Not So Gentle On My Mind

Major news that I believe deserved more serious attention—and a President who deserved more credit:  The recent achievements in smart diplomacy began with laying the groundwork at the G8 for Russia to get Syria to turn over their chemical weapons stockpiles.  Long story short, the UN is involved now, and it looks as if inspectors could be working in Syria as early as next week.  That, after Syria's Assad had been denying the existence of chemical weapons in his country, much less using them on innocent Syrians, including children.  Big, positive developments there.

 

And after decades of the U.S. not dealing with Iran (other than imposing tough sanctions for their unwillingness to cooperate on nuclear weapons),  President Obama has communicated with the new President of Iran.  There's understandable skepticism about Iranian intentions; however,  rational people see opening communications as a good thing.  Secretary of State Kerry is in talks with his Iranian counterpart, and Secretary Kerry will be talking about that on 60 Minutes tonight.  The two Presidents have communicated in writing and now have spoken on the phone.  Maybe there will be light at the end of that long, long tunnel.  President Obama has said we will be checking and verifying what we are told about the nuclear material they have.    Remembering Senator McCain's "Bomb bomb bomb Iran?"  He and some other Republicans have been itching to do just that for years.   Had McCain been elected, war might be in progress by now; we can't know for sure.  President Obama favors using every peaceful means to resolve conflict with other nations.  But he's also willing to resort to military action if all else fails.  It's a relief to be on the road to peace for a change.  And it's a good thing the world takes our President more seriously than Republicans do.

                                                                          * * *

 

For all the legitimate concern  about weapons of mass destruction,  a more certain threat to all humanity seems little more a blip on the radar screen of media reports.  More than a "critical mass" of scientists issued another alarming report this past week:  Global climate change is on the fast track, and we can't afford to waste any more time in taking serious measures to deal with it.   It won't be long before catastrophic change is  irreversible.   Now 95% of scientists agree that mankind is chiefly responsible for climate change.  Thus, we humans are the only hope of reversing what no longer could be, but will be.   Talk about mass destruction!   This truth goes far beyond "inconvenient."  

 

Please be in touch with members of Congress and the White House; tell them to take the freaking blinders off and get busy.  Of course one of the items high on the agenda for the Republican House—besides "repealing Obamacare" and taking women's rights back decades— is deregulation of damn near everything that pollutes our planet and cutting funding for the EPA, as well.   Mercy. 

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Once again I wish everybody would stop referring to Tea Party Republicans as "conservatives." Far from being conservative, they're dangerously radical.  I've been tuned in to the Sunday morning talk shows and my head is about to roll across the room from shaking it--no, no, no!   These radicals are casually messing with what has been a fairly effective democracy for centuries.  Seriously, the House Republicans, and not all Tea Partiers, are pretending to want to "compromise" on the budget bill.  The only compromise they would accept is to "postpone" the Affordable Care Act for a year. This is after 42 different attempts to repeal it.  First, it ain't gonna happen; you'd think these clowns would change the subject.  But they're willing to have the government shut down (a dream come true for many of the radicals); secondly, they don't want to postpone it.  They think another year would help them in next year's House races and then they could repeal it. 

 

I think House Republicans are underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  The same people smart enough to vote President Obama a second term.  And they also forget the rational Republicans who are still in our midst.   Karma will happen.  I hope it's swift in the case of those wreaking havoc on the lives of so many struggling Americans with their overblown egos and self-serving votes.   First the debt ceiling last go round, then the sequester, then cutting the food assistance (SNAP) program that serves mostly children, the disabled and the elderly and gave huge farm subsidies to big farmers who didn't need them.   Shame.  Shame.  Shame!

 

God help us and the rest of the world if these radicals cause the USA to default on our debts—but we have until October 17 to worry about that.

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 On the same day last week I heard two reports:  A man was released after serving a 31-day (yes, day) sentence for child rape. 

