the Middle East, why are we not screaming about a Return On Investment for this war? What is our ROI anyway?
And right now, the Right Wing just wants power. If they can sabotage everything the current President does just so that they can stand up and say "See, he can't do it, you need to elect a conservative leader", then they will. Because they are NOT about ensuring conservative policies, they are about being in power.
I am so discouraged by what Right wing Party has become. It's vicious, ignorant, dark underbelly is surfacing and steamrolling its way into power. When I was on FreeRepublic, I never really took them seriously because they were so dogmatic. I didn't think anyone would listen to such hatred and close mindedness. I was so wrong! People I know and like and respect actually spread bad information about issues just to undermine the current administration. There is no regard or respect on their part for truth or accuracy. Those pesky things just get in their way.
Why can't we just have conservative fiscal policies and let the other stuff go to the way side? Why do we have to force unwanted children onto this planet? Why do we have to create such hatred and fear towards people who don't believe as we do? Why is it a problem for me or society if my gay neighbors marry and adopt a child?
We are human before we are Conservative or Liberal. Asking me to support the conservative position on social issues in order to get strong fiscal conservative policies is asking me to stop being human. It feels like there is a parasite hooked onto the fiscal conservative train; and it's gotten bigger and uglier.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Mitch Daniels - A call for Social Truce
I read a post recently on the Washington Post that stated that Mitch Daniels, Gov. of Indiana, suggested to fellow Republicans that maybe they should call a truce on social issues, such as gay marriage, pro-life, etc. and instead focus efforts and attention on fiscal issues.
When I saw this, I suddenly had compassion for the poor man. Back in the late 90's, I was a prolific poster on Free Republic. I had it in for Clinton and wanted a good ole' American, individual rights protecting, fiscally conservative President. I also suspected, before it was public knowledge, that Hillary was lining up to run for the 2008 Presidential race. So, having the foresight that I felt I had, I opened my mouth and said exactly what Daniels suggested. The party needed to back away from these intrusive social positions and start focusing on fiscal policy.
I was banned from FreeRepublic three times. Apparently, I was a RINO (Republican in Name Only). I was in shock. I was born and raised a Republican. I had never in my life cast a vote for a Democratic candidate. If I had a choice for an Independent, I might select him or her but I never voted for a Democrat. Suddenly felt like I had to prove I was a conservative. I hung in there through Bush's first term and voted for him during his second term.
After a couple of years, I realized that Bush was feeding the dogmatic ideology of the people that supported him. He himself may not have fully embraced it but he at least led his followers to believe he did and it fed their confidence in their own bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic agenda. I couldn't stomach it anymore, I had to jump ship. I did it, I left the Republican Party and voted FOR a Democrat. And I liked it!
I don't know who these Conservatives think they represent anymore. They are becoming the Christian version of the Taliban and I think they are equally dangerous.
So, Mr. Daniels, I applaud your attempt at trying to pull the party off the social issues but I'm afraid that the underbelly of the party is who you are going to have to appeal to in order to get the momentum for election. Really, I don't think that Obama is doing that poorly a job given the hand he was dealt when he was elected. So, you are going to have to sell your soul, swallow your sense of right and wrong, and become the bigoted, misogynist, homophone your extreme constituents want you to be. I'm hoping your self-respect and dignity gets the better of you, though and that you stand your ground. You may not win the election against Obama but you might very well be able to bring the Republican Party around to what it has great potential to be.
When I saw this, I suddenly had compassion for the poor man. Back in the late 90's, I was a prolific poster on Free Republic. I had it in for Clinton and wanted a good ole' American, individual rights protecting, fiscally conservative President. I also suspected, before it was public knowledge, that Hillary was lining up to run for the 2008 Presidential race. So, having the foresight that I felt I had, I opened my mouth and said exactly what Daniels suggested. The party needed to back away from these intrusive social positions and start focusing on fiscal policy.
I was banned from FreeRepublic three times. Apparently, I was a RINO (Republican in Name Only). I was in shock. I was born and raised a Republican. I had never in my life cast a vote for a Democratic candidate. If I had a choice for an Independent, I might select him or her but I never voted for a Democrat. Suddenly felt like I had to prove I was a conservative. I hung in there through Bush's first term and voted for him during his second term.
