The other day at his convo with Facebook founder and workers, President Obama said the following about how the Republicans want to "change our social compact":
"No matter how successful I am, no matter how much I've taken from this country...{he lists numerous ways his family received aid from the government}Their notion is, despite the fact that I've benefited from all these investments, that somehow I now have no obligation to people who are less fortunate than me; and I have no real obligation to future generations to make investments so that they have a better future."
A lot of people took offense at his implication that those who don't want to pay more taxes are not generous or caring toward those who have less than they...and yes, that offends me too. But even more, I am offended that many of us who provide jobs directly through our businesses, and indirectly through the purchases we make in our community, are not considered to be making "investments" in our country.
Apparently, in the President's value system, you are a taker if you become successful -- no matter that you never took a dime of government help, and instead provided employment that allowed people to invest in their own success.
Apparently, in the President's value system, you can only invest in your country by paying taxes...If paying our taxes is such a good "investment" -- implied that a dividend, or gain will be enjoyed -- why are we constantly paying more and more taxes? Good investments pay the investor back...
That isn't happening with any of the taxes we've paid...Too much money is going to reward people for being inactive and unproductive. Wouldn't it be better for businesses to be able to use their own money to expand and hire more and produce more, passing on the benefit of that investment to the individual to use as they see fit?
It's not about equality of outcomes; it's about equality of opportunity, Sir! I beg to differ with your definition of investing in our country.
PS...I didn't sign up for the "social compact" you say the Republicans are trying to change...and I dare to be there are a lot more out there like me...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Fundraisers of the World: Please take note...
It started out reasonably enough...
Occasionally, we received a nice package of address labels, usually with a patriotic theme, from an organization whose goals we appreciated. Occasionally, we responded with some funds for their activities.
Apparently, that was a mistake...
Soon, we were receiving not just labels, but greeting cards and notepads and pens...Patriotic designs gave way to more variety, including flowery stationery that said "Mr. Randy Honcoop" on the top line -- not exactly his style.
They must have known that we now possessed labels by the thousands, and cards by the hundreds, so they began to send us other, larger more valuable items, though a fleece throw you can send in an envelope I would consider of dubious value. But then there were the shirts, the hats, the tote bags...
But last week came the WORST item of them all: a single sock.
I was so unhappy to find a fat envelope in my mail that I didn't even read the explanation of their gimmick...I stared disbelieving at the single, perfectly whole and white sock.
They just have no idea how problematic a single sock is to a Dutch girl...
In a fit of pique, I threw it to the floor for the dogs to play with, hoping that they would soon tear large holes in it, making it plausible for me to throw it away. They weren't interested.
I ignored the sock and left it on the floor, only to find later that Randy had carefully put it in the laundry...I gave it back to the dogs...He later returned it to the laundry room, hanging it over my chair so I would see his charitable action with my irresponsibility, goodness -- leaving a perfectly good sock lying around!
Apparently, Dutch boys have the same trouble...
What to do with a perfectly good item? Throwing it away is so wasteful...Keeping it around is so troublesome...Sometimes you do need a single sock, but where shall I keep this one so I can find it then? Can I bring it to the Thrift Store? Would someone buy a single sock? It's perfectly good...Maybe I should ask the kids if any of them are short of a sock...It's in mint condition...Somebody take the {mumble, mumble} sock!!
Fundraisers of the world: Please consider the possible torture that may ensue when you send us stuff ...Oh, the burden of perfectly good but useless items!! Nobody wants them, but nobody will throw them away, so they go from pillar to post, thrift store to thrift store, and eventually end up in some hoarder's...uh, hoard...cluttering up the already cluttered earth.
I would like to say right now "DON'T SEND ME ANY MORE STUFF!!!"
But I can't do that until you send me the other sock and put me out of my misery.
Occasionally, we received a nice package of address labels, usually with a patriotic theme, from an organization whose goals we appreciated. Occasionally, we responded with some funds for their activities.
Apparently, that was a mistake...
Soon, we were receiving not just labels, but greeting cards and notepads and pens...Patriotic designs gave way to more variety, including flowery stationery that said "Mr. Randy Honcoop" on the top line -- not exactly his style.
They must have known that we now possessed labels by the thousands, and cards by the hundreds, so they began to send us other, larger more valuable items, though a fleece throw you can send in an envelope I would consider of dubious value. But then there were the shirts, the hats, the tote bags...
But last week came the WORST item of them all: a single sock.
I was so unhappy to find a fat envelope in my mail that I didn't even read the explanation of their gimmick...I stared disbelieving at the single, perfectly whole and white sock.
They just have no idea how problematic a single sock is to a Dutch girl...
