Oh! What a relief it is!

Barack Obama presented the State of the Union tonight to begin his 3rd year as President of the United States.  As a response to the country's mood following the tragic shootings in Tuscon and the extreme partisanship of the previous two years, the Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate sat among each other.
Last year's speech was dominated by partisan cheerleading and I was bothered by it.
I appreciate this year's tone (Please do it again.)  I think it's much harder to whoop and holler when you're not part of a huge gang sitting together.
Once again, Barack Obama's speech hit the same theme this year as last year and the year before and I really wish we'd see some financial investment in education, research and development, and infrastructure.  It seems like a no-brainer.
Paul Ryan (R-WI) gave the Republican response, and although he hit many of the typical fear-based Republican talking points and he allowed his facial expression to appear smug a couple times, he spoke well and was easy to understand.  His most potent point was mentioning the austerity measures recently instituted in several European countries.  If you're inclined to agree and are swayed by fear, he was warning us away from going down that road.
Bottom Line - Barack Obama is the best president ever!  We have a long way to go.  I'm interested to see how the Republicans act under the leadership of John Boehner.
Onward America!

Live Life's Questions

Sometimes living the questions is better than finding the answer.

In Life as well as on Lost.

(yes, it took me this long to come up with my feelings about the Lost finale)

Jan's Story

CBS News Sunday Morning repeated a piece this morning about early onset Alzheimers Disease.  Barry Petersen presents an affecting story about people stricken with early onset Alzheimers.
I was touched by his love and the courage he showed by sharing his story.  He's also written a book about his experience, and has a website.
We don't know what will come to us on any given day; the only thing we can count on is that our true spirit will shine through every circumstance we encounter.  I hope to cultivate a loving spirit.

In honor of...

"The time is always right, to do what is right."

"In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

IT JUST LOOKS LIKE MAGIC!

Thank you 2010.

Hello 2011.

This is the year of tasks and getting things done...make it look like magic!

I wish Peace, Health, Love, and Happiness to all of you, to all of us. 

A couple thoughts...

Retired Navy Cmdr. Zoe Dunning is surrounded by other repeal supporters in San Francisco as the decisive vote is announced. (Paul Chinn/san Francisco Chronicle Via Associated Press)

Don't Ask Don't Tell is Repealed. Congratulations!

Gay rights are a no brainer to me and I don't understand why it hurts anyone what gay people do. I fully support the right of gay partners to marry and adopt children. (Though, I think marriage has become confused between the secular and religious and should be reviewed, that's a different discussion.)

I remember when DADT started in the Clinton administration. It seemed like an intermediate step at the time because Clinton campaigned on the promise that gays would be allowed in the military. He couldn't get it through so they settled on this compromise solution.

The outright BAN on homosexuality in the military was gone, but gays were still in the military closet. Although it took years to get this DADT repeal, the years may have made it easier to repeal at this time because we have years of evidence that banning gays in the military was nonsensical - as many service people testified, their branch of the service honors integrity and honesty, and yet they were essentially ordered to be dishonest and have no integrity. Makes no sense. Glad DADT has been lifted.

John McCain is still against it. He's not a smart man. I'm glad he's not our president. He wanted a study to find out what the service people thought since they're the ones who would be affected. (As a former military man you'd think he'd ascribe to the idea that a soldier does what the military tells him - no matter what.) Once the study/questionnaire was complete and it was clear that most in the military thought it was okay he decided the questions were wrong. Whatever.

Voted most annoying word? Whatever

WikiLeaks - I'm coming down on the side of leaks - unless it involves details of troop movements or the position of defense assets or the names of spies or stuff like that. Diplomatic memo's? Come on - be more professional in your diplomatic communication and more above board in your positions and none of this would be a problem, would it? It's what we all have to learn growing up and getting into the work world. One job skill that doesn't get enough mention is being able to communicate the truth in a factual, non judgmental or emotional way.

I think it's conveniently coincidental that Julian Assange has rape charges filed against him in Sweden. It's all quite suspicious. And I believe my government is involved in a way I wouldn't approve of. I think my beloved president knows what they're doing and I'm sad he's been put in this position, but I wish he wouldn't act like it's somebody else's fault.