 

Then there was news I didn't need a blood pressure pill to hear:  Marisa Alexander is a mother of three whose husband's repeated abuse had landed her in the hospital in the past.  After firing a warning shot into a wall to deter her husband from abusing her (9 days after the birth of their premature baby), she received twenty years (yes, years) in prison.  Did not kill the man.  Did not wound him.  Now this Jacksonville, Florida woman has been granted a new trial.   She can't get back the time she has served (I think two or three years?), but surely a jury will acquit her this time.  Last time she had to prove her innocence.  This time the state will have to prove her guilt.  I thought that was a given in our free country; apparently whoever approved the appeal had the same thought!

 

Incidentally,  3/4 of imprisoned women have experienced sexual abuse as children and/or physical abuse of various forms as adults.   I wish you well, Marisa.  I wish you freedom from incarceration— and from abusive men.

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Personal note to Friends of Lucy Left:  The tendonitis is still active—but only when I use my arms (LOL) typing, schlepping the groceries or driving more than a short distance.  I've missed being here.  What I'd like you to know is that I wrote this post in three increments with stretching and rest time in between.   I'm trying to learn some patience and taking reasonably good care of myself.  

 

Shine on,  dear Libs, and thank you for your well wishes!

One More Thing

from Moms Demand Action on Gun Sense in America today.   By the way, "Moms Demand" welcomes Dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  They—we (I'm a member)—welcome all concerned people who want to see positive change in the gun laws and regulations.  To see fewer people meeting their mortality far too soon because of firearms.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING AT YELLOWSTONE: Earlier this month, a 3-year-old girl found her parents' gun at a park campsite and shot herself. What follows is an account of the shooting by a nearby camper (http://tinyurl.com/kjlakty):

"The girl’s father walked in circles a few hundred feet from the table his daughter was dying. Through his fingers, which were covering his mouth in shock, he admitted to fellow campers that he had just bought the gun last week to protect his family from wild animals."

Congress passed a bill allowing guns in national parks in 2010. Take action - tell Congress to ban guns from national parks and pass sensible gun laws NOW: http://momsdemandaction.org/take-action/

South Carolina Ranks #1

Thanks to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense - South Carolina for posting this on Facebook.  South Carolina is #1 again in something we cannot feel good about.  BUT you might feel better when you contact Moms Demand Action and get involved.  If you're in South Carolina, Erin Dando will tell you how you can help!

 

“Nine women each week are shot to death by their husband or intimate partner,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “That's nearly 500 domestic gun violence deaths each year — more than twice the number of servicewomen killed in military conflicts since the Korean War. We urgently need better policies that protect women and their families from this senseless violence. No American, adult or child, should live in a perpetual state of fear. It’s inhumane.”   I would add that these kinds of data from other countries usually has us scratching our heads and callling them "uncivilized."  Well...?

 

View the full report: http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2013.pdf

South Carolina Ranks #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men (09/25/2013)

www.vpc.org

Washington, DC — South Carolina ranked first in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men, with a rate of 2.54 per 100,000,

Incentives 101

(Rachel Maddow Fan Page/Facebook)

Insurance Notes

Questions on the Affordable Healthcare Act?  www.healthcare.gov  Check out the marketplace and help spread the word.   October 1 is the day!

 

Apparently the Act is already saving big bucks:  http://www.examiner.com/article/new-report-obamacare-has-saved-americans-over-1-billion-2012

Myth-buster for today--Seniors do benefit:

Shame on the House Republicans

At a time when about 20% of our citizens go hungry regularly and rarely have food security,  Republicans in Congress decided today to take food out of the mouths of children, the elderly, the disabled and veterans.  They make up a majority of "SNAP" recipients, along with others who are unemployed or underemployed.   Way to go Republicans:  Kick the poor while they're down and struggling to get back up.  I don't see how today's action can be called anything other than cruelty.  Obviously those who voted to take away food from some of our most vulnerable brothers and sisters know little about poverty.  They continue to equate poverty with laziness.  I'm more than sick of that ongoing misrepresentation.  Excuse me—that lie.  We have had two unfunded wars which left colossal unpaid bills in America's in-box (Note: One was a war of choice and the other might also have been avoided, I believe).

