2011

Let us count the Democrat ways:

Gone are Ghadaffi, bin Laden, Mubarak, Kim Dong Il, and several other despots.

We have seen our own government struggle, with Tea Party politics, GOP pretenders to the throne, and conservative morals that go bang in the night.

We have seen Democratic leaders pressured to give up their posts, with concervative vitriol at an alltime high. We have seen good people go down and not get up again. We have seen the growth of a new, progressive netowrk, railing against the evils of Republicans.

We have seen the birth of the "99%"--an effort to bring people together, to curtail the greed and power of the 1% richest people and corporations in the country. We have seen the movement grow, wane, and enter the public consciousness.

We have seen the fall of influence with some, like Rupert Murdoch, and the rise of others. We have brought the tradition of protest back to the fore, and public awareness has increased.

We have seen some of our own pass away: Warren Christopher, Geraldine Ferraro, Fred Shuttlesworth, William Donald Schaefer, Sargent Shriver, John Shalikashvili, Charles Manatt, Sidney Harman, Richard Holbrooke, and Dorothy Rodham, Hillary Clinton's mother.

Whatever we hope for in 2012, we will still see the deaths of many--far too many, for political reasons and power struggles.

But we can still hope, as we do every year, for less death, for more fulfilled promises, for a time of peace.

We can disagree with our political opposites, but finding a single, clear focus of a bi-partisan goal might still be possible, if we can clarify what almost all of us want in the end.

Goodbye to all that other stuff--let's take a go at a new year.

About Christmas. ...

I've lately been seeing some advertising, though I'm sure it's been around for awhile, that proclaims "Jesus is the reason for the season."

Okay, so here's where I am going to rant.

I don't agree--at all.

To begin with, historically, the holiday being celebrated at this time of year was NOT the birth of someone named Jesus, it was a mesh of druid/wiccan/pagan holidays for the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, and who knows-what-else-was-thrown-in. Christians turned to those festivities to reel in the pagans and convert them.

There are a lot more non-Xtians in the country now that don't view Xmas as anything other than a celebratory time to get together with friends and family, and have a good time. And it is offensive to most of those people that Xtians try to make it into "their" holiday.

Children of people who follow no religion shouldn't have to be left out. AFAIC, Xmas stopped being about religion even before I was born, and we're talking over 50 years ago now.

The point is, Xmas is NOT just about the Xtian religious traditions. Hell, if they wanted to truly celebrate the exact day during the year that their savior was born, they would do the research and figure it out.

Let the REST of us have our own reasons to enjoy the last week in December, for whatever reason we decide to celebrate. And for those who would bitterly complain, too bad. It's not your "holy day," and in fact, never really has been.

We've all heard of racism

tourism, escapism, ageism and the like, but I have a new one: weightism.

I'm sick and tired of having doctors tell me that all my medical problems are connected to my weight. While I know some things are directly related, I also know that nothing is ever so clearly cut and dried.

There are thousands of people who are overweight that are in perfectly healthy condition, and there are thinner people who have horrible health.

I'm tired of going to doctors who like to point out my weight is the chief obstacle in front (and back) of me, and not consider any further discussion on the subject.

A long time ago, a thin friend and I had the same problem with our knees. We both ended up seeing a doctor for it.

I got an earful from an asshole who did nothing for me other than yelling at me for being overweight, and she got a knee brace, attention and a follow-up plan.

If that isn't "weightism," I don't know what it is.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

So. Somehow or another, you've become ruler of the world. It's been pretty much bloodless, and you can do anything you want with these new found powers.

For myself, I would do away with certain people in some way or another--the main ones being Norquist, Cheney, and Rove in the political arena, with Dobson and Tony Perkins on the religious side. I wouldn't kill them, just completely make them irrelevant somehow.

I would also get rid of some people like the Koch brothers by putting them into epic bankruptcy, taking away their money and influence. I'd make them poor enough to even perhaps apply for welfare!!

I'd punish poachers by meting out to them the same fate that they plan for animals.

I'd reduce war to a point where there is one individual against another, in a boxing ring. Winner surrenders, no one killed.

I'd cut down the overpopulation of cats, dogs and other pets, eventually doing away with the euthanasia of animals for this and other reasons. Animals that are born will get loving and forever homes, and all lost pets would find homes with loving and responsible owners. For those poor animals that have no homes and no hope, I would make sure that they found homes or shelter and food. I'd also make sure that those who harmed animals deliberately would be given stiff sentences, to the point where torturing and killing an animal would result in punishment nearly comparable with the same sentence as for harming a human. No animals of any kind would be used in labs for any reason--new computer tools would be able to do even more for any kind of testing needed.

People in third world countries would be educated, and learn how to deal with such things with engineering, chemistry, physics, etc., so that they could help themselves. Outlaws and dictators would be defeated, and honest people would be elected to democratic governments.

Banks would be nationalized, and the financial institutions would be strictly regulated. No multi-million dollar bonuses for executives ever again. No tax breaks for anyone, especially those making over $250,000. They would pay a very strict 39%, with no loopholes at all. The same as everyone else. Anyone making under $25,000 would not pay taxes at all.

I get very upset with some things which some people might consider irrelevant, like those commercials on TV for reverse mortgages. These commercials never say during the commercials anything about your home being owned by the bank when you get the money. For this reason, I want ALL commercials to make sure the public knows EVERYTHING about the product, including revealing things which will ensure complete discovery of the fine print.

Corporations will lose their "person-hood" and will have some restrictions on them. If they are incorporated outside the US, they will be forced to pay a tariff tax equal to the amount (or more) they would be paying as a tax as if they were a US company. In addition, new laws will make it impossible to contribute more than $2500 to ANY candidate, and all PACs and lobbyists will have the same restrictions, making it nearly impossible for anyone to influence members of Congress with gifts or money.


I've been thinking about this stuff for a long time, notes for a potential novel down the line. But I'd love to hear what others have to add as well--it's always a great way to discuss points of view that way!

More on my megalomania ideas will come.