Just when you think it can't get any worse...

As depressing as it is, I suppose that I should be glad that these issues are getting more attention. There is no joy in any of this though, despite the high pitched wailings of many on the right, ie, Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter. None of this, not one second of any of it, could possibly make any caring, thinking person "gleeful."

First up - The article written by RFK for Rolling Stone Magazine, illustrating the many ways that Republicans stole the elections in 2004. With detailed footnotes of the many incidents of election fraud, where people have been actually tried and convicted in several cases, perhaps people will listen now. I doubt it, of course.

I'm entirely discouraged. RFK Jr. will be written off as just another bitter liberal whiner, and hey, after all, it's in "Rolling Stone," not a REAL paper.

Second issue of the day - This report from the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank which prefers the label "libertarian." This 31 page report recounts the ways in which the Bush Administration has violated the Constitution. It's long but written in everyday language and is worth a read.

Third up - Iran. No news to most of us, but Mr. Bush really has no desire to talk to Iran. They're all liars anyway and it's far more rewarding to the masculinity to just bomb the hell out of em. So we'll offer to talk on conditions they'll never meet, and that way it can be all their fault when the bombs drop. Axis of evil, dontcha know? Weapons of mass destruction. Over there so not over here. Terraists! BOO!

Fourth - Haditha. It's too painful to even go there. We know this script already, don't we? An unethical incident. Massive coverup. Long investigation. White House had NO idea, imagine! Some poor soldier goes to jail as scapegoat to soothe everyone's troubled mind, end of story. Just like Abu Ghraib, and all I can think is where did these grunts get dog collars? Not something a soldier is likely to pack from home, is it? Are dog collars a big thing in Iraq? Just wondering.

I could go on and on. Unitary executive. Nepotism. Insider trading. Tax cuts and record deficits. Apathy. Greed. Misdirection. Racism. Misogyny. There's so much material it defies comprehension.

None of this is news. It's all been around for anyone to see since the first election was stolen. There will be no outcry, little coverage, and what coverage there is will be spun to make the story and the storyteller ridiculous.

And it will happen again, in small towns in Iraq, in Iran, in Afghanistan. More incompetent cronies will be appointed to positions of importance, and perhaps, people will die. Americans will die. The middle class will fade away, and America will be left with a ruling class and a slave class. In November the elections will be rigged, and again in 2008 because these people are evil and relentless and powerful and monied.

It makes me sick. The machinery of fascism will roll over the country and the good ole American people won't even realize it til they wake up one day and it's the Fourth Reich.

I'm literally sick to my stomach. God, I hope I"m wrong, please, God?

Federal Marriage Amendment

Once again, Harry Reid is sponsoring a toothless petition. He wants to stop Bill Frist from bringing the Federal Marriage Amendment to a vote. Again, despite knowing it's futile, I added my voice, just in case someone somewhere is paying attention. I also added these comments:

Please stop using so called "moral" issues to redirect attention from the mess this administration has caused in this country, and indeed, the world. The Federal Marriage Amendment is a red herring and an unconstitutional invasion into the privacy of American Citizens. Stop trying to legislate morality.

Your duty is to provide checks and balances with our government, so that no branch of government can wrest control from the others. Mr Frist, have you not noticed that President Bush has signed into law 750 bills with "signing statements" attached, stating that this law doesn't apply to him? And have you noticed further that many of these laws have to do with the President being required to furnish information to Congress, completely undercutting your ability to do your duty? Mr. Frist, you have made Congress impotent, and in doing so, have sent our country down the road of fascism.

Do your job, Mr. Frist, and the rest of you in Congress. Question Authority. Leave morals and interpersonal relationships to individuals, and take back our country from the Corporatists. I firmly believe that America will never be taken by terrorists; it can only be taken from within, by those elected to represent us but who in fact only represent their wallets.

I wonder about men who get together to make rules about other people's behavior. I've always found that people most dislike in others the things they hate about themselves. No one ever says "Please, pass a law to keep me from doing this thing that I'm tempted to do," they say "I'm going to pass this law because I don't like what you're doing and I think it's a sin." These men think in black and white. There is no room for compromise. They don't see their own circular logic. They want abortion illegal, yet want to ban contraception. They talk about the sacredness of life, and yet are for the death penalty and going to war with brown people. They say they're Christians yet oppose every basic principle Christ espoused.

