Month: December 2014

Torches and Pitchforks at the Castle Gate

storming the gate
Why are the federal and state governments facilitating the acquisition of military style weapons and equipment by local police forces?

I suggest that a review of recent legislation and court rulings provides a possibility.  In random order these are:
– Citibank writing the language dismantling of Dodd-Frank law,
– cuts in SNAP,
– refusal to extend unemployment compensation,
– the failure to prosecute those shooting the poor and black,
– 47% comments,
– cutting of educational funding,
– laws which allow major corporations to pay no federal income tax,
– voter suppression of elderly, poor and youth,
– the increase of wealth by the wealthiest compared to the middle class and the poor,
– a military system which uses primarily the poor,
– corporations have the same rights as people,
– money is free speech ergo, Jimie Dimon,
– reduction of retiree’s pensions,
– attacks on unions,
– opposition to a living wage,
ad nauseam.

Basically, there is a movement in which legislation and policy are aimed at aiding the wealthy (like Congress) to increase their riches and power by taking from the poor, the working poor, women, the youth, the aged, and the middle class.

The numbers affected by this sea change in wealth distribution are growing exponentially.

The frustration and anger are growing exponentially.

There will be a point where rage will erupt.

The wealthy and the powerful have been careful not to attack the firefighters, the police and the army.  They have been systematically preparing the national guard and local sheriffs and police departments to “handle” any protest which they will call insurrection.

The one percent will be ready when the torches and pitchforks appear at the castle gate.

 

How Were They Ever Popular?

Watched a PBS program – fifty years with Peter, Paul, & Mary.   They defintely would not have been successful in today’s music scene.

Their lyrics were intelligible.

Their lyrics had meaning.

They sang in tune.

They harmonized.

Their songs were purposeful.

They were modestly dressed. Noone pulled on his dick during a performance.

Noone’s underwear was visible.

They were not foul mouthed.

They advocated for what would better humanity.

None of their lyrics were degrading of females or gays.

None of their lyrics were racist.

They were anti-war.

How were they able to be so popular for fifty years?

What has changed?

When was the last time you heard a love song from this era in pop music?  By love I mean actual love not sex, or sexting, or hooking up, of FWB.

“blowin” Ferguson, Toledo and New York

Please request your local radio station to play and replay “Blowin In The Wind” written and sung by Bob Dylan.  It was also sung by Peter Paul & Mary, George Harrison, ZiggyMarley and pretty much every generation of performers with the exception of this generation.

To hopefully inspire you to get the song played and another generation involved, I share with you the lyrics which I obtained from Mr. Dylan’s web site:

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ’n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind

Copyright © 1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music
Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/blowin-wind#ixzz3LGFAZVwD

If this is in violation of copyright, please delete.  No infraction was intended.

ALFIE’S WEEK TWO AND THREE

Week two brought a second grooming. Ears still filled with wax and dirt build up. As this loosens up it must feel strange to him as he frequently shakes his head and wants his ears rubbed and scratched. We opted for tranquilizers (one for Alfie and one for me) for this grooming since it involved a cut down. Everyone survived, and no dogs or humans were injured during this grooming.

He still will not go outside on his own, but thoroughly enjoys it when we go out with him. We tried to teach him to come. Sharon and I both had pockets full of treats. The idea was that when he was by me she would call him and reward him with a treat when he came. When he was with her, I would call him and when he came reward him with treats. Sounds logical, right? Wrong. Twice he came to her when she called, and twice he came to me when I called. We were so proud, but then he started running from one to the other of us without being called to collect his treats. He figured that game out pretty quickly.
Week three we have been working on “sit”. Alfie does not like to sit. Tried standard approach of bringing treat in front of nose and up while giving command and lightly pressing down on rump. No way! Anytime we touched his rump he bolted. My conclusion is that someone must have held him and hit him on the rump. The new plan was to up the ante with a piece of turkey and offer the reward without reaching for his rump. That worked. Well, almost. He would sit only in the spots we trained with him i.e the back of the SUV and on his bed. Ok, those sound like pretty strange places to try to train a dog, but those were the only two places we could actually catch him sitting. You gotta do, what you gotta do, where you can do it.

 

Alfie seems to understand stay, but can only stay for a short amount of time. Someone has tried to work with him, but it appears the commands were inconsistent. The stay command elicits a wide variety of behavior which so far makes no sense to me. He may come to my side, he may circle to the other side, he may stay momentarily. If I am confused; I am sure he must be too.

 

 

Alfie sleeps in our bedroom on his own bed or on the floor. He alternates between the two places based upon how hot or cold it is. He is just now venturing out of the bedroom and leaving us on his own usually to get a drink of water. The other night though he did hear someone outside, sounded the alarm and ran back into the bedroom. My wife and I are retired. Guess who is not retired and likes to get up at 6:45 in the morning.
We have had three poodles. All three wake us up with this routine. First comes a head shake which makes the ears slap loudly. Then comes the prancing from one side of the bed to the other. Next, comes the whine or poof six inches from the face. Finally, if you open your eye even slightly; you will see a poodle face framed in its big ears staring at you. At which point you have been busted. As far as the poodle is concerned your eye twitched so you must be awake and its time to get up and party with the poodle.

 

The obsession with human females, blondes and white cars seems to be lessening. However, he is still obsessed with and demonstrates separation anxiety whenever my wife is out of sight. The change here has been minimal. But, any change brings hope.