In a fit of pique, I threw it to the floor for the dogs to play with, hoping that they would soon tear large holes in it, making it plausible for me to throw it away. They weren't interested.
I ignored the sock and left it on the floor, only to find later that Randy had carefully put it in the laundry...I gave it back to the dogs...He later returned it to the laundry room, hanging it over my chair so I would see his charitable action with my irresponsibility, goodness -- leaving a perfectly good sock lying around!
Apparently, Dutch boys have the same trouble...
What to do with a perfectly good item? Throwing it away is so wasteful...Keeping it around is so troublesome...Sometimes you do need a single sock, but where shall I keep this one so I can find it then? Can I bring it to the Thrift Store? Would someone buy a single sock? It's perfectly good...Maybe I should ask the kids if any of them are short of a sock...It's in mint condition...Somebody take the {mumble, mumble} sock!!
Fundraisers of the world: Please consider the possible torture that may ensue when you send us stuff ...Oh, the burden of perfectly good but useless items!! Nobody wants them, but nobody will throw them away, so they go from pillar to post, thrift store to thrift store, and eventually end up in some hoarder's...uh, hoard...cluttering up the already cluttered earth.
I would like to say right now "DON'T SEND ME ANY MORE STUFF!!!"
But I can't do that until you send me the other sock and put me out of my misery.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Chicken Happiness...
A proposed initiative in Washington State (I-1130) would basically require cage-free production of eggs by 2018. It will be on the general election ballot in November, if enough petition signatures are gathered by July.
If passed, it will virtually drive current egg producers out of business, requiring them to triple the amount of space needed to house their birds.
Most producers use banks of multi-tiered cages to house their egg-laying chickens. The Humane Society of the United States, a major backer of the initiative, says that these are inhumane. Chickens so confined suffer stress from not being able to roam about, fly or nest. They may be healthy, and producing more eggs than their cage-free counterparts – but they are not as happy as the chickens in a cage free environment.
Neither are they as happy as the people who get to charge twice as much for their cage-free eggs when they sell them – but I digress…
It seems that over the years, egg producers have found that wire mesh cages provided a number of efficiencies and benefits. The chickens’ waste falls through the cage floor so they are not walking in it. The eggs that are laid roll down a slight incline out of the cage and so are not exposed to contamination, and do not have to be hunted to be found. There are no predators to fear. Keeping the birds in small flocks of 8 to a cage, allows them the chicken social hierarchy with less risk of cannibalism. (Yes, they will eat each other, or peck some poor peon-chicken to death – Maybe HSUS should have sensitivity training classes for that! Sorry, I digress again…) Granted, these chickens cannot spread their wings and fly…but they can move about the cage freely, and are even able to back away from visitors who peer in to check on them.
However, in the midst of all these innovations, no one ever made provision for chicken happiness.
Though cages allow greater efficiency, better sanitation, less stress & higher production, HSUS argues that you can’t prove chicken happiness by good production. They maintain that these chickens are frustrated because they cannot nest, or move about freely, or enjoy the social benefits of a larger flock.
Back in the day, the aforementioned innovations were considered progress – practices determined to be better for the chickens, and the humans tasked with getting them to produce eggs. Now some consider them the diabolical plot of factory farms to coerce chickens to produce an inordinate quantity of eggs with no regard for their...uh, happiness?
I can’t believe that farmers are now expected to ensure their animals’ happiness! Who will determine when an animal is happy? HOW will they determine if the animals are happy? You can’t blood test for happiness…So will it be a consensus vote of the flock? A random sampling of individuals? What if you just have a bunch of chickens with bad attitudes?
Despite my love of anthropomorphism, especially regarding my dog( – I am sure she is “sad” when I leave), we need to remember this: Animals are NOT people.
I grew up on a dairy farm, and we observed that if a cow didn’t feel well, she didn’t do well…So our main occupation was to make sure the cows were doing well. True, we didn’t consult them about milking times, or grain choices, or whether they preferred pasture to alfalfa in the feeder. But we made all those decisions based on our observations of their responses to our actions. It was our responsibility to determine what was best for them…and we did.
It wasn’t like they wanted to give the input. As long as the feeder was full, and the bedding was dry, they seemed pretty darn…content. And those who make a living dependent on the behavior of animals are usually smart enough to know that contentment is about as close to happiness as anyone can get.
If this Proposition (1130) makes it to the November ballot, undoubtedly you will hear horror stories of cruelty to chickens. I ask that before you decide your vote, you research both sides. Talk to a chicken farmer, as did Dan Wheat, who wrote the article that brought this issue to my attention. {capitalpress.com -- “Chickens have room to move”} After he investigated the issue, he concluded that the issue the voters will decide is whether “{you are} willing to pay more, perhaps twice as much, for eggs, knowing they came from chickens who lived their 2 year lives being able to flap their wings”.