I think about the children forgotten inside the foster care system who could be receiving love and care from an alternative style family. I think about the girls who could be given the HPV vaccine but might not, because these dipsticks think it will give them permission to have sex, and how often it is that these VERY young girls are initiated into sex by their uptight repressed male family members. Mostly I think about love, and how the more you give it away, the more you receive, and how none of us can ever have too much. And I'm so angry. I'm so furious at what these tight assed narrow minded priggish selfish greedy and judgemental people have done to this country. And I'm horrified that we've let it happen, and continue to let it happen, day after day.

Thoughts on Immigration

Cerca de quince pies, escala de dieciocho pies.

That's "fifteen foot fence, eighteen foot ladder"

And that is why building a damn wall won't work. But that's only the tip of why we in this country will NEVER solve our immigration problem.

The problem is, Mexicans (and other immigrants) want to be able to feed their children. Send them to school. Give them a better life than they had. See, despite the brown skin and that scary language, Mexicans pretty much want what we want.

Our President wants to implement a Foreign Worker plan. Since after all that worked so well in France, and other European countries. Sure, come here, do our menial labor for a pitance, then, see ya! Have a nice life in your poor and oppressed country of origin. That works out so well for his pals at Haliburton. They get cheap labor and tax breaks for hiring minorities, they get the cushy no bid contracts to build a useless fence. Funny thing is though, the President forgot there are two ocean borders to guard, and that pesky northern border, where the only person who was caught crossing illegally for terrorist purposes entered. In his need to scare the hell out of us, he conveniently skips over the fact that those terrorists involved in 9-11 were here legally.

No one discussing this has ever taken more than a single minded approach, not that I've heard. They say ship em all home. How many do we ship home, again and again, because they just come back? They think that we can nudge them over the border and they'll just stay? They say give amnesty to those that are here, and that'll be it. Like no more will come?

Aside from the fact that this is only an issue right now because the Republicans want to scare middle America before the 2006 elections, the main problem with immigration is that it's complicated. No one wants to address why it is that people come here. Why Americans don't take those jobs that immigrants take. Why the corporations and the government itself don't really want immigration addressed. Why Vincente Fox encourages his people to emigrate to the US. Why Guatemalans and Colombians and other Central American countries emigrate to MEXICO, and then in turn to the US.

Any policy that truly addresses immigration must start in Mexico. The US must put pressure on Mexico to change things there, so that the proud people who love their country can stay there. Fox with the help of NAFTA has virtually eliminated the middle class in Mexico, leaving only a very rich class and a very poor nearly slave class. Sound familiar? That's what BushCo is aiming for here.

How about penalizing employers that hire illegals? Not nominal, snicker behind the back fines, but serious, heavy levies for employers? If there are no jobs to be had, they'd stop coming, no? But that would hurt Bush's dear corporate America, and that would be baaaaad for the country, wouldn't it?

If National security was really a concern, the other three borders would be considered. For all the complaining about the coyotes bringing people through the desert, far more people are here illegally through overstaying a visa. Port security is a joke. And really, if you were a terrorist who wanted to blow up the US, would YOU come in illegally? Or would you quietly train one of those eager young martyr wannabes and get them into the US legally, under the radar? Labelling this problem as "National Security" is yet another lie given to cover up racism and classism.

Illegal immigration is a problem; it stresses our health and human services programs and our schools, affects wages and housing issues. But honestly, there are so many far more critical issues facing our country right now; how can this be seen as anything more than a red herring? If it truly needs to be fixed NOW, this INSTANT, fine. Fix it. Make a truly comprehensive plan that takes into account the global economy and sociopolitical issues, and Fix It. Other than that, stop pulling our chain.

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, we had an interesting day yesterday. Murphy decided to climb the grecian fountain in our front yard and took a dive off of it. "I'll never do that again, EVER EVER!!!!!!!!" My poor baby has a scraped knee and a very deep gash under his chin. So off we went to the local ER, which boasts a staff of one doctor, two nurses, a receptionist and an EMT. A total of 5 chairs in the waiting room, all of which were full and then some. Three ambulances arrived during our wait, resulting in us waiting three and one half hours before seeing a doctor. Luckily, the bleeding was minimal after the first 10 minutes or so, and the pain wasn't bad. We explained as best we could what was going to happen and got him focused on the game boy, so the wait wasn't too bad. Except for Daddy, who has this problem watching people he loves have to wait for treatment, so we sent him home after a bit. He came back just in time for the actual treatment and was able to be the Rock we all depend on. Here's the before pic:

We lucked out, in a way. The covering ER attending was Dr. Gross, Peru and Eric's regular doctor, so we knew him and he knew us a bit. Poor Murph was confused with people in various uniforms running around, doing various things, and he couldn't figure out who the "real" doctor was. So we told him Dr. Gross was the "real" doctor, to which he promptly asked "Why are you so OLD?" As usual with my children, he had the entire place cracking up with the things he was saying.