 

Did you notice that Republicans voted overwhelmingly for subsidies for big oil and corporate farms, both industries raking in record profits; the last thing they need is a subsidy!  And they fight on behalf of the mega-wealthy one or two percent of Americans.  Amazing how hard they've fought for the rich.  So, they cut food stamps to help deal with "the deficit." Can you imagine their insulting our intelligence by pretending that this very modest food assistance will make a difference in the debt (which by the way has been significantly reduced since President Obama took office)?   How can any American not be sickened by this vote?  Cruelty, insanity, hearts of stone?  Yes!   Every person who voted for this should have to live for a month on the same income as the average person who receives food stamps.  But they won't.  And since they won't, the next best thing is to vote the bastards out.  Seriously.  Google today's vote and check out how your representatives voted.

Must get off the keyboard— but I can't get today's vote off my mind.  Here's some good information on the SNAP ("food stamps") program:

Update: Sharing on 9/22/13 -  An eye-catching headline and piece at Forward Progressives.  Appalling it is,  yet good info to have when debating one's Fox-watching acquaintances—or do we still bother to debate them?  I saw something that made me think of such debates recently:  "I was hoping for a battle of wits, but I can see you are unarmed."    http://www.forwardprogressives.com/republican-congressman-whose-family-received-millions-in-farm-subsidies-mocks-people-on-food-stamps/

I Might Be In Love

with Pope Francis.  Or it's a major crush.  He's my kind of guy—seems to merely tolerate the pomp and circumstance of his auspicious office, graciously of course.  Schleps his own bag, rides the bus, and advocates for the poor.  He's living proof that a person can be humble and powerful at the same time.

Then yesterday in an interview he talked about the quality of mercy and how the church needs to be less judgmental, how there needs to be mercy in all things.  He spoke about abortion, birth control and marriage equality (said the Church is "obsessed" with those issues) . . . .   Here's a link for you. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/world/europe/pope-bluntly-faults-churchs-focus-on-gays-and-abortion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 I could go on and on about this man who's honest and bold enough to criticize the church for putting "dogma before love."  But instead of rambling, I'll just say,  "Kudos!  Carry on, Your Holiness."

Checking In

Only a phrase from childhood adequately describes how I've missed writing at Lucy:  I'm "'bout to bust" to get back!  Tendonitis has flared every time I've thought it had healed enough to spend more time with Happy, my laptop .   I just can't write more than a few sentences without paying the pain piper.  So . . . 

 

A friend in Texas is excited.  It looks like state Senator Wendy Davis will be running for Governor in the Lone Star State!  God knows it's the only positive news out of Texas for a long time, especially for women.

 

The horrible Navy Yard shootings, the lack of action on gun reform in our political "system,"  our political system itself, the stunning determination of House Republicans to "defund" Obamacare at all costs, and yet another Benghazzi hearing in the House today (Hearing = trying to tarnish Hillary).  Plenty to write about. 

 

Will remind you (and myself) to keep the faith and rev up your personal power.  Make all the calls and sign every petition you can on whatever issues are burning in your belly right now.  Help ProjectXXSC recruit progressive women to serve on South Caroilna's boards and commissions and please join Moms Demand Action on Gun Sense in America; there's a  chapter in SC, and  I'm  a proud member.

 

 I'll be back at full speed soon, so don't jump ship on Lucy yet.  Missing you lovable Libs!

Responsible?

Too many gun deaths in our country every day.  Far too often children are the victims.  Accidents mostly.  A weapon in the from their own household.  The NRA would have us believe that every gun owner is a "responsible gun owner" which obviously is not the case.  A young woman attemps a prank on her friend, jumps out of a closet,  and is shot dead.  A five-year old shoots a two-year-old.  Guns are found on school playgrounds, in elementary schoolers' backpacks, etc. I could paper this blog with recent gun "incidents.  The word incident sound so—incidental, you know?   The lives that are lost or altered forever are not incidental.  Neither is the love of those grieving for them.  There are far too many careless gun owners; that's all there is to it.  We can't turn a blind eye to this reality.  We just can't.

