No Room for Discussion

Once upon a time, I wouldn't be caught dead making anything that might be construed as a 'political' statement. I hated confrontation, arguments and anything like that, so I refused to comment on politics and religion. Sometimes, even weather didn't seem like a 'safe' subject.

But I've gotten cranky as I've aged. Politicians have gotten even more outrageous, and the sheep that blindly follow one party or the other have gotten even more woolly.

I consider myself an Independent. I pick and choose which way I want to lean on any given subject. I even occasionally express an opinion that might not agree with that of those I'm with, exercising my right to have my own opinion.

Hard-core sheep don't like it when you aren't flowing along with the rest of the herd.

I recently found myself on a chatlist, the purported tenants of which I agreed with – showing support for our military people fighting across the seas. I expressed my support, and was about to skip back to whatever website I'd been on, when I realized that most of the comments on this chatlist were actually an unimaginative bashing of a politician I currently admire. I lost my temper and caustically bashed an entire political party, blaming them for a great deal of what I saw wrong in the country.

A few hours later, I received a message from someone on that chatlist, informing me I should educate myself before exposing my ignorance. Evidently, if I don't agree with them, I'm not entitled to have an opinion. Now, when was that right stripped from me? Somebody forgot to tell me.

Take the Time

There are two old sayings I've heard forever: "Wake up and smell the coffee," and "Stop to smell the roses." They both mean similar things, an urging for people to not be so wrapped up in merely existing that they can't appreciate the beauty and good things around them. I've spent years existing, taking care of my family, my employer, paying my bills.

Early in March, I took a trip to Florida with a friend. We drove, so we'd have a car to use while we were there. Early in the trip, with my family and worries left behind, I looked around at the scenery while my friend drove. The grass in Missouri was brown. The only thing in the countryside that resembled color were the fir trees, which were so dark a green, they were nearly black. I knew Florida would not look like this, and I wondered if I would notice the changes as we drove, or if they would happen too slowly.

Kentucky and Tennessee were still pretty bleak, although the grass was somewhat greener. As we approached Chattanooga, I saw some bushes – or maybe they were small trees – that had purple flowers. No leaves that I could see, but the splash of color was pretty. We drove around a curve, and there was a similar small tree with bright pink flowers. I could feel my spirits rise.

Then we were headed straight south through Georgia, and the landscape got greener and greener with every mile, it seemed. If I had not been looking for these changes, I probably would have arrived in Florida and THEN been surprised by the colors around me. But since I was being observant, I got to have my spirits lifted at least a full day early, by the sight of a few bright bushes and trees.

I've decided to look for those bright spots a little more often.

To Boldly Go

Went to Cape Kennedy a few days ago. Watched one of their Imax movies, talked to an astronaut and some of the staff. I wondered what NASA planned to do, now that the shuttles are being shelved.

This is some of what I found out:

Congress won't allow NASA to have more than one 'project' going at any one time. So if they want to send more people to the moon (and they do), they had to stop sending shuttles to the space station. Russia can take passengers and cargo for us, but the price for a passenger rose from about $20 million per person to $68 million. As you can imagine, that would dig a big hole in NASA's budget, so they looked around for other ways to get people there. There are 2 or 3 private industries that could be ready for fairly regular excursions to the station in 10 years … or as little as 2 or 3 years, with a little help. Whoever I was talking to at the time indicated NASA would help those industries, in order to cut down its dependency on Russia, because Russia could decide to 'pull the plug' at any time. And with more than one entity providing this service, the price per 'seat' would come down.

Out of every $100 of federal taxes, NASA gets 42 cents. It will soon go to 38 cents out of every $100.

NASA asked for an increase of 2.5 billion dollars in its budget and was turned down. What the public doesn't realize is that Americans already spend $35 billion per year in tips for the pizza delivery guys.

The tax dollars that NASA spends are not loaded up on the shuttle and blasted into space. They are spent on the ground, in the form of jobs and contracts. Our exploration of space has produced many discoveries that probably would not have happened without space exploration. For instance, some medical research depends on crystals grown on the station, crystals that cannot be grown on Earth because of gravity.

I've got some research to do. One thing I'd like to know is how NASA's budget compares to the subsidies provided to oil companies, who already make profits in the billions. If nothing else, people, the Earth is getting crowded. Time to start looking for new places for some of us to move.

The Other War

Everybody knows we have troops in Iraq, and in Afghanistan. They wonder how much longer we will be engaged in those conflicts, how much longer before we can breathe a sigh of relief as our men and women return home? And the politicians – no matter which party – keeps promising that it will be as soon as they can manage it.