After a couple of years, I realized that Bush was feeding the dogmatic ideology of the people that supported him. He himself may not have fully embraced it but he at least led his followers to believe he did and it fed their confidence in their own bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic agenda. I couldn't stomach it anymore, I had to jump ship. I did it, I left the Republican Party and voted FOR a Democrat. And I liked it!
I don't know who these Conservatives think they represent anymore. They are becoming the Christian version of the Taliban and I think they are equally dangerous.
So, Mr. Daniels, I applaud your attempt at trying to pull the party off the social issues but I'm afraid that the underbelly of the party is who you are going to have to appeal to in order to get the momentum for election. Really, I don't think that Obama is doing that poorly a job given the hand he was dealt when he was elected. So, you are going to have to sell your soul, swallow your sense of right and wrong, and become the bigoted, misogynist, homophone your extreme constituents want you to be. I'm hoping your self-respect and dignity gets the better of you, though and that you stand your ground. You may not win the election against Obama but you might very well be able to bring the Republican Party around to what it has great potential to be.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Congress Reform Act of 2011
This was sent to me in one of those "forward to 20 friends" type e-mail. I really liked it, so I forwarded it to 20 people and I'm posting it here as well.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took
only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people
demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail,
before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or
less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty
people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do
likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have
the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay
when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social
Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social
Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional
pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in
the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s),
then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only
take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message.
Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it
on.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took
only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people
demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail,
before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or
less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty
people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do
likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have
the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay
when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social
Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social
Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional
pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in
the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s),
then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only
take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message.
Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!! If you agree with the above, pass it
on.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
There is so much truth in this.
I laughed so hard when I saw this. Wish I could post this on my facebook page. But, being that I am a real estate broker, it wouldn't be appropriate.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
What was Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy) thinking?
I have been an avid, true-blue fan of Grey's Anatomy since it started. I think it's a great program.
I was leery last year as I sat through the season finale and watched a cold hearted, yet grieving, man methodically kill each unwitting individual who happened to be on his path as he made his way to the main target, Dr. Shepherd. It was hard to watch but I got through it and finally started breathing again.
Then this new season began and I have found the cases very hard to stomach. In the opening episode this year, it was a kid who has to basically have his head/face broken in half and then operated on. We got a glimpse of how terribly difficult and somewhat paralyzing his recovery was going to be. The surgery on that was episode somewhat graphic and I found myself just wanting them to move on from the subject; somehow it just seemed so invasive.
And this last episode, well it just made me really angry. Shonda, how stupid do you think we are, really? There is no way you can lead me to believe that an educated, obviously professional couple with some access to health care in the UNITED STATES would allow a partner (much less oneself) to develop Human Papilloma virus to such an extend that 1) he would be 80%+ covered with warts, 2) he would have tree like hands and 3) his conditions would be so removed that he would be infested with spiders. Really Shondra? C'mon!
Cases of that extreme are in the poorer sections of Asian and Indian cultures where they have no access to the appropriate health care, clean housing, are clueless regarding the appropriate care and are surely not educated enough to speak English. This guy's English was very good and his wife was obviously well taken care of, even to the extend that she looked like a professional. Spiders? How the hell did he get a spider? He was not allowed to come into this country in this condition, so it's assumed his condition developed while living in Seattle.
That episode was so over the top gross that it is leading me to believe that Shonda is going for the shock factor and no longer confident that her characters' stories are strong enough to keep us coming back. All, I know is that I couldn't get through that episode fast enough and the case of that poor man has stayed with me even today. I feel nauseous about it and this is not how I want to feel. If I want to know about the health issues of the indigent people of third world countries, I'll go to National Geographic.
Watching something like that unfold while expecting to be entertained was not fun nor was it fair. I really hope that shock is not this year's theme for Grey's Anatomy, I don't think I can stomach much more.
I just had to get that off my chest.
I was leery last year as I sat through the season finale and watched a cold hearted, yet grieving, man methodically kill each unwitting individual who happened to be on his path as he made his way to the main target, Dr. Shepherd. It was hard to watch but I got through it and finally started breathing again.