This is like a spy movie or spy story playing out in real life. Except in a story I'd know what all sides think say and do, and the story moves along more quickly.

Anyway - except for if people's lives are in danger, I think this is embarrassing for the United States, but WikiLeaks did nothing wrong.

I feel bad for the kid who leaked the stuff though. That's pretty rough. I'm glad PFC Bradley Manning did it, but he violated the terms of his employment and he'll have to suffer the consequences. That's the problem with being a whistleblower; you must have a lot of courage and be willing to suffer the consequences. I haven't done research on it, but I think he didn't have a noble reason for leaking the documents. I got the impression it was because he could, and he felt a bit neglected. That's the kind of thing the CIA might say about somebody in this kind of situation though - they try to make it the fault of some misguided loner. Sad.

I still don't get Facebook

It seems like a middleman.  Companies and people with their own websites create another 'website' and encourage people to go there and have discussions, while at the same time they continue their own websites where they also encourage discussions.
Seems like an extra layer.
I'm not a mobile user so maybe that makes a difference. 
Honestly, I like the idea of eavesdropping on people's lives via their status updates without giving anything back.  But, by the same token, that means it doesn't create any connection - it's just idle curiosity.
Twitter makes more sense to me, but I can't follow those conversations so I don't know what's going on there either.
I'd say mobile computing technology - rather than Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg (I didn't see the movie this year) - should be the Time 'Person of the Year' or Julian Assange.  I thought I'd heard Time was going to make Julian Assange the 'Person of the Year' until the rape charges in Sweden happened. 

Selling America to the World

We seek to export the American way of life to the world - consumerism, independence, nonviolent change of power.
Yet, if the whole world lived like Americans, would the planet be able to provide the required resources?

If everyone lived like average Americans I wonder if our civilization would collapse? How would the earth provide all the resources necessary to sustain that kind of life?
As it is, the Earth is running out of many of the resources we use, and that's with most of the world not yet living to our standards of comfort.

Our global economic plan, though, is to use the craft of advertising and emotional manipulation to create an interest in our way of life in the rest of the world and then provide it to them.
We think that's good for us because it means we've opened up global markets and are making money.

It doesn't make sense to me. We may have made money initially, but eventually we can't sustain that life and we'll have to figure out a new way to live.

In America we've used nuclear power and fuel engines in our cars for years. But, when the Chinese and Indians buy into the dream and use those same technologies, we tell them to stop because we can't ALL live with those luxuries or the planet will suffer.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

We need to create a new American Dream. We can define a way of living that doesn't use up natural resources unnecessarily and yet makes sure everyone has enough.

My American Dream: Parks and wilderness areas, better food distribution, reasonable sized houses, conversation, valuing everyone's contribution to society, art, tolerance, creativity, patience, compassion, and love.

We could export those ideas around the world and live on Planet Earth for a very long time.

I finished another book!

Part two of the Walnut Grove Trifecta (part one is here, part three I haven't read yet).

I like her.  Alison's writing style is easy, casual, friendly, funny, and genuine.  I feel like I met a friend.
I respect her activism (Aids Project Los Angeles and National Association to Protect Children are two groups she supports), and enjoyed her stories about being Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie.  We also learn about the part of Alison's life that is not as innocent and lovely as "Little House" though she tells it very honestly - she seems to have a good perspective on what her life was and has become.  Again, I respect and like her - her book was good company!

It seems I have less to say when I enjoy something.  Everything about Alison and her story made sense and rang true.  I recommend the book.  

The book's website

What a waste...

The Republican Senate leaders today presented a letter to Harry Reid describing how the current Republicans in the Senate will handle themselves in the upcoming sessions prior to a new Senate configuration next year.

You can see the letter on the Republican Senate website here.

This is what I don't understand...

While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike.

How do you fund the government at the same time you're preventing tax hikes?