Dr. Gross was very patient and explained every step carefully, which both Mom and Murph appreciated. Murphy still didn't get it, really. After all was done and we came back home and fed the poor child his Bunnies (Annie's Mac & Cheese), I showed him with a tissue, thread and needle exactly what was done, and how the stitches would be removed next week. He ended up with five stitches, through which he was very brave. Afterwards, I asked him if it was as bad as he had thought it would be, and he said, "No way, it was much better!"

Here's the sutures:
Today, it's much better, "barely hurts at all!" the swelling is down, and he's excited to have something to share at school on Monday.

Today, I was welcomed with a lovely song "Turn Around" and a beautiful handmade hat and ashtray from my sweet baby. He was so excited to remember the song and so happy to give me the presents. Very touching. I cried buckets, of course. Later, my Beloved will take me out to our favorite restaraunt for an early dinner. A perfect day, with all my boys about me. I am a VERY happy Mommy.

Are We Bad Parents?

The more I look at GWB and his administration, the more I feel we're in need of the Supernanny. The child in this relationship has been taking power away from the parents and is acting out, and it's simply not acceptable.

We in America think of the President as our leader, and yes, he is. We must never forget though, or let HIM forget, that WE elected him. Elected him to SERVE us. To defend and protect the Constitution of the United States of America.

George Bush is the bad babysitter left in power over the children who gets drunk with the power and torments the children, and who turns into Eddie Haskell when the parents get home.

This administration is the most temper tantrum oriented organization I've ever seen. When he's disagreed with, he throws nasty epithets and accusations. When caught in misdeeds, he blames everyone else. He turns on and undercuts anyone in competition with him. He bullies other countries. He struts his nuclear dick all over the world to cover up his abysmal incompetence.

And we, the People. We are bad parents. We fail to discipline this president. We look the other way at his bad behavior because, gosh, he's just so darn chummy and cute. We refuse to correct his thinking and allow him to get away with, well, murder. Allow him to send our best and brightest to fight in an illegal war. Allow him to erode our RIGHTS, our power.

We need to take back control. We need to correct the Orwellian thinking of this oh so Christian and moral administration that everyone was so eager to elect, simply to make sure that no man could marry another, God forbid. We need to expose the hypocrisy of these fine upstanding Christians who are lying and cheating and stealing the food from our children's mouths, not to mention the air from their lungs.

We need to put him on the naughty mat.

Impeachment. Censure. War Crimes Trial. He must be MADE to take responsibility for the first time in his life.

Someone Please Send Bush a copy of "Schoolhouse Rock"

Once again, President Bush has demonstrated that the Constitution he vowed to uphold and protect means less than toilet paper to him, and that he feels no law applies to him. Last month, he signed into law a bill which was never passed by the House. The Senate bill he signed varied by 2 BILLION dollars from the House bill that was passed, partially due to a "clerical error." So our Decider in Chief decided that sending the bill back to the House for approval was too dangerous, as it only passed by one tie breaking vote from the Vice President in the first place, and it might not pass again considering the political climate has worsened since then. So he just signed it. Who cares about the law? Or that "piece of paper" Constitution. After all, that was signed in 1787! This is 2006!

The Journal Gazette article confirms that a public watchdog group called Public Citizen has filed a lawsuit to block the law. It also states that most constitutional scholars seem to think it's an open and shut case; Bush's actions were illegal. It's just one more indication of the contempt Bush has for the American People. And still, the scariest part to me is the lack of outrage. The lack of action. How can the American People continue to allow this adminstration to violate our rights and our laws? What toxic ennui has infected us that we can allow this? Okay, we'll get a little upset when we have to pay more for gas, but where is the outrage over the erosion of the fabric of our country? The death of thousands in an illegal war? The pollution of our air and waters and ecosystems? The debt that he is going to pass on to our children? We have got to stop this. It's too important.

And the Procession into Hell continues...

As usual, when the country has a problem, our fearless leader comes up with the exactly wrong response. To answer the high gas prices, President Bush has come up with a plan! And that plan is.... to reduce tax breaks for the oil industry? No. To institute a cap on prices? No. To encourage conservation and alternative fuel research? HA! No, the answer is He Relaxes Environmental Rules, Suspends Oil Reserve Deposits. Once again, the President trashes the planet to save his oil buddies a few bucks. Ok, a whole big shitload of bucks. Thanks, Mr. Pres.