 

Time to unite with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.  Good people working hard for positive change.  Have you joined your state chapter? What are you waiting for? http://momsdemandaction.org/join-us/

 

 

The Back Story?

A President who abhors war and voted against invading Iraq, who ended that war and is ending another.  A President with healthy self-respect but without the cowboy bluster or an overblown ego.  A President willing to cede some of his power and take smart risks for a higher good— even if doing so makes him look like a bumblebutt in the eyes of his critics—and some of his friends.

 

I've had my own questions and doubts about the plan for striking Syria, and frustrations with the way the President left himself open for criticism.   I imagine he wishes he had said "the red line set by most of the civilized world years ago"(or something like that) the first time he used the term "red line."  Still, I know the "red line" statement wasn't the motivating factor in his decision to strike; it was the killing of the children and understanding that we could not let that horror go unpunished.

 

My doubts were about the volatility and chaos in the Middle East and what a desperate dictator like Assad might do to his people or his neighbors in the aftermath of a U. S. strike.  My doubts never have been about President Obama's intelligence, integrity or intentions.  I have tremendous confidence in those attributes he embodies—and in the goodness of his heart.  No, he doesn't wear it on his sleeve, but it's there. 

 

We don't know "the back story" of how Putin came to press Assad to give up his chemical weapons to the international agency that monitors those deadly weapons.  Assad had not only said he didn't gas his people but that he had no chemical weapons.  Now he's admitted to having them.   We can't know everything; details cannot always be transparent and effective at the same time.  Still, I believe our President laid the groundwork at the G8 Summit—with Putin and with other leaders, possibly asking allies to apply some pressure as well.    I'm convinced there was serious behind-the-scenes calculus that got us to where we are now.  Secretary Kerry's "off the cuff" remarks might well have been strategic.  And, without a doubt, we wouldn't be looking at the possibility of a chemical-weapon-free Syria today had the President not been willing to retaliate at all costs--going it alone if need be.

 

The President is an excellent poker player; if the Russians and Syrians don't make good on turning the chemical weapons over, I have no doubt Assad will pay a price for his atrocities.  The President will see to it, Congress or no Congress.  He won't get credit if it goes well, and he'll continue to take the blame for everything that appears to go badly.  And anything that actually does go badly.  He's willing to take full responsibility and make the hard decisions.  I like that about him, too.

 

Whatever else may happen, I have confidence in my President.  And I'm glad he's the one in the White House right now.

A Day for Remembrance

Getting High

(from Being Liberal/Facebook)

Happy to have a 48-hour high with my intelligent friend Anita.  Seriously, intelligent conversations are harder to come by these days; have you noticed?

Stay smart and carry on!

Arial's Take on "Red Lines"

Political cartoonist Robert Arial's images definitely "paint a thousand words."  Thanks to him for posting this on Facebook.  Whatever your position on Syria, you're likely to agree Robert is clever.

Political Geekdom

Yes, it's hopeless:  I'm a political geek who's past saving.

 

It was a beautiful beach day when I arrived.  I loaded luggage from the tightly-packed car onto the hauling cart in record time, then shoved it into a sluggish elevator.  Got it all unloaded, got refrigerated items transferred from cooler to fridge.  Committed the hanging clothes to a closet and set the bags  down to be dealt with later.

 

The sun was beaming into the Atlantic, and I was in a hurry.   Did I dash out to the beach or plant myself on the balcony with a cool drink and the binoculars— and then hit the beach?  Of course not.  I tuned in to the Senate Committee hearing on Syria.  I heard Secretary of State Kerry do what I thought was impressive job with his statement and responses to questions.  He was flanked at the witnesses' table by Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel who also answered questions.

