blame game

As the recall of food and toys from China continues, the blame game heats up. The Chinese, Mattel and others are taking turns making sure they are not alone is this. As for me, I would put the blame on the root cause that makes them all partners. GREED!!!

wool

Yup, uh-huh, gotta be!
When reading a NYT's article on Countrywide's finacial woes all I could think of were two old phrases. "Love of money is the root of all evil!" and "Capitalist Pigs!" The examination of lending practices and the profit generating services as well as the use of SPVs gives a clear picture of greed gone wild. So many truly believed they were getting something for nothing. Well now it seems that was true for only a few and even that required most of us to lose.
That's wool over our eyes folks! Now the question becomes "Who put it there?"

blah blah blah

reading the whining of retailers of HDTV is getting old fast. They complain of slumping profit margins due to intense competition and wise consumers. Is this not free market capitalism at its best? How long do they expect to fool people? Extended warranties, useless service contracts and add-ons can only generate profit for a limited time before the consumer realizes they are getting hosed. Shame on us for being observant.

so it goes

the move by John Edwards to focus some of his attack on Sen. Clinton's supposed failure to get health care reform could backfire. With a Republican majority in both houses of Congress at the time (Newt and the boys) and the reluctance of many Americans to follow a woman into battle, I would look closer before assigning blame.

ala JohnBoy and Billy

During the time I spent living in Florida, someone introduced me to this radio program. I must admit that I found much of it very funny. But much of it bore a pervasive kind of thinking that was foreign and upsetting. Mostly the opinion that the people that did not subscribe to Southern thought were doodoo heads. I hope the world can move beyond the need to be regional in ones loyalty and be truly one people. This is not to say we must all be copies of one another, but some virtues ARE universal in scope while some biases ARE universally wrong.

advertising mysagany

The post about the Nike ad at FEMINIST LAW PROFESSORS shows how self perpetuating and subliminal inequality can be. Even those that try to fight it can be browbeaten into submission if we allow it to continue.

maybe soon they will get the message

It's sort of like proprietary ownership of the right to drink. Once one buys a beverage, one can drink it, save it or switch brands at will. Not so with your phone. The substancial cost of changing carriers makes it all but impossable to make decisions for oneself. The breakup of AT&T was an effort to thwart the stiffled competition of the phone. Since that time some things have changed but not the desire to limit the power of big business. Witness the fast spreading news of how to hack the IPHONE. Be assured that it is a crime. The trouble is many see the preditory marketing traps of the big boys as the bigger injustice. Sort of like "Tank Girl's" dept. of Power and Water.

turn the page

after a little soul searching, I will now write about things that do not involve me personally anymore, much. For a while now I have been enamoured with someone well beyond my reach. An unrequited love affair if you will. So strong is my attraction that I may be acting a little goofy. Who am I kidding, very goofy. This person is probably aware of my idiocy. Being way to nice to just tell me to fuck off, they just continue to be kind. It is up to me to grow up and turn the page. Too bad for me, too bad for them, too bad.I don't know when or why but the tone of our exchanges changed. Where there was once interest and the sharing of life's meaningful topics, there is now polite conversation. I know this is due to my words in some way so I will limit what I say to them.

mines and people

working below the surface is a very scary thing to most of us. Blessings to those that do.

are we trading long term survival for short term comfort for some and the degradation of many

14 billion a month for the war in Iraq, untold wealth around the globe for other economic or political pursuits. While we argue about renewable sources of energy. Some debate the virtues of the health care system. The real estate bust. Downturns in the Dow. Intellectual property rights. Borders, taxes, equality.
Some see these as secondary to the fact that more oxygen is consumed each day than the earth can produce in the same period. Time to grow up people, and leave childish animosity behind, way behind. For our children and our children's children and in perpetuity.

words

I have always loved words. Whether in a book, newspaper, a song, a poem or spoken. One of the greatest gifts we as humans posses is the ability to give. We can use words to give. Sometimes they take the form of support, sometimes warning and sometimes just information. Sometimes they are an escape from our everyday lives. My daughters gave me the complete Lord of The Rings DVD set for my birthday. Some may not think of these as valuable but I sure do.

FRODO LIVES!

so many blogs

It takes me hours of exploring to find a blog I wish to visit many times.
There are the personal blogs, like this one, that range from personal thoughts to personal likes and dislikes.
Then there are the informational blogs, the political blogs, the educational blogs, the media blogs, the family blogs, blog list blogs, the multitude of porn blogs...whoa! And on and on. If you have read this blog and think you know of a blog I might like, feel free to suggest.

finnished 53 years, whew!

I would have hoped the world would have abandoned the grab for oil by now. If you have been following the news of the territorial fight over the North Pole you can see how the world is dragging every last barrel of oil it can from the earth regardless of the fate of civilization. Such is the power of greed.

making waves

The net allows us to communicate to untold numbers of people. Most often we have only a vague knowledge of who and how many. But an e-mail can be sent that reaches few or only one intended reader. OF COURSE one must be quite sure of the words, as with any mailed item, before it is sent. That being said, I am fully aware of and prepared for any reaction to anything I say.
Sometimes I am deadly serious. Sometimes I just make waves.

spam am I, I am spam?

I really don't know why someone would categorize me as a spammer. I hate spam and would never knowingly participate in or with it. That being said, the ones that do are well beyond my ability to know about or thwart them.
I suppose it is a given that some will always figure out how to misuse something that is inherently neutral in an unneutral way to benefit themselves. Too bad for me when it is me they use. Too bad also for anyone that is affected by contact with me. I am sorry if I am spam.

free speech movement has morphed into crapspeech

some blogs and the comments spew just plain old crap. They think they are being avante-guarde, but really they are poor imitations of what went down 35 years ago. Maybe some of what went down went so far that there is nowhere to go but down. Read " The Horse Is Dead" by Robert Klane if you want to see what I mean.

this above all

as the childcare discussion takes place, rememmber that it's all about what is best for them, not ourselves.

NIAD DISABLED ARTISTS

Outside San Frannciscohere

Here I am

going back to read the comments I have been leaving at various blogs, comparing them to the original posts as well as any other comments, I am struck by how lame my thoughts can be. It is only the kindness of others that give voice these mutterings of mine.
Watching the news of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, I hear an expert on the US. infastucture say it would cost about 14 billion dollars to fix up all of our bridges. A vast sum indeed, but small compared to the 10 billion dollars per month we spend on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our priorities seem to be skewed a bit.
Reading some of the feminist blogs give one the feeling that not only will the sides never accept each others point of view, most don't even want to. This seems to be the norm for all injustices and inequalities we face. As for me, I hope to find someone to care about that will care about me. Not much to seek but hard to find I guess. I am sure I missed more than a few opportunities.