Then this new season began and I have found the cases very hard to stomach. In the opening episode this year, it was a kid who has to basically have his head/face broken in half and then operated on. We got a glimpse of how terribly difficult and somewhat paralyzing his recovery was going to be. The surgery on that was episode somewhat graphic and I found myself just wanting them to move on from the subject; somehow it just seemed so invasive.
And this last episode, well it just made me really angry. Shonda, how stupid do you think we are, really? There is no way you can lead me to believe that an educated, obviously professional couple with some access to health care in the UNITED STATES would allow a partner (much less oneself) to develop Human Papilloma virus to such an extend that 1) he would be 80%+ covered with warts, 2) he would have tree like hands and 3) his conditions would be so removed that he would be infested with spiders. Really Shondra? C'mon!
Cases of that extreme are in the poorer sections of Asian and Indian cultures where they have no access to the appropriate health care, clean housing, are clueless regarding the appropriate care and are surely not educated enough to speak English. This guy's English was very good and his wife was obviously well taken care of, even to the extend that she looked like a professional. Spiders? How the hell did he get a spider? He was not allowed to come into this country in this condition, so it's assumed his condition developed while living in Seattle.
That episode was so over the top gross that it is leading me to believe that Shonda is going for the shock factor and no longer confident that her characters' stories are strong enough to keep us coming back. All, I know is that I couldn't get through that episode fast enough and the case of that poor man has stayed with me even today. I feel nauseous about it and this is not how I want to feel. If I want to know about the health issues of the indigent people of third world countries, I'll go to National Geographic.
Watching something like that unfold while expecting to be entertained was not fun nor was it fair. I really hope that shock is not this year's theme for Grey's Anatomy, I don't think I can stomach much more.
I just had to get that off my chest.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
NYPD - No longer New York's finest
Here's another interesting report:
What I don't get is how stupid do they think people really are? They keep denying it and yet the evidence keeps stacking up.
No wonder Law and Order pulled the plug - their series gave these guys WAY too much credibility.
What I don't get is how stupid do they think people really are? They keep denying it and yet the evidence keeps stacking up.
No wonder Law and Order pulled the plug - their series gave these guys WAY too much credibility.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
NYPD Corruption - Unbelievable
I am still in shock after hearing about the level of corruption in the 81st precinct of NYPD along with the extreme measures taken by high ranking officers to cover it.
Adrian Schoolcraft endured this horrible event because he refused to conduct FALSE arrests.
This document sums sums it all up. Start at page 6 and watch it just unfold. I hope that they nail everyone along the chain.
Adrian Schoolcraft endured this horrible event because he refused to conduct FALSE arrests.
This document sums sums it all up. Start at page 6 and watch it just unfold. I hope that they nail everyone along the chain.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
BlackBerry Storm
I'm so frustrated right now with my phone.
I obtained my first BlackBerry Storm in November 2008. I loved it! One of the features I use the most is the Voice Activation feature. Well, it used to be the feature I used the most. Up until 2009 it was almost flawless. I could call out a phone number and it would repeat it back to me for confirmation before dialing it. I could call out the name of someone in my contacts list and it would usually get it on the first try.
Then, last year, BlackBerry upgraded it's software and now the feature is worthless. It appears to me as though they tried to tweak it. Now it's just a pain in the neck to use.
Does anyone out there have a really good voice activation feature on their phone?
I obtained my first BlackBerry Storm in November 2008. I loved it! One of the features I use the most is the Voice Activation feature. Well, it used to be the feature I used the most. Up until 2009 it was almost flawless. I could call out a phone number and it would repeat it back to me for confirmation before dialing it. I could call out the name of someone in my contacts list and it would usually get it on the first try.
Then, last year, BlackBerry upgraded it's software and now the feature is worthless. It appears to me as though they tried to tweak it. Now it's just a pain in the neck to use.
Does anyone out there have a really good voice activation feature on their phone?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Hurt Feelings
Ok, so my feelings are getting hurt these days.
I have a male friend, we'll say his name is George, just in case the real guy knows my blog. I don't think he does but just in case.