If passed, it will virtually drive current egg producers out of business, requiring them to triple the amount of space needed to house their birds.
Most producers use banks of multi-tiered cages to house their egg-laying chickens. The Humane Society of the United States, a major backer of the initiative, says that these are inhumane. Chickens so confined suffer stress from not being able to roam about, fly or nest. They may be healthy, and producing more eggs than their cage-free counterparts – but they are not as happy as the chickens in a cage free environment.
Neither are they as happy as the people who get to charge twice as much for their cage-free eggs when they sell them – but I digress…
It seems that over the years, egg producers have found that wire mesh cages provided a number of efficiencies and benefits. The chickens’ waste falls through the cage floor so they are not walking in it. The eggs that are laid roll down a slight incline out of the cage and so are not exposed to contamination, and do not have to be hunted to be found. There are no predators to fear. Keeping the birds in small flocks of 8 to a cage, allows them the chicken social hierarchy with less risk of cannibalism. (Yes, they will eat each other, or peck some poor peon-chicken to death – Maybe HSUS should have sensitivity training classes for that! Sorry, I digress again…) Granted, these chickens cannot spread their wings and fly…but they can move about the cage freely, and are even able to back away from visitors who peer in to check on them.
However, in the midst of all these innovations, no one ever made provision for chicken happiness.
Though cages allow greater efficiency, better sanitation, less stress & higher production, HSUS argues that you can’t prove chicken happiness by good production. They maintain that these chickens are frustrated because they cannot nest, or move about freely, or enjoy the social benefits of a larger flock.
Back in the day, the aforementioned innovations were considered progress – practices determined to be better for the chickens, and the humans tasked with getting them to produce eggs. Now some consider them the diabolical plot of factory farms to coerce chickens to produce an inordinate quantity of eggs with no regard for their...uh, happiness?
I can’t believe that farmers are now expected to ensure their animals’ happiness! Who will determine when an animal is happy? HOW will they determine if the animals are happy? You can’t blood test for happiness…So will it be a consensus vote of the flock? A random sampling of individuals? What if you just have a bunch of chickens with bad attitudes?
Despite my love of anthropomorphism, especially regarding my dog( – I am sure she is “sad” when I leave), we need to remember this: Animals are NOT people.
I grew up on a dairy farm, and we observed that if a cow didn’t feel well, she didn’t do well…So our main occupation was to make sure the cows were doing well. True, we didn’t consult them about milking times, or grain choices, or whether they preferred pasture to alfalfa in the feeder. But we made all those decisions based on our observations of their responses to our actions. It was our responsibility to determine what was best for them…and we did.
It wasn’t like they wanted to give the input. As long as the feeder was full, and the bedding was dry, they seemed pretty darn…content. And those who make a living dependent on the behavior of animals are usually smart enough to know that contentment is about as close to happiness as anyone can get.
If this Proposition (1130) makes it to the November ballot, undoubtedly you will hear horror stories of cruelty to chickens. I ask that before you decide your vote, you research both sides. Talk to a chicken farmer, as did Dan Wheat, who wrote the article that brought this issue to my attention. {capitalpress.com -- “Chickens have room to move”} After he investigated the issue, he concluded that the issue the voters will decide is whether “{you are} willing to pay more, perhaps twice as much, for eggs, knowing they came from chickens who lived their 2 year lives being able to flap their wings”.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Potassium Iodide?
How many thousand miles are we away from Japan?
Many...
And yet, people here are snatching up potassium iodide to protect their thyroids from radiation exposure...
I'm wondering if these are the same people who carefully consider whether its prudent to get more diagnositic x-rays and CT scans...because they will be exposed to much more radiation in pursuit of better health than they ever will from a Japanese nuclear reactor meltdown.
Look it up! We are in no danger of ill effects from Fukushima's disaster...IF, and that's a big one, any radiation from over there came over here, it would be a minute increase in the radiation (the naturally occurring background kind) that we are exposed to every day.
Don't panic...and send your potassium iodide to Japan, where they really need it.
Many...
And yet, people here are snatching up potassium iodide to protect their thyroids from radiation exposure...
I'm wondering if these are the same people who carefully consider whether its prudent to get more diagnositic x-rays and CT scans...because they will be exposed to much more radiation in pursuit of better health than they ever will from a Japanese nuclear reactor meltdown.
