Crisis in the Land

This came across my desk today, from Bill Moyers - an American hero. You can read the full article, and I recommend that you do:

Since Bush was elected the number of lobbyists registered to do business in Washington has more than doubled. That’s 16,342 lobbyists in 2000 to 34,785 last year. Sixty-five lobbyists for every member of Congress.

The amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by nearly 100% in that same period, according to The Washington Post, going up to anything from $20,000 to $40,000 a month. Starting salaries have risen to nearly $300,000 a year for the best-connected people, those leaving Congress or the administration.

The total spent per month by special interests wining, dining, and seducing federal officials is now nearly $200 million. Per month .

But numbers don’t tell the whole story. There has been a qualitative change as well. With pro-corporate business officials running both the executive and legislative branches, lobbying that was once reactive has gone on the offense, seeking huge windfalls from public policy and public monies.

Listen to what Theodore Roosevelt said one hundred years ago when he took on the political bosses and big money of his time for committing “treason to the people.”

"We are standing for the great fundamental rights upon which all successful free government must be based. We are standing for elementary decency in politics. We are fighting for honesty against naked robbery. It is not a partisan issue; it is more than a political issue; it is a great moral issue. If we condone political theft, if we do not resent the kinds of wrong and injustice that injuriously affect the whole nation, not merely our democratic form of government but our civilization itself cannot endure."

We need that fighting spirit today – the tough, outraged and resilient spirit that knows we have been delivered a great and precious legacy, you and I – “government of, by and for the people” – and, by God we’re going to pass it on.

Bill Moyers

Photograph by Sherry Mac, Flickr

Turn Around

Turn Around

Written by: Harry Belafonte / Alan Greene / Malvina Reynolds

Where are you going
My little one, little one
Where are you going
My baby, my own
Turn around and you’re two
Turn around and you’re four
Turn around and you’re a young girl
Going out of the door

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and you’re a young girl
Going out of the door

Where are you going
My little one, little one
Little pigtails, petticoats
Where have they gone
Turn around and you’re tiny
Turn around and you’re grown
Turn around and you’re a young wife
With babes of your own

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and you’re a young wife
With babes of your own

Where have they gone
My little ones, little ones
Where have they gone
My babies, my own
Turn around and they’re young
Turn around and they’re old
Turn around and they’re gone
And we’ve no one to hold

Turn around, turn around
Turn around and they’re gone
And we’ve no one to hold

Where are you going
My baby, my own

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We’re captive on the carousel of time
We can’t return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

Blasts from my Past

My long lost friend in NYC sent me these photos I took about, oh, 15 years ago! They are of my daughter at Easter, and (below) my daughter in her little bed on the floor at bedtime, obviously tooooo riled up to sleep! She just saw the photo now, and remembered how much she loved that book. The room that was hers used to be the room that was my friend's. He got divorced about the same time I did, and he moved out and I moved in. I managed to stay friends with both of them, and share this house for almost three years with the other man who happened to be my daughter's godfather. We had fun living together and then he was whisked away by a guy with a beautiful big house and the promise of a life of romance. No dice. And that particular friend has vanished in bits and pieces, a little at a time until, 5 years ago we saw each other really for the last time. Chalk it up to different paths in life.
This gag picture, below, is me and my best buddy L. lookin' at some beefcake. Those gay guys always have the best porn! L. has a daughter roughly the same age as mine, and they've grown up together like sisters. Except that L. and her family moved to Colorado about 10 years ago. We manage to visit fairly regularly, and she's become a doctor of Chinese medicine, and is now in another program to obtain additional credentials. It's been wonderful to watch her. She had
her baby at an older age, when she was an RN, and then started school at an older age and finished first in her class. She's a great doc, has treated me many times , and in addition to her educational expertise, she has great intuitive healing powers. So gosh, my friend E. in NYC, and L. in Colorado, have left our little nest of Santa Cruz and struck out to find new frontiers. I look at them and wonder what my life would've been had I left this odd little burb. I hope to some day, when the younger of our 2 kids is grown and gone. I'm trying to talk N. into PWN, in hot pursuit of the bums (who also abandoned me in California, I might add) who will probably be long gone into some super secret hideaway with no electricity by then.