Where is the funding coming from? 
You're decreasing taxes on personal income, but expecting the taxes small businesses pay to increase because the owners of the small business are persons whose taxes were not increased so they were able to increase the size of their business?
Or is the funding coming because the people whose taxes were not increased spend the money in the marketplace and create more revenue for small businesses and corporations?
I don't get it.
Shouldn't politicians at least TRY to make sense?

I thought the government spent most of the last decade taxing nobody and buying everything and we don't have a booming economy that investors can count on.

They're so convinced they're right and won't give anyone an opportunity to try any other idea - even when the votes in the 2008 election made it clear we wanted to try something else - if it's not their idea.

What arrogance and childishness they're demonstrating. 

I would like the government to invest in small businesses. 
I'd like the government to invest in small manufacturing companies so we can start creating things again.
I don't think a service economy is a stable economy.
I also wish we would invest in science and technology that helps us come up with new ways to conserve our natural resources, or new ways to use the resources we have.
I'm all for the space program - let's get back into space.

If the government could invest in these things more jobs would be created and whole new industries born.  That's how to spark the economy.

I think that's what Obama's been trying to do and he's been thwarted at every turn by the pesky little mosquitos who aren't interested in governing but are only interested in staying in power by using the emotionally volatile and easily manipulated public to create trouble.

That's what I think today.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

No words necessary!

Happy Thanksgiving

MSFMG sent an e-card this morning that made me want to include "Simple Gifts" on my blog today.
It reminds me to be thankful for the simplicity of the most valuable gifts life has to offer;  love, peace, and health.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Community Love

Christmas episode is on Dec 8 at 8pm on NBC.

Winter traffic snarls...

Seattle Area Alerts

11/22/2010 10:55 PM

Blocking Incidents

• On I-5 northbound at Mercer Street there is a disabled vehicle blocking the 3 left lanes.
• Update 10:07 PM : On I-5 southbound just south of SR 161 there is a collision blocking the HOV lane. Fire Assistance has arrived on the scene.
• On I-405 northbound just north of SR 522 there is an incident blocking the HOV lane.
• On I-5 northbound at South Center there is a disabled vehicle blocking the HOV lane.
• Update 9:54 PM : On I-405 southbound just north of Coal Crk Pkwy there is a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane. The State Patrol has arrived on the scene.
• On I-5 southbound at Lake City Way there is a collision blocking the 2 right lanes.
• Update 10:53 PM : On SR 520 eastbound just west of 84th Ave NE there is a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane.
• On I-5 northbound at Lake City Way there is a disabled vehicle blocking the 3 right lanes.
• Update 8:07 PM : On SR 599 northbound at East Marginal Way there are several disabled vehicles blocking all lanes.
• Update 9:49 PM : On SR 520 eastbound at 92nd Ave NE there is a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane.
• Update 9:06 PM : On SR 520 westbound at I-5 there is a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane. Tow Assistance has arrived on the scene.
• Update 7:21 PM : On SR 99 southbound at SR 599 there is a collision blocking the left lane and the right lane.
• Update 5:36 PM : On I-5 southbound at S 188th St there is a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane.
• Update 7:18 PM : On I-5 southbound at NE 45th St there is a disabled vehicle blocking the right lane. The State Patrol has arrived on the scene.

When the injustice of a cruel world is more than you can bear...

First Snow of Winter 2010 - 2011

Yesterday afternoon it started snowing big flakes in the Crossroads area (yes, they look like big raindrops, but I assure you, they were big snowflakes moments before they hit the windshield of my car). Luckily all that went away and it was a dry night.
This morning I started working early when it was still dark. By the time it got light it was snowing big flakes again. The winter begins...

(P.S. I can't seem to get the top picture to print in this area...that's the one that is this morning's snow from my work area at home.)

I finished my first Kindle book

Not to mention, the first book I've finished in a long time that wasn't Doctor Who.

I just finished reading Melissa Anderson's new book called "The Way I See It".