Ok, so George and I have been friends for a very very long time. I make a new friend, we'll say her name is Karen. At one point Karen and George meet and Karen decides she wants him to be her friend, too. And George really likes Karen and wants to be her friend. Only, I think he thinks he is going to be able to be more than just friends with Karen. Karen has no interest in George as anything more than a friend but she has no trouble allowing him to think he might have a slight (ever so slight) chance at being more than a friend because he opens doors for her. I don't mean structural doors, I mean opportunities. So, now George doesn't want to do stuff with me anymore and I realize that Karen is not as good a friend as I thought.
So, my feelings are hurt.
I have a male friend, we'll say his name is George, just in case the real guy knows my blog. I don't think he does but just in case.
Ok, so George and I have been friends for a very very long time. I make a new friend, we'll say her name is Karen. At one point Karen and George meet and Karen decides she wants him to be her friend, too. And George really likes Karen and wants to be her friend. Only, I think he thinks he is going to be able to be more than just friends with Karen. Karen has no interest in George as anything more than a friend but she has no trouble allowing him to think he might have a slight (ever so slight) chance at being more than a friend because he opens doors for her. I don't mean structural doors, I mean opportunities. So, now George doesn't want to do stuff with me anymore and I realize that Karen is not as good a friend as I thought.
So, my feelings are hurt.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Trying to get into the swing
Jeez is my life that boring that I can't come up with something to write about?
I could write about how friggin cold it is right now but that really isn't that interesting.
Am I blocked? Do I just not want to write about stuff that's on my mind?
I went through and visited some of the blogs on my crawl. Sunwolfie, Synaptice Misfiring and Occhio Grosso, they're all still blogging. Doggy Blog is going strong. Unfortunately, it looks like we lost Timmy (Str8upwithatwist). I'm very sad that Timmy is no longer blogging. :(
Synaptic and Occhio are my FB friends, too. Interestingly, I get a whole different side of them from their blogs. (Sunwolfie is a FB friend, too but she's also my sister, so she doesn't count) That's because FB is so superficial. I don't mean that in a bad way. Really, FB is just supposed to be snippets. Not as whimsical as Twitter, of course. And the interaction between FB friends is much more spontaneous and faster than with blogging. Blogging sort of requires a bit of time commitment because there's more material to post and read through.
Ok, well, that's about all I have today.
I could write about how friggin cold it is right now but that really isn't that interesting.
Am I blocked? Do I just not want to write about stuff that's on my mind?
I went through and visited some of the blogs on my crawl. Sunwolfie, Synaptice Misfiring and Occhio Grosso, they're all still blogging. Doggy Blog is going strong. Unfortunately, it looks like we lost Timmy (Str8upwithatwist). I'm very sad that Timmy is no longer blogging. :(
Synaptic and Occhio are my FB friends, too. Interestingly, I get a whole different side of them from their blogs. (Sunwolfie is a FB friend, too but she's also my sister, so she doesn't count) That's because FB is so superficial. I don't mean that in a bad way. Really, FB is just supposed to be snippets. Not as whimsical as Twitter, of course. And the interaction between FB friends is much more spontaneous and faster than with blogging. Blogging sort of requires a bit of time commitment because there's more material to post and read through.
Ok, well, that's about all I have today.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
I miss blogging
Wow, I haven't blogged in a very very long time.
So what happened?
Facebook. That's what happened.
That, and I became just too intense about so many things that were beyond my control. I wasn't writing about daily happenings like I was once before.
So, I'm going to try to start blogging again. I don't have any New Year's resolutions so maybe that could be a new one. We'll see.
So what happened?
Facebook. That's what happened.
That, and I became just too intense about so many things that were beyond my control. I wasn't writing about daily happenings like I was once before.
So, I'm going to try to start blogging again. I don't have any New Year's resolutions so maybe that could be a new one. We'll see.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Enough already!
I'm really getting sick and tired of hearing the Republicans blame Democrats for tax issues. There are all these "tea parties" planned across the nation as a protest to taxing.
I don't have a problem with protesting taxes. I think that it should be very very difficult for our government to raise our taxes because by making it difficult to raise them, they'll think long and hard about spending it.
