President Obama has done a lot during his 4 year term, and there was a lot of hardship going on at the time he took office. We were in the midst of an economic crisis that could very well have brought about another great depression; an economic crises that I believe was brought about by the lax regulations that governed the financial and banking industries. So many of us were propelled into a false sense of security and an allusion of prosperity resulting from our ability to buy what we wanted on credit whether or not we could afford it. But that is in the past. We know better now—at least I do. I maintain that 4 years is not enough time to cure all the ills of our country, but we surely are on the right road, and I see it as a journey forward; not only economically, but on a human scale within our communities and around the globe environmentally. President Obama has foresight. He is trying to strengthen our country by building stronger foundations that can be sustained by the people and for the people.

Romney believes—and this is preposterous—that "almost half of Americans are dependent upon government and see themselves as victims". I believe that Romney is out of touch with everyday Americans in our country; people who work and pay taxes and try to make ends meet. These Americans are not relying on the government. In some cases they may benefit by certain programs that are in place to lessen their burden, like those in place to benefit their children (education and health programs), but on the whole they are by no means relying on the government. Do these Americans see themselves as victims; perhaps—and with good reason; raise your hand if you remember receiving those enticing credit card offers in the mail. The formative word here is "enticing". The word "manipulation" also applies and perhaps the term “false sense of security.”

Raise your hand if you are a member of the middle class. How much do you have to earn to be a member of the middle class? Does anyone know? I believe that “MIDDLE CLASS” is an illusion. You don’t actually have to make a lot of money to think you are middle class. The reason for this is “CREDIT”.  Back in the days when the banks were sending us offers for credit cards whether or not we asked for them, my husband and I were able to buy anything we wanted, whether or not we could afford it. Had we any sense back then we would not have done so. We would have held out a little longer until we could save the money we needed for the item so desirable; instead we wound up getting deeper into debt and our illusion of prosperity was fading before our eyes. So we did what any hard-working young couple would do—we re-financed our mortgage, adding our new debt onto our old debt so we could once again realize the illusion of prosperity. This form of reasoning got a lot of people into trouble once the housing market tanked and the banks and credit card companies were on the verge of collapse. So many Americans lost their homes and there are many still hanging by a thread. The foundation built by the illusion of a “strong” middle class is not so sturdy anymore. It is only a truly strong foundation when built on real prosperity. Real prosperity is realized by the very wealthy, which is a small percentage of the American population. The rest of us strive for a prosperity that lately seems beyond our reach.
 
 


 

Rhetoric

 

There is a lot of animosity out there today in the political arena. You can hear it in the oratory. The message is clear and unyielding. It’s as though there is an immovable force among our leaders keeping things to either one side or the other. And I think it is having a negative affect on “we the people.” We are seeing only black or white based on what we are hearing. We are experiencing the unyielding constituent of human nature.

Rhetoric is a powerful tool. It can bring people together or it can push them further apart; it can spawn hatred or it can induce compassion; it can and will generate either good will or dissension among the ranks—all depending upon the way it is written and they way it is said. It’s hard not to fall prey to it’s power.

I’ve never been one to discuss politics on an intellectual level. Quite frankly I don’t have the brains for it. I find politics as confusing as mathematics. I cannot debate a subject, but I can write about it with skill. I’ve been writing most of my life about one thing or another. That is my strength. I always find the words. I shape them in such a way that the reader may be inspired by my thoughts and perhaps my logic, and I make an effort not to be unyielding when conveying these thoughts. I try to use good sense when I am writing, for I know there are two sides to every coin; an opposing perspective. I am on one side and my neighbor or even a family member may be on the other. But the coin itself is intact. It needs both of it’s sides to exist.

It's 6:15 Saturday morning. I got up with Ray. He had to work today and I like to have coffee with him in the morning before he leaves at 5:30 in the A.M.

I have off Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday is the July 4th holiday. I'm going to enjoy the next five days. I've been looking forward to my mini vacation, and I'm taking my mom to Charlestown on Tuesday. My sister Diane is driving to Long Island to see our cousin Nancy B.

Oh - just got a pop up that Diane is on-line so I Skyped her. What I have discovered so early this morning is that they had a big storm last night (as did we) and a tree fell down and is blocking her front stoop. She's still going to NY and is leaving in 15 minutes. I am to call mom and tell her that Diane will stop in before she leaves—which I just did. Mom is fine. Callee was scared though during the night and jumped up on mom's bed for comfort. Mom put her arm around her to let her know she was safe. Mom loves Callee and Callee loves my mom. So for this morning all is well in Mt. Airy, Maryland with the exception of the tree in front of my sister's house. My systematic and neurotic concerns about the health and well being of my loved ones having been mollified (for today), I can get down to some serious writing.

I'm trying to emerge from a ten month writer’s block brought about by the extreme demands of my job. My mind is still racing from this week. Monday and Tuesday were horrendous and I wanted to quit—but of course I cannot—or would not, because as much as I hate my job I love it. I'm terribly attached to my co-workers and there's not a one I do not like. And we’re all going through the same experience—though mine is a little more intense since I’m in operations. Operations, shall we say, is the heartbeat of the office. Let’s stop here to explore the heart:

“…the heart beats more than two and a half billion times, without ever pausing to rest. Like a pumping machine, the heart provides the power needed for life.” see http://www.fi.edu/learn/heart/

The body in which our hypothetical heart is situated is the exceptional sales force that generates the flow of it’s life-giving blood, and the exceptional group of client service associates who work diligently to support and monitor this blood stream—aka clients connected to mounds of client related documents.

This blood stream flows to our hypothetical heart and is redirected through the arteries (service portal) through the capillaries (categories and sub-categories) and finally through the veins to different regions in the body for rejuvenation and then it’s back to the hypothetical heart where the process starts all over again. It’s like a merry-go-round. Most importantly our hypothetical heart must be strong, systematic and of sound judgment. Throw a conversion into the stream and you have chaos and temporary insanity.

What is conversion you ask? Oh well, let's just say it's the merging of two companies into one; the merging of two formerly separate platforms into one, whereby they pick and choose from each the best way of doing things and build a whole new world of computer enlightenment and entertainment, as well as adding a whole new set of procedures and rules to the procedures and what-to-do’s and what-not-to-do’s that already exist. I will liken this experience to being at a carnival, on a seemingly never ending roller-coaster ride, during a tornado—exhilarating! In all probability the roller-coaster ride will end and I’ll be first on line for the fun house. In the interim I will endeavor to keep my cool because at-work is a worthwhile place to be.

Lana Del Rey

Today I listened to a CD my husband bought by artist Lana Del Rey, Born To Die. It is so beautiful and so original. Lana's voice is hypnotic. Her lyrics are intelligent and poetic. She is an astoundingly talented young woman. I would recommend this CD to anyone who likes jazz, soul and hiphop.

Really Old Films

Fiver Star Final (1931) directed by Mervin LeRoy

After years of waiting for this film to be released, I finally have my copy of Five Star Final (a Christmas present from Flickead). Years ago he had taped it off TCM, but the copy wasn’t that great. Now I have it on DVD.

Newspaper and Tabloid sensationalism to boost circulation is what this film is all about. My favorite line: “God gives us heartache and the devil gives us whiskey” uttered by a remorseful editor after his series of articles, resurrecting a twenty year old murder case, destroys a loving family. That’s all I need say, except that Edward G Robinson is superb as the remorseful editor Joseph Randal, and Boris Karloff is also in the film, playing staff reporter Isopod. It’s funny, but even in a suit and tie impersonating a clergyman, he's scary. He’s pretty good too.