I selected it to read because I'd already started Alison Arngrim's book "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated" and in that book, Melissa Anderson does not come off well. I was interested in hearing Melissa's side of the story.
Melissa Anderson's book was light and easy to read quickly, so I put aside Alison Arngrim's book for the short time it took to read this one through.
I thought it sounded like the kind of book stars might have written in the old days when their squeaky clean reputation was important, or an old Tiger Beat magazine article. Melissa doesn't say anything unkind about anyone or any experience. Everything is upbeat and happy. She mentions some uncomfortable acting situations but nothing that she doesn't put a good spin on.
Which, in real life, is a blessing.
For a book though? Eh. It lacked emotion. Long passages of the book are her scene by scene descriptions of Little House episodes. The little tidbits of information she throws in are not entirely interesting. For instance, when she writes that an actor was in the episode and then tells us what other movie the actor was in. Oh. Ok.
Other sections of the book are written as if they are part of a script. That seemed wasteful and gimmicky to me
I believe this book was put together quickly to capitalize on both Melissa Gilbert and Alison Arngrim's books which also came out this year (and I purchased on Kindle).

I wanted to read the book to find out if Alison Arngrim's characterization of Melissa Anderson was the truth or not. I come away thinking it very well could be.
Melissa Anderson confirms that she wasn't great friends with Melissa Gilbert; their personalities weren't the same. As much as we, the viewing public, would like to believe they shared a special real life bond because they played sisters on television, the truth is they were coworkers. That's it.
Melissa Gilbert and Alison Arngrim were good friends, also confirmed by Melissa Anderson.
From that, I assume Alison and Melissa Anderson were coworker's. That's it.
I could absolutely believe there was much more conflict (and interesting details) than Melissa Anderson describes in her book. I can also believe that Alison Arngrim is relaying the truth of the relationship as she felt it, which could be different than Melissa Anderson meant it. Or not.
I don't think Melissa Anderson cares. She's okay with whatever people think because she's happy with her life as it is.
And that is the difference between Melissa Anderson and Melissa Gilbert/Alison Arngrim and why they don't have the special relationship we want them to have; they just don't think about things the same way.
No big deal.
And that's what I take away from the book.
Other than the fact that it cost the same as Alison Arngrim's book and Alison's book is five times meatier than Melissa Anderson's. I don't think Melissa cares - not because she's mean, It's just not where her life focus is.

Here's link to a video of Melissa promoting the book. She seems normal to me - nice, not overly interested in telling her life story, but not immune to wanting to make a few dollars.

By the way - Along with Melissa Anderson and Alison Arngrim's books, I also purchased Melissa Gilbert's book "Prairie Tale: A Memoir", so eventually I'll have completed the Little House On The Prairie trifecta.

(The Little House books were my faves when I grew up in the 1960's - hardcovers with illustrations by Garth Williams...classic. Strange to see that all these years later I'm commenting not on the Little House story, not on Laura Ingalls Wilder, not on the television show, but on the lives of the three child stars of the television show which I only watched 'cause I had read the books. Crazy.)

I'm quite taken...

Confession: I was awake in the overnight hours back in 1981 to see Prince Charles marry Lady Diana.
And...I even have a book commemorating it.
Yesterday's official announcement of the engagement of Prince William to Katherine Middleton reminds me how much fun it is to be happy for people I don't even know.

I've linked to a video of what I assume is their official engagement interview. It's reminiscent of Charles and Diana's interview - same ring, same seating position. But, based on what I heard, it's a match made by a different standard than Charles and Diana's. William seems like a well grown up man and I feel strangely proud of him for overcoming all the emotional obstacles to become comfortable and happy. I wish Katherine all the best.

Prince William was especially endearing after the 14 minute mark when he said one of the reasons they waited so long (they've been dating for about 8 years) is to give her a chance to back out because he's trying to learn from past experiences. They both wanted to mature into themselves before committing to something quite unimaginable.

I'm just so glad for this family if they've managed to come out of the drama, scandal, and tragedy of the past to be happy and fulfilled.

National Treasure - Roger Ebert

It's a wonderful gift to live in the world in which Roger Ebert writes.

"There's no flinching in the impalement arts."

I think that's a great line - I'm going to look for a reason to say it in my real life one of these days.

Bill Geist said it this morning in a CBS News Sunday Morning report on knifethrower Throwdini.