What I'm sick of is hearing the Republican party, i.e. the "conservative" party, blame the Democratic party, i.e. the "liberal" party for any necessary tax increases.
Does the Republican party really think we are that stupid? It wasn't the Democratic party that charged us into Iraq to fight an $80 Billion/month war. Nor was it the Democratic party that initially proposed bailing the banks out of this financial mess they created. Who, exactly, did the Republicans think was going to pay for this?
But, of course, par for the course, the Republicans have absolutely no ability to self reflect. They really believe that if they continue the same rhetoric used over the last 8 years, that they are going to magically be popular again. It would seem that the tea parties are not generating as much support as they initially hoped.
Perhaps because we see the Republicans as the cause of the tax increase as opposed to a solution.
I don't have a problem with protesting taxes. I think that it should be very very difficult for our government to raise our taxes because by making it difficult to raise them, they'll think long and hard about spending it.
What I'm sick of is hearing the Republican party, i.e. the "conservative" party, blame the Democratic party, i.e. the "liberal" party for any necessary tax increases.
Does the Republican party really think we are that stupid? It wasn't the Democratic party that charged us into Iraq to fight an $80 Billion/month war. Nor was it the Democratic party that initially proposed bailing the banks out of this financial mess they created. Who, exactly, did the Republicans think was going to pay for this?
But, of course, par for the course, the Republicans have absolutely no ability to self reflect. They really believe that if they continue the same rhetoric used over the last 8 years, that they are going to magically be popular again. It would seem that the tea parties are not generating as much support as they initially hoped.
Perhaps because we see the Republicans as the cause of the tax increase as opposed to a solution.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The case FOR bonuses is wrong.
This morning's edition of the New York Times includes an article by Andrew Sorkin whereby he is arguing for the AIG bonuses. The gist of the argument, which we've all heard a hundred times, is that if bonus contracts are not upheld here, then no one will have faith in them.
The problem with this argument is that everyone wants to overlook the fact that AIG failed. You take away the bailout money that was handed to them by the government and AIG is yesterday's news. It's like the government served as a loyal body guard and took a bullet to save the company. Only, AIG wants to pretend that that part of it didn't happen.
Liddy is on record saying "We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff' the company 'if employees believe that their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury,' he said."
The key word in this previous statement that is absolutely incorrect is arbitrary. There is absolutely nothing arbitrary about the Government's stance on this issue. AIG accepted a bailout because they failed. They made very very poor decisions and were facing death. And now they want to continue, business as usual, and reward everyone as though they had succeeded. I'm curious, if AIG did not receive the bailout money, would the bonuses still have been paid?
This AIG fiasco is just one example regarding the need to allow those who are failing to fail. If you want the successful businesses of America to thrive and set examples of the right way of doing business, then it is imperative that one allow the bad ones to fail. Yes, even if those bad businesses are very big. Because, believe it or not, all those experienced employees along with the viable clients of those failing big businesses will go over to the companies that are doing it right. And those growing businesses will quickly fill in the gap left by the failing ones.
People, we don't function in a vacuum. Bailouts only make it possible for the offenders to continue to make the same mistake over and over again.
The problem with this argument is that everyone wants to overlook the fact that AIG failed. You take away the bailout money that was handed to them by the government and AIG is yesterday's news. It's like the government served as a loyal body guard and took a bullet to save the company. Only, AIG wants to pretend that that part of it didn't happen.
Liddy is on record saying "We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff' the company 'if employees believe that their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury,' he said."
The key word in this previous statement that is absolutely incorrect is arbitrary. There is absolutely nothing arbitrary about the Government's stance on this issue. AIG accepted a bailout because they failed. They made very very poor decisions and were facing death. And now they want to continue, business as usual, and reward everyone as though they had succeeded. I'm curious, if AIG did not receive the bailout money, would the bonuses still have been paid?
This AIG fiasco is just one example regarding the need to allow those who are failing to fail. If you want the successful businesses of America to thrive and set examples of the right way of doing business, then it is imperative that one allow the bad ones to fail. Yes, even if those bad businesses are very big. Because, believe it or not, all those experienced employees along with the viable clients of those failing big businesses will go over to the companies that are doing it right. And those growing businesses will quickly fill in the gap left by the failing ones.