Harry Reid has a Gas Price Petition which of course, has no bite, in that the Republican congress will never allow it to mean anything. But I signed my name, just to have my opinion voiced. I added the following comment:

"While I am willing to pay a fair price for goods and services I use, I feel that the record profits of the oil companies indicate we are being charged far more than is fair. Tax breaks and giveaways to the oil industry in the face of these profits are simply obscene given the impact to the economy of these prices. It must end. Now."

I think about how a gallon of gas is about the same cost as a gallon of milk. Milk is a renewable resource, gas is not. Gas is valuable, no doubt. I understand that a large portion of the price we pay per gallon (especially in California) consists of taxes levied by the state and federal government. I don't even have a problem with that, though I'd like to keep better tabs on how that tax is used. But when the executives of major oil companies continue quarter after quarter to rake in record profits, something is wrong. The price at the pump is passed on to the poor and middle class over and over again, through wholesale increases in price retailers must pay in freight. Everyone spreads the costs around and the buck stops at the average citizen's wallet. It's not right.

And of course, gas prices are such a trivial issue, really, when taken against the horror of Iraq and God forbid, Iran, and the nightmare lives of Katrina victims who have no comfort nine months after the disaster. Our President's failed policies on every level, on every subject, have devastated this country. It will be years before anyone, Democrat or Republican, will be able to get this country back on it's feet, and regain our place in the world.

The Horror Continues

I haven't posted here in quite some time because the reality of the American situation right now is too overwhelming. Anyone interesting my crafting journal can find it at Homespun Dreamings. I decided to split the contents for the fiber arts people who may not be looking for political rants.

I just can NOT understand why or how Americans have allowed this to happen. It astounds me that the President's approval rating is as high as it is. What this man, this Administration has done is so much worse than anything anyone could ever have dreamed. The pundits keep saying Bush is "approaching Nixon's numbers" - Nixon was a poser! Nixon could not have conceived of the crimes Bush has actually committed. He didn't lie, straight faced, over and over and over again on every issue of import to the American people. He didn't violate the oath of office; "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." He didn't destroy the economy, or alienate the entire world against the US, or trash the ecosystem or negate our civil rights. He didn't silence scientific and military experts. He didn't take a record surplus and turn it into a record deficit. Nixon might have manipulated the Vietnam War for his political benefit, but he sure didn't intentionally send thousands of Americans to their death for no better reason than money and power.

It's hard to know the cause of this debacle. Is it simple incompetence? Is it just lust for money and power? Is it some kind of messianic nightmare, trying to bring on the Second Coming? Is he in competition with his father? Is he really and truly insane, or maybe just drug addled and stupid? I don't have a clue. All I can do is look around me and see the devastation. And speak out, when I can. I know I'm not smart enough to solve all the problems before the American people right now. But I can try to let people know when I think they're making a mistake; and Bush is about to make a big one.

On June 2, the Christ loving military machine that is the Bush Administration will drop a bomb in the Nevada desert. A detonation large enough to generate a mushroom cloud. The Orwellian/messianistic name of this test? Divine Strake. There's a whole list of them; Divine Buffalo, Divine Invader, Divine Helcat, Divine Kingfisher, Divine Umpire, Divine Zorro, Divine Warhawk, Divine Albatross, and my favorite Divine Hates. Divine Strake is a 700 TON (1.4 MILLION pound) bomb. The stated purpose of the test is to see how computer equipment and tunnels would fare in a reinforced bunker deep underground. The problem with this stated purpose is that there is no possible means of conveyance for this payload. No single unit transport that can even come close to delivering this amount of tonnage. There's an excellent article at GlobalSecurity.org that helps clear through the spin and the misdirection and the outright lies in the nearly non existent media coverage of this event.

The rumored real purpose of this detonation is to calculate a nuclear equivalent, ie, how much nuclear payload would be required to bomb the Iranians and their proported centrifuges underground. Here is a letter from thirteen prominent scientists to President Bush, with their views on using nukes.

We cannot allow this President to get us into a third mismanaged war. Please, stop the bleeding. Stop the flow of broken, burned, and murdered bodies of our soldiers. Stop the abuse of power. Stop the madness of King George the Decider.

Dark Days

"The end of freedom is imminent when the fee for a modest handful of rights is our great halo of liberties. " The Dark Wraith

That quote is a response to the attempts of some in the Republican Party to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. This is the amendment which imposes a two term limit on the Presidency. This was proposed in the House on 02/17/05 and is, I believe, still alive in committee.

