Hypocrisy and Lies - the new R&R movie

It's that awful  season again - pre-election time. Think of all the money being spent on advertising, campaigning - then imagine it spent on fresh veggies and fruit for people with meager incomes.
Wish we had the European method - not allowing campaigning until a week or so before the election...but then the networks and media would lose a bundle of cash....so depressing.
Has anyone heard how the the R&R ticket plans to provide jobs? Did I miss something?
And the lies (misleading info - same thing) about taking money from medicare for the Health Care plan that covers everyone? Notice how the specifics are omitted - did the kid mention that no money is taken from medicare beneficiaries?
And the Ryan kid wants to issue vouchers for medicare....so you get $6000 for the year in vouchers and your illness comes to three times that; (try 100 times that -  considering the way medical costs escalate because we don't know how to educate people why/where/what medical procedures are necessary);  what are you supposed to do - chuck it all and say: "Oh, well, guess I'll stay sick or die - since I used up my vouchers!"
"We'll take care of our elders", the kid promises; sure he will - his mother and a few friends. After that, pure, smarmy hypocrisy in action.
A good example of R&R thinking: I live in a 75 home community that decided parts of its road system needed repair. The road in front of my house is fine. But all of us who live in this community are paying (taxed!!!) for the new road - because, the "board" of the community told us: "New paving will help keep up the value of our community." (oops - shades of socialism!!!) So why is it so hard to understand the benefits of health care  - healthy citizens are necessary to  "keep up the value of our country"!  
The R&R ticket takes women back to the middle ages. Family planning? Fageddaboutit. Republicans (read: tea partyniks)  still think women are second class citizens - on this earth to breed and look pretty. They let a few sneak in with brains (always need a few token women) but not too many please.  Result: we can inundate the country with unwanted kids - who might very well become burdens of society - requiring more health care, reform care, whatever.
Does the R&R gang really think abortions will disappear? They occurred in ancient times and will never stop. Only problem is we'll have more women dying because of back-door botched abortions.
The Ryan kid says we're not better off than we were 4 years ago; hmmm - 90+ percent of our citizens are employed - and there would be even more jobs if the Republican congress hadn't blocked every bit of legislation put forward to accomplish this. Let's face it - they stated early on that their only goal was to make sure Obama had one term - forget about doing anything for the citizens/country that elected them.
This has been a very kvetchy morning - I just read a Rolling Stones article explaining how Romney made soooo much money and got rid of jobs. (Read about KB toys if you want to cry.) Compassion, caring? What I fear most - if the R&R ticket should win - god forbid - we'll be looking at a wider gap between rich and poor. Anyone study history? That's how revolutions start. Remember the 1920's in Europe - when conditions  were so bad? One needed a suitcase of paper money to buy a cup of coffee in Germany. The public was ready for the promises of a mad dictator.

Something to kvell about: Love that Elizabeth Warren running for office in Massachusetts. Go, girl go!

More travel kvetching

Who travels by air between June and September? Everybody it seems - so the crowded airports, unhappy "campers" and frazzled airport/plane staff shouldn't come as a surprise. But when the TSA joins the party - that's a bit over the top. Not too long ago the TSA decided that travelers over 75 weren't likely to be terrorists so they sent out a notice stating that those born before 1937 didn't have to remove their shoes going through security. Also these venerable older citizens could keep a lightweight shirt or jacket on their shoulders - not necessary to remove sleeved garments and display folds of wrinkled skin with beaucoup black and blue marks from a bump here and there. OK - so far so good. I wore my shoes in Boston's Logan Airport, El Paso's airport and once in Washington's DCA airport. But yesterday,June 20, the DCA TSA people were a bit over-frazzled, rude and curt. A not too happy young TSA woman decided to test my shoes for no apparent reason - no signals, beeps or anything going through the detector. She then said in her most smarmy, nasty voice available - "well you didn't have to take them off - I tested them on your feet"- as if she was granting me a great favor/courtesy. Excuse me - what's this new thing about people over 75 not needing to take their shoes off? And I guess my biggest peeve is the lack of consistency - I have had more than my share of uncomfortable pat downs since I don't want to go through the body scanner which emits an unknown amount of radiation and I've had my share of X-rays along with my breast cancer. Despite statistically unscientific reports touting "no danger" to this "minimal amount of radiation" we're still in unknown territory when it comes to radiation in the bodies of older (over 80) people. In DCA several weeks ago and leaving El Paso five days ago I asked if I could go through the regular metal scanner and avoid the body scanner. Two extremely courteous, TSA officers said "no problem" and allowed me to skip the radiation dose. But yesterday in DCA - another DCA man snapped at me and said either go through the full body scanner or get the pat-down. He let a couple of kids go through the metal scanner - (good, because we don't know that much about radiation and its absorption by kids). He then allowed two more passengers to go through the metal scanner. My turn? Guess he didn't like my face (or was it because I was wearing my shoes and a short sleeve sweater?) Oh well - now that I've kvetched, I'll put on my happy face. I wish upgrades to business class and better for all my friends and relatives flying this summer! Oh yes - I was in Washington DC for the Fancy Food Show - mmm delicious! More about that later.