People, we don't function in a vacuum. Bailouts only make it possible for the offenders to continue to make the same mistake over and over again.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
It always happens in threes - they say
Ever since I was a child, whenever there was a plane crash, I can remember my brother saying: "They say it happens in threes". You count one, then the other, then the third.
So, I began counting when Continental Airlines over ran the runway in Colorado on December 20th 2008. How fabulous that there were no fatalities. Then, the second one US Airways, January 15th 2009, a "crash landing" in the Hudson River. Again, no fatalities. Wow, we're on a roll here. Could it be that third one would follow the same fate as the first two?
I was so saddened to hear that the third one, February 12, killed everyone and even some on the ground. I guess the rule of three has nothing to do with casualties just the event itself.
The eerie thing is that I flew to Washington D.C. on Continental Airlines on the 23rd, just 3 days after the Colorado incident. And then, I flew back to D.C. on US Airways on the 19th, just 4 days after the Hudson incident.
In spite of this, flying commercially has become so incredibly safe in this country. Just by the very fact that the first two incidents yielded no fatalities is significant in itself.
So, I began counting when Continental Airlines over ran the runway in Colorado on December 20th 2008. How fabulous that there were no fatalities. Then, the second one US Airways, January 15th 2009, a "crash landing" in the Hudson River. Again, no fatalities. Wow, we're on a roll here. Could it be that third one would follow the same fate as the first two?
I was so saddened to hear that the third one, February 12, killed everyone and even some on the ground. I guess the rule of three has nothing to do with casualties just the event itself.
The eerie thing is that I flew to Washington D.C. on Continental Airlines on the 23rd, just 3 days after the Colorado incident. And then, I flew back to D.C. on US Airways on the 19th, just 4 days after the Hudson incident.
In spite of this, flying commercially has become so incredibly safe in this country. Just by the very fact that the first two incidents yielded no fatalities is significant in itself.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The hoopla around the goofed Oath
Thursday, on the plane back from D.C. I was reading an article in the New York Times that explained why Roberts made the mistake he made while reciting the Oath of Office to Obama. Here is the article.
The reasoning makes sense if you speak another language. Apparently, Roberts is a stickler for grammar. He had memorized the oath of office but when he went to recite it to Obama, his mind wanted to correct the grammar of the oath. Here is the gist of the article:
In English, our future tense is expressed with two words. I "will go" to the store. In other languages, like French (and possibly Latin), future tense is expressed as one word. It is from the way the verb ends that one is able to determine if it is future tense or not. So, one is obligated to place the adverb after the verb. And that is what Roberts did. Habitually, he rearranged the sentence to place the adverb (faithfully) from it's original place of "I will faithfully execute" to "I will execute ........ faithfully". Apparently, Obama, too is a stickler for grammar and understood Roberts' mistake and even sort of smiled at it.
This article made sense to me but then I realized that past tense, at least in French is expressed in two words. It is a combination of the possessive verb (to have) or "to be" and the actual verb itself. For example the French would say instead of ate, "have ate". It's always 2 words. And, interestingly, the French place the adverb between the two. Deja vu is a very good example of that. It is formally J'ai deja vu. Which means "I have already saw". We use it in it's short form deja vu.
So, then, I wonder, if there is no "grammatical" error here. It would seem that when language allows the verb to be expressed with two words, it is acceptable to place an adverb between the two. I wonder what Roberts stand is on that rule for past tense verbs. The French are far greater sticklers about their language than we are and I can assure you if any word is misplaced in a sentence, the whole world would know about it.
The reasoning makes sense if you speak another language. Apparently, Roberts is a stickler for grammar. He had memorized the oath of office but when he went to recite it to Obama, his mind wanted to correct the grammar of the oath. Here is the gist of the article:
In English, our future tense is expressed with two words. I "will go" to the store. In other languages, like French (and possibly Latin), future tense is expressed as one word. It is from the way the verb ends that one is able to determine if it is future tense or not. So, one is obligated to place the adverb after the verb. And that is what Roberts did. Habitually, he rearranged the sentence to place the adverb (faithfully) from it's original place of "I will faithfully execute" to "I will execute ........ faithfully". Apparently, Obama, too is a stickler for grammar and understood Roberts' mistake and even sort of smiled at it.