Look it up! We are in no danger of ill effects from Fukushima's disaster...IF, and that's a big one, any radiation from over there came over here, it would be a minute increase in the radiation (the naturally occurring background kind) that we are exposed to every day.
Don't panic...and send your potassium iodide to Japan, where they really need it.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Disaster in Japan...
I have been stunned by the photos and videos of the devastation wrought by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I look at the landscapes blanketed in debris and wonder, "Where do you start?"
There must be such despair -- and yet, reportedly, "Japan retains decorum in face of pileup of catastrophes". I was amazed at the responses of the majority of the people.
Read about it here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014497196_quakereact15.html
Sounds quite a bit different than New Orleans after Katrina, doesn't it?
Truly, the Japanese are the ultimate example of "keep calm and carry on"... I admire that.
"We value harmony over individualism", said Minoru Morita, a well-known Tokyo-based political commentator. "We grow up being taught that we shouldn't do anything we are ashamed of. It is these ideas that make us."
This article has caused me to ponder the individualism that we Americans so value. I do believe that we have lost the willingness of individuals to sacrifice for the common good. We're mostly looking out for number 1...the common good comes after that, if anything is left.
The Japanese subvert their individual will, which benefits the common good -- but it seems they do it so as not to be shamed, more than to do good wherever their hand finds it...Decisions are made by concensus; there's little room for self-expression...You go with the majority.
Our cultures are so different, and yet, we are still alike -- in tears of loss, in heartbreak over loved ones, in hope or despair of the future, in fear of more suffering...
I pray for Japan.
There must be such despair -- and yet, reportedly, "Japan retains decorum in face of pileup of catastrophes". I was amazed at the responses of the majority of the people.
Read about it here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014497196_quakereact15.html
Sounds quite a bit different than New Orleans after Katrina, doesn't it?
Truly, the Japanese are the ultimate example of "keep calm and carry on"... I admire that.
"We value harmony over individualism", said Minoru Morita, a well-known Tokyo-based political commentator. "We grow up being taught that we shouldn't do anything we are ashamed of. It is these ideas that make us."
This article has caused me to ponder the individualism that we Americans so value. I do believe that we have lost the willingness of individuals to sacrifice for the common good. We're mostly looking out for number 1...the common good comes after that, if anything is left.
The Japanese subvert their individual will, which benefits the common good -- but it seems they do it so as not to be shamed, more than to do good wherever their hand finds it...Decisions are made by concensus; there's little room for self-expression...You go with the majority.
Our cultures are so different, and yet, we are still alike -- in tears of loss, in heartbreak over loved ones, in hope or despair of the future, in fear of more suffering...
I pray for Japan.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I'm just sayin'...
Setting the specifics of the State of Wisconsin vs. The Unions debate aside, I just want to say:
If your job is to be a legislator, to uphold the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, shouldn't you show up for your job? Aren't you derelict in your duties if you choose to go to Illinois so you won't lose a vote?
Doesn't this seem like the ultimate in childishness? It's not like the issue in which they will lose is a matter of protecting life or the foundations of liberty...In fact, aren't they subverting liberty by refusing to allow the majority to carry the issue? The will of the legislature is against them, so they leave the state. Couldn't this be rightly argued that the will of the PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN is against you? Is this going to become a habit in more votes that they might lose?
I think the Wisconsin Democrats are acting cowardly, and disrespectfully to the citizens of the state, and the dignity of the office they swore to uphold...no matter what the specifics of the issues are.
I hope this is remembered at their next elections...You can't trust these guys.
If your job is to be a legislator, to uphold the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin, shouldn't you show up for your job? Aren't you derelict in your duties if you choose to go to Illinois so you won't lose a vote?
Doesn't this seem like the ultimate in childishness? It's not like the issue in which they will lose is a matter of protecting life or the foundations of liberty...In fact, aren't they subverting liberty by refusing to allow the majority to carry the issue? The will of the legislature is against them, so they leave the state. Couldn't this be rightly argued that the will of the PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN is against you? Is this going to become a habit in more votes that they might lose?
I think the Wisconsin Democrats are acting cowardly, and disrespectfully to the citizens of the state, and the dignity of the office they swore to uphold...no matter what the specifics of the issues are.
I hope this is remembered at their next elections...You can't trust these guys.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Dear Mr. Chris Wallace...
Thank you for interviewing Margie Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church, and allowing the world to see the twisted thinking this group espouses.
May their tribe decrease...
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/transcript/westboro-baptist-church-leader-talks-supreme-court-ruling-sen-durbin-rep-hensarling-budgey
May their tribe decrease...
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-news-sunday/transcript/westboro-baptist-church-leader-talks-supreme-court-ruling-sen-durbin-rep-hensarling-budgey
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