83 years young - still kvelling/kvetching

It's been almost a year since my last blog; a very busy life precluded this activity. Turning 83 last December - when my husband was quite ill (fully recovered now, thank you!)I had a glimpse of what a caregiver's life is all about. Most of us don't like to talk about aging, illness/death - but all of us will be either caregivers or need caring at some point in our lives. Our kids were fabulous - living on both east and west coasts, they checked in every day and also visited. Forget the classic joke about two older women talking about their kids and asking the third woman what she does for aggravation sans kids....
So now it's business as usual - kvetching about the political scene - and feeling relatively helpless in effecting change. Hypocrisy accompanied by lying is the pattern for promoting pols and ideas; not sure which is worse.
The concept of choice apparently only works for some of us - you can choose to stay home and be a "full time mom" (Mrs. Romney) but you can't choose whether you should have another child (or any). Now that sounds fair......?
Invoking God for "choice" when it's "your" God? How about other people's God?
And I keep coming back to our convoluted ideas about health care - if there's talk about unnecessary procedures not covered by Medicare - the "rationing" howls begin. But the truth is that we prescribe too many screenings, procedures, prescriptions which in the end will do nothing or even harm the "patient". We still are living in an age where we're advised to contact our physician for every two bit ache or kvetch and if he/she doesn't order/prescribe - oops - must be a "bad" physician. (Of course they prescribe - afraid of litigation in case something goes wrong in the future!)
Most important - since I have some understanding about the 80+ population - the need for annual physcials for this segment is completely unnecessary (assuming there is no underlying chronic/acute disease process).
Is it any wonder that we spend so much more on health care than any other country - and our morbidity rates are so much higher? Food for thought!

Weiner whines. Gingrich groans, Palin prattles

So what's new in the fantasy world of politics?
What is it with these guys who get a whiff of fame (and probably fortune) and go haywire with unacceptable social behavior? (If they lived in France nobody would care - but they've lived long enough in our puritanical society to understand what's ok or not!) Weiner wants forgiveness? So he can do other stupid things? Fageddaboutit! Right now he's just a hindrance to the Democratic party.
Gingrich has brains - but they're encased in a goyischer kup. No sympathy for this misdirected man.
Palin - oy - hope she's "enjoying" her bus vacation; I am too - since every time she opens her mouth to answer a question out comes a bundle of laughs. Maybe she should try standup comedy? She doesn't like the press and yet does everything possible to garner more attention. What's her game? Surely she can't think she's presidential material.

And my Governor Perry - hoping to pray the state to economic recovery -OY!!!! This is politics Texas Republican style: honey, you all gotta pray to the good lord for good times. Ignore the education budget cuts - gerrymander districts - but make sure you get a parent signature if a kid wants an abortion. Better still - ban all abortions. Then the Mafia or other cartels can get into the business - with hefty payoffs to the pols. Abortions have been part of society since ancient times - and will continue - no matter what.

And something to kvell about - my granddaughters attend Montgomery County, MD schools. The school system has the highest graduation rate in the country. Yeah!!

Shades of McCarthyism?

Sorry to promote Peter King by mentioning his name - but it sure seems like he's the new McCarthy. Now that we don't see communists under the beds and in dark corners - and the prospects of them "taking over our country" we need a new "cause". Ta-da - here comes Kingism: Muslims are lurking in every corner - itching to take over the country or annihilate us.
A perfect example of what's wrong with education in this country today: a big chunk of society that doesn't know how to think, evaluate or understand the stuff in print online or TV. Truth? Does that matter when you're promoting a cause? And when a newscaster is caught in a flagrant lie - oops - is the answer. Until the next batch of lies.
Oh yes - can't resist a comment about the moral high-ground ethos of Mr. Gingrich. In his oh-so contrite voice about his past marital shenanigans we're supposed to say "boys will be boys"? Goes along with other macho red-neck happenings disguised as "family values". And this guy wants to be president? OY!

About budget cuts or ideology?

OK - so we have all these politicians ranting about less spending - saving money, etc. Note where they hit first: school enrichment programs, loans for higher education, family planning,collective bargaining for public employees (wow - that really will make a dent in our spending!) and more - get the picture?
Funny - I don't hear anyone suggesting we get out of Afghanistan where most of our money goes - poured into a sack of holes.
It's the ideology game - politicians get bigger headlines for "moral" crusades and more money from organizations worried about prayer in schools and what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms than what's really good for society.
What is there about a society that can't see/understand the connection between overpopulation (read: unwanted children) and inadequate education. Although schools can use more funding, the real problem lies with parent(s) who didn't want these kids in the first place, and obviously don't get involved in their kids' education. Cut music/art, gifted child programs? And then we wonder why we're lagging in creative breakthroughs compared to the rest of the world. Teaching today centers on test taking instead of developing the powers of THINKING and HOW TO LEARN!(and if you live in my state, Texas, you have to suffer the indignity of politicians rewriting history in the textbooks!)
Too many complacent people, unhappy with this country's shift to politics as spewed by a network that presents fictional news, do nothing except complain; they don't write letters or contact their pols.
There's no better place than the USA - but that doesn't mean it can't stand a bit of tweaking!

The Brothers Koch

With abject apologies to Russian literature - these brothers are the scariest to date.
The past D.C. weekend demo for Fox hero Beck - (financed in great part by the Brothers Koch) promoting JC, Christianity, prayer in schools and more of the same smack of early Hitler days. Popular orator using catch phrases whipping up public support....all based on ideas/concepts against everything this country was created for.
Everyone said what happened in Germany could never happen here....really? All you need is big bucks, media outlets, strong orators and off we go.
Main line Republicans are mysteriously quiet and the pathetic Democratic party - do I hear a peep?
Read more in Frank Rich's column - Sunday's NY Times (Aug. 29, 2010) and the Aug. 30 issue of New Yorker - Jane Mayer's story on the K. Brothers.
OY!!!