This article made sense to me but then I realized that past tense, at least in French is expressed in two words. It is a combination of the possessive verb (to have) or "to be" and the actual verb itself. For example the French would say instead of ate, "have ate". It's always 2 words. And, interestingly, the French place the adverb between the two. Deja vu is a very good example of that. It is formally J'ai deja vu. Which means "I have already saw". We use it in it's short form deja vu.
So, then, I wonder, if there is no "grammatical" error here. It would seem that when language allows the verb to be expressed with two words, it is acceptable to place an adverb between the two. I wonder what Roberts stand is on that rule for past tense verbs. The French are far greater sticklers about their language than we are and I can assure you if any word is misplaced in a sentence, the whole world would know about it.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
I'd rather be nobody in Texas
My sister was asked to help with a project that was assigned to girl in Nebraska. Her task is to collect stories from people who live in different states. I did one on Texas. Below is what I submitted, with some input from my sister.
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I live in Houston, Texas. Texas brings up so many different visual images for various individuals. I remember one day I met a man from Paris while visiting the Seaport in New York City. I was about 27 and had shared with him that I had moved to the city from Texas because I just wanted to be a part of the Big Apple. He told me I was brave. I told him New York was not all that scary; and then he corrected me on his meaning. He told me that I was brave to live in Texas and then made reference to how everyone in Texas has a gun. This is one of many misconceptions about Texas.
Others think that Texas is covered with oil derricks from border to border, such that everyone has one in their backyard. Oh, if only that were true. I certainly would not protest to being an oil tycoon!
And then, of course, there is the landscape of Texas. Most believe that Texas is dry and arid, like a desert with tumble weeds aimlessly roaming the streets. They think of fiery Western sunsets accompanied with vibrant pink and purple clouds. And truth be told, one would find this in West Texas but East Texas is very much the opposite.
East Texas shares topography with its neighbors: Louisiana and Arkansas. The big thicket oozes across the Texas’ border providing a blanket of tall pines, swamps and wildlife. The coast of Texas is humid, green, wet and rainy. Houstonians call the months between May and September the “sauna season.” Before air-conditioning, city government offices closed down for the sometimes-deadly summer months. Residents of this part of the state begin dreaming of winter months by August.
And then, of course there is the Texas Cowboy. He is very much alive and well in both the eastern and in the western regions of our fair state. He has replaced his beloved horse with a pick up truck; and though he no longer wears the spurs and chaps, he continues to look great in his Levis and cowboy hat. The rodeo still comes to Houston in March every year, and it is a huge event that lasts around 20 days!
Let us not forget the space program. Houston, Texas is home to the Johnson Space Center. It is at JSC that the astronauts prepare for their missions in space. They start practicing their space walks at the Buoyancy Center, home of the world’s largest indoor pool. Once the shuttle leaves its liftoff platform in Florida, Houston’s command center immediately takes over and stays with the mission to the very end. And when astronauts come home, they land in Houston.
Texas’ documented history goes as far back as the early 1500’s when it was discovered by a Spanish explorer. That was the beginning of the various sovereigns over Texas. The first sovereign nation was Spain, then came France, then Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederate States of America and then finally the United States of America. These sovereignties are the source of the famous “Six Flags over Texas.”
I am of the opinion that it is the people of Texas that make this state such a wonderful place to live. Texas folk are simply friendly people. I believe that it has to do with the pride we have in our hearts of this great state. We want everyone to love and cherish it as much as we do. So, we go out of our way to welcome newcomers to our home. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Houston opened its arms to over 100,000 people displaced from New Orleans, most of whom decided to make Houston their permanent home.