 

Senator John McCain asked his questions, then entertained himself playing video poker on his phone.  Senator (and I want to LOL when I say "Senator" here) Rand Paul tried to be charming and appealing before invoking his middle-school snarkiness; I loved it when Senator Kerry recommended that he attend the classified briefing scheduled for this morning.  See, Paul has been talking about "not having enough information" on the Syrian situation and yet he opted out on one major classified briefing, designed for providing—you guessed it—information to Committee members.   Check out a video of Kerry and Paul:  http://www.forwardprogressives.com/cant-stand-rand-paul-then-watch-john-kerry-absolutely-embarrass-him-over-syria/

 

Senator McCain announced later that he couldn't support the Committee resolution as written (He and Lindsey Graham want a much broader scope of options, including toppling Assad.  The American people and most of our representatives definitely don't want that.)   I enjoyed the machinations of the hearing, distracted for a time from the images of the gassed children in their shrouds.   In fact, I've put in countless hours of attentiveness to  Syria-related commentary on TV and radio—from C-Span, CNN, MSNBC, the evening newscasts including PBS.  And I still don't have a strong position.

 

 Nevertheless, I don't believe this President is lying to us.   I believe he has given deep consideration to the pros and cons in his decision to strike Syria.  He has listened to numerous viewpoints and assorted advice.  And I know he's smart.  Sometimes he mulls over a situation endlessly before arriving at a decision, but his is never a knee-jerk reaction as was sometimes the case in the previous administration.   I know President Obama is not one who ever, ever wanted to take the action he is proposing.  He doesn't want war.  Period.  I trust his intentions.  I trusted the answers I heard from the Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense.  I just don't trust the chaos in Syria or the ability to limit our involvement over time.  Far too many "what if's" invade my thoughts .

 

At this point it seems that Congress should approve limited action to deter Assad from future use of chemical weapons. But one strike might not deter him.  What if the chemical weapons are moved to a place we would strike and the poisonous gas spreads into the population?  How many children would be killed by our strike, no matter how "precise?"  I think the President should lay out his case to the American people, and then we'll see whether Congress supports the President.  I hope they do.   But I'm not rock solid in that opinion,  a rare thing for me.  I am sure that my hope is for the highest good.  If I could make a wish that could come true, I'd make a really big one:  That Russia and China would agree to U.N. Security Council actions and that that body—or the appropriate body— would punish Assad for his horrifying atrocities.  For his war crimes. 

 

I feel a deep sadness that military action needed to be contemplated, much less executed.  Besides being a poitical geek, I'm a poet. Like most people with beating hearts, poets don't want to see such horrors.  But when we do, we must write about them.  At our best, we interpret what's going on in our world through the lens of empathy.   And I will strive to do that, whatever happens.

 

(from the Bhakti Fest page, posted on Facebook)

 

Environmental Impact Statement

                   (from More Trees Less Assholes/Facebook)  Irresistible and sadly true.

Honoring Labor Today

(Other 98% via my Facebook Feed)

Thinking this morning of the fast-food workers and their one-day strikes for fair wages.  The parent companies of these fast-food entities are making record profits.  Those at the top continue to rake it in while the workers who make the profits possible often hold down more than one job and in need of our taxpayer dollars for food subsistence themselves.  I have no problem with my tax dollars going to people who are struggling; however, when these people should be paid a living wage by companies that can well afford to do that and won't, it's shameful.  Let's hear it for the Labor Movement which continues to be demonized beyond recognition by the Right.  

 

Thanks to DC Jobs With Justice for this image— companies with hefty profit margins refusing to pay their employees a living wage:

My hope on Labor Day 2013 is that the minimum wage will be raised before year's end.  Nobody can live—much less support a family— on $7.25 an hour.  No human who works full time should be condemned to a life of poverty.  Justice, please!

Politics and Religion

(Image posted by Being Liberal/Facebook)