What very few people seem to realize is that America is involved in another third war, one that was started far earlier than either one of those. No politician will acknowledge it, it will never be studied in any history class, but it is happening.

Back in the middle of the 20^th century, the government made a big to-do about its 'War on Poverty'. Now it has done a complete turn about, and has declared war on the Middle Class.

You only have to be aware of recent doings of the government to become aware of this war. In a recent vote to pass a short-term budget to keep the federal government from shutting down, most of Congress voted to continue giving huge subsidies to oil companies while gutting and eliminating social programs that so many poorer Americans need. Yes, they are giving money to oil companies, the same oil companies that use any excuse to jack up their prices to get more money out of our individual pockets, the same oil companies that already count their yearly profits in the billions.

In other news, some governors want to disband and ban collective bargaining groups – unions. Supposedly, unions make unreasonable demands that are too big a drain on their states' finances. So, if that is allowed, it won't be long before we're back to dealing with our employers as individuals, rather than groups. And history tells us how well that worked before.

But that's okay, as far as our government cares. Those of us who are not millionaires are merely cannon fodder.

Government Richness

Okay, this one didn't happen in Omaha (but I wouldn't be surprised if it did).

A few days ago, I read a small news article about a tiny city in southern California that was voting to replace all but one member of its City Council. Apparently, these city council members had paid themselves 6-figure salaries – and all sorts of perks and bonuses – while running the city finances millions of dollars into debt. The one member who was not being recalled had accepted only $1500 for his part-time services. While the citizens were going to the polls, deciding on replacements, the council members being replaced were in court, facing fraud charges.

The problem with elections these days is that candidates have to be rich in order to run for even the simplest office. And it seems like the only thing rich people care about is obtaining more money for their own bank accounts.

Maybe we need a few more 'common people' in public office. I just can't figure out how to get them there, since they don't have scads of money to let people know they're running for office.

Open Letter to Last Night’s Hotel

Last night, it was our misfortune to select your motel as our resting spot for the night. We had been given a book of coupons when we entered the fine state of Georgia, and your hotel's coupon promised everything we needed; a frig for our healthy snacks, a wifi connection so we could send messages to friends, family and business partners, plus a cheap price, so important to a pair of new entrepreneurs trying to stretch every penny as far as it will go. Plus, it was on the edge of Macon, which was as far as we could expect to get in that day.

We should have changed our minds when we saw the place. As my partner slowly pulled in under the overhang, we were dismayed to see the ceiling was broken, the bare rafters showing through a large hole. We convinced ourselves that it was possible it was recent damage that the hotel had not yet had time to repair.

Tired from a long day of driving, we entered the lobby to request a room. The woman behind the counter was so slow, I rather thought we might still be there in the lobby when it was time to check out the next morning! We specifically asked about the wifi, and she nodded, indicating it was available, but didn't give us any instructions on how to log onto it.

When we finally got to our room, we set up our laptop and attempted to 'log on'. There were 2 wifi connections available, but neither had a name that would identify it as belonging to the motel, and neither was strong – the strongest had two bars out of five. Still, we attempted to connect, first with one, then the other. After an hour, we gave up, and resigned ourselves to not making those connections that night.

To top off the night, my partner found something – probably a spider – had bitten her during the night. And neither of us slept well, partially because the mattresses were like sleeping on cement, and partially because the neighbors were having a party, which we heard plainly through the wall.

Yes, you have a memorable motel. We will remember NOT to use it again, should we find ourselves needing to stop in Macon GA in the future.

Oh, Say, Can you See?

When I was young a few centuries ago, there were rules for the proper display and care of the national flag. As school children, we were taught the basics: raise and lower the flag with respect, fold it carefully, don't leave it flying in raid or snow, and when it gets tattered, replace it, sending the old one to be burnt with all due reverence. It was drilled into us that showing proper respect for our flag displayed our patriotistm.

Since 2001, more and more people and businesses have started to fly the flag. As I drive around town, it seems half the houses have a flag displayed. Flags are flown not only at government offices, but seemingly at every bank, grocery store and gas station. Everybody wants to display their patriotistm.

But are they?

I've been keeping my eyes on a huge flag flown by a local branch of a national bank. No matter when I wander by and look, that flag is up that flagpole. Even at night, although the flagpole isn't lit. Even in rain. Even in snow and sleet. It has flapped so hard in the wind that the edge has become quite tattered. It rather looks like something 'the cat drug in'.

Where's the respect?