I think we should be able to vote for whoever we want to, regardless of how long they've been in. If they're doing a good job, they should be allowed to continue their service. It takes away lame duck years and should inspire optimal work from the person seeking office.

The problem with repealing this amendment now is the fundamental lack of faith in the current electoral process. We cannot allow the lying, manipulative and evil people currently in power to even have the chance of electing themselves to a dynasty by stealing the election.

I've always had a healthy skepticsm of my government, republican or democrat. The founding fathers seemed to think it was important to challenge our leadership. While being the best devised system in this world, it's still has one major flaw; it is run by people. The best government is no better than the corruption level of the people running it. That level appears to be downright toxic at the moment. Is there one thing this administration has said or done that is the truth? I'm hard pressed to think of a thing. Every thing they've done, every thing they've said, has been lies and manipulations. We're losing, and rapidly, the mechanisms by which the people's voice is heard. We're losing our civil rights and liberties. We're leaving behind a large segment of the population, the one most unable to fight for itself.

And now, our fearless (chickenhawk) leader will surrender control of our ports to one of the very countries reputed to have terrorist leanings toward our country. He just announced that he will veto any legislation that attempts to block the control of six Eastern ports, some of the most vulnerable entrances to our country, ports that handle the loading and unloading of our MILITARY equipment, passing to the UAE. How can this make sense to anyone?

I'm literally sick to my stomach thinking about what this administration has done to this country. George wanted a legacy, did he? He's got one. It will take decades for the financial and political harm that he has done to this country to be truly known, and far longer to reverse it. I hope he's proud.

Still more...

This is a prayer shawl I crocheted for my asbestos friend, Barbara, for her birthday. It's a lovely turquoise color which is just so BARBARA, and so soft it's like buttah. Oh... I do wish I took better pictures. Sigh.

Then there's this: Santa brought a deck of cards that were approximately one inch tall. Very cute; but what happens when you take them out of the plastic wrap? So I crocheted a tiny little bag to store them in. Again, the picture only looks like a blob of blue. Sad.

Tomorrow, I hope to get pictures of the hooded sweater I knit for Son #2. Unfortunately, he's rather severely ill at the moment and not up to modeling. Here's hoping he improves over night and avoids the dreaded doctor visit.

A couple more, if Blogger lets me...

This is a capelet I made for a Yahoo Crochet Along group. I love the pattern; it's so pretty and feminine. The model is Paulette, my boss's wife. The color, though it looks blue, is really a seafoam green. I really REALLY need to learn how to take photographs.

This is actually the second one I made, and was commissioned by a friend for a Valentine's Day gift. I like the pattern so much I'm on my third edition. Other WIPs are a summer top in "Sassy" yarn, the World Traveller bag for me which will be felted, a knit Magic Scarf in eyelash yarn, and a couple of secret projects for future gifts. Hardly leaves me any time to learn my drop spindle...

My handmade things

This is what's kept me busy over the last couple of months:
This is a pair of Christmas stockings I made for my wonderful mother in law, Dorothy, and her new husband, Bill. It was rather an achievement for me as I didn't have a pattern and had never made anything like it before. I think they turned out rather elegant.

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Even though we're in Southern California, it does get cold here at night, and my soft hearted husband worries about our two little Yorkies, Sugarplum and Rocky. So I made them some sweaters. Rocky manages to keep his on for a while, but Sugar somehow gets hers of and must bury it in the back yard, cause we can't find them ANYWHERE. I've made her at least four.

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This is a baby blanket I made for my boss's wife's daughter, who was having her fourth boy. It's made from a boucle yarn, which was a revelation to me. I had stopped crocheting and knitting because I was bored with the yarn; it's amazing how much has changed! New colors, and new textures and blends! It made me excited again, and fueled this new obsession with fibercraft.

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I wanted to add more pictures, but blogger isn't cooperating, so I'll try again later. I am having a blast with this fiber stuff!

I'm Back!

Ok, so it's been two months since I've posted. With birthday week, Christmas, New Years and a couple of personal issues, time has flown. Not to mention my obsession with politics just got overloaded. Can you believe how much you've been lied to?

Anyway, I've gotten back into an old obsession; crocheting, and some knitting. I've been a wild woman whipping out sweaters and capelets and wrist warmers and snoods and all kinds of stuff. I'll get pictures up soon. I'd like to turn this into a business at some point. I'm also learning to spin my own yarn, and will try my hand at dyeing too, sometime. So I've been pretty occupied. Luckily, my darling husband is incredibly supportive, even of the amount I've spent one Ebay on new yarns!

I'll try to keep up with the blog now and again; but right now, it's back to crocheting!