There is of course a common saying that “everything is Big in Texas. It really is just a very big state; the second largest in the US (but Texans joke that if you take all the ice out of Alaska, Texas would be the largest). It takes a day to drive from the eastern border to the western border of the state. Let’s face it, Texas makes a great cookie shape. So much room for decorating! And the shape of this state is very distinctive. Why, I bet you could put the shape of Texas in front of anyone in the world and they would immediately identify it.
So, I guess it’s safe to say that Texas is a very special state, at least to those who have lived here for a long time. My family moved here when I was two and I find myself saddened by the fact that I’m not native. Most Texans consider me an honorary native Texan. I’ll accept that.
My very good friend and fellow transplant Texan, John DeMers, once said: “I’d rather be nobody in Texas, than somebody some other place.”
I couldn’t agree more!
******************************************************************************
I live in Houston, Texas. Texas brings up so many different visual images for various individuals. I remember one day I met a man from Paris while visiting the Seaport in New York City. I was about 27 and had shared with him that I had moved to the city from Texas because I just wanted to be a part of the Big Apple. He told me I was brave. I told him New York was not all that scary; and then he corrected me on his meaning. He told me that I was brave to live in Texas and then made reference to how everyone in Texas has a gun. This is one of many misconceptions about Texas.
Others think that Texas is covered with oil derricks from border to border, such that everyone has one in their backyard. Oh, if only that were true. I certainly would not protest to being an oil tycoon!
And then, of course, there is the landscape of Texas. Most believe that Texas is dry and arid, like a desert with tumble weeds aimlessly roaming the streets. They think of fiery Western sunsets accompanied with vibrant pink and purple clouds. And truth be told, one would find this in West Texas but East Texas is very much the opposite.
East Texas shares topography with its neighbors: Louisiana and Arkansas. The big thicket oozes across the Texas’ border providing a blanket of tall pines, swamps and wildlife. The coast of Texas is humid, green, wet and rainy. Houstonians call the months between May and September the “sauna season.” Before air-conditioning, city government offices closed down for the sometimes-deadly summer months. Residents of this part of the state begin dreaming of winter months by August.
And then, of course there is the Texas Cowboy. He is very much alive and well in both the eastern and in the western regions of our fair state. He has replaced his beloved horse with a pick up truck; and though he no longer wears the spurs and chaps, he continues to look great in his Levis and cowboy hat. The rodeo still comes to Houston in March every year, and it is a huge event that lasts around 20 days!
Let us not forget the space program. Houston, Texas is home to the Johnson Space Center. It is at JSC that the astronauts prepare for their missions in space. They start practicing their space walks at the Buoyancy Center, home of the world’s largest indoor pool. Once the shuttle leaves its liftoff platform in Florida, Houston’s command center immediately takes over and stays with the mission to the very end. And when astronauts come home, they land in Houston.
Texas’ documented history goes as far back as the early 1500’s when it was discovered by a Spanish explorer. That was the beginning of the various sovereigns over Texas. The first sovereign nation was Spain, then came France, then Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederate States of America and then finally the United States of America. These sovereignties are the source of the famous “Six Flags over Texas.”
I am of the opinion that it is the people of Texas that make this state such a wonderful place to live. Texas folk are simply friendly people. I believe that it has to do with the pride we have in our hearts of this great state. We want everyone to love and cherish it as much as we do. So, we go out of our way to welcome newcomers to our home. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Houston opened its arms to over 100,000 people displaced from New Orleans, most of whom decided to make Houston their permanent home.
There is of course a common saying that “everything is Big in Texas. It really is just a very big state; the second largest in the US (but Texans joke that if you take all the ice out of Alaska, Texas would be the largest). It takes a day to drive from the eastern border to the western border of the state. Let’s face it, Texas makes a great cookie shape. So much room for decorating! And the shape of this state is very distinctive. Why, I bet you could put the shape of Texas in front of anyone in the world and they would immediately identify it.
So, I guess it’s safe to say that Texas is a very special state, at least to those who have lived here for a long time. My family moved here when I was two and I find myself saddened by the fact that I’m not native. Most Texans consider me an honorary native Texan. I’ll accept that.
My very good friend and fellow transplant Texan, John DeMers, once said: “I’d rather be nobody in Texas, than somebody some other place.”
I couldn’t agree more!
Monday, December 08, 2008
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