I think it's because my older daughter is graduating high school that I am often thinking of our past these days. Because I'm in my own metamorphisis, because things are changing fast, because I'll be 50 in a year and a half, because I'm finishing up my course in hypnotherapy and will begin practicing in April. It's almost as if things stood still for awhile (but of course they didn't) and now have picked up the pace behind my back. I look ahead and wonder what I will do with myself, and where my life will go next. I will have time on my hands. Time and a bit more freedom. Space to fill, or not. And I wonder what I'll see when I look back 15 years from now.

Chilly Morning

Very chilly morning here in Central California. 30 degress on the coast is pretty darned cold. Still and all, I took Shasta for a walk at the now famous (ha!) LHF. On the way back to the car, I snapped this photo and then played with photoshop at home. Eh. Not too thrilled, but I wanted a visual for my post! I need to actually READ the photoshop book. Feels like I'm flaying in the dark without it. Yes, I experiment, but it doesn't lead anywhere.

I'm beginning my second week off since surgery, and it is nice to be on my own schedule. Reading a lot, taking daily walks, enjoying the quiet. Work will be there waiting for me next week. I've got to catch up studying for my hypnotherapy class. I'm am also exploring the idea of conducting hypno sessions over video instant messaging, so if anyone out there is interested and has the equipment (built in camera or iphoto) and ichat, we can try it, and I won't be charging you until and unless I have my certification! If interested, you can email taraccenter-hypnotherapy@yahoo.com. Free sessions -- ya never know, you may like it!

She's Messin' With Me, Right?

File under "People are Stupid." Or maybe it is me. Could be. I am people, afterall.

I'm on a list that's a support group for people who have had weight loss surgery. There's a very annoying gal who rants frequently and has at one point or another insulted christians, texans, alternative health care modalities and practices, and on and on. Yeah, okay, I do it elsewhere, but not on this list for chrissakes. Sorry that I just used His name in vain. I save the nasty stuff for my blogging, okay? So, I privately email her letting her know that her latest remark was insensitive and could she please be more mindful with her posts. She writes back that she has absolutely no idea what I'm referring to. I think perhaps I replied to the wrong person on list. I'm feeling a bit confused. But she's asked me to clairy so I do. It goes like this:

Me: Hi Vicki, I'm happy to clarify for you. Here's your origninal post:

What is that [deleted to protect identities] school of Chinese medicine on Seabright?
If you're into that kind of thing, they have very affordable acupuncture; an intern with a teacher watching. My husband says it works. I don't know. I've seen film where people underwent surgery even having only acupuncture for anaesthesia.

Hey, if nothing else, it's worth a giggle and a good conversation! I did it. Once.

Vicki---


*******
so, this is me back again. I was trying to tell you on my pvt email that especially in a support group that deals with health and medical issues, to belittle a health practice is not so good. Your last sentence I feel is belittling and dismissive regarding the practice of acupuncture, which some people on this list, including myself, may practice. If you turn it around and I said, "Well, you can try weight loss surgery if you WANT, if nothing else it's good for a giggle and good conversation" wouldn't you feel a bit dismissed? All I was saying is, on a support group that deals with health and wellness issues, it's best to tread lightly on various medical and health practices so as not to alienate people. Does that make sense to you?

Her response to the above, my second clarification:

> No, I believe in acupuncture. Many western people think it's useless. They don't know. Sometimes they think it's "cool" but once they try it they begin to understand know beneficial it is. Much like foot reflexology. People here [she's now in Texas] aren't educated yet, so they have to be drawn in because it's the latest rage or outrageous. That's the mentality here. Whatever is popular. They don't have a clue of the real power of acupuncture...they think
it is a novelty.

> Hey I', white, I don't disparrage. They just don't know. Personally, I like my ying and yang to be in harmony. Many times my chi was blocked, and what a relief to have it flow again!
>
> Vicki

My response:

Ok, once again Vicki, it's not about your belief in acupuncture. It's about being sensitive on list about people's belief systems, including their medical and health care. Sometimes your comments on list are insensitive IMHO, and I'm only asking you to be more mindful in your posts.

Peace,
Tara

Her response (this is getting too ridiculous)
--- Vicki wrote:

> I honestly don't know what you're talking about. Can you explain? I am truly perplexed.
>
> Vicki

Finally, says I:
> Vicki,
now you're just messing with me. I'm done.

Tara

I've blocked her from my email address and I'm just not going to respond to her on-list. The moderator has sent her a kind reminder about being respectful on list (she also uses a lot of swear words which in this context isn't appropriate). Mountain out of a mole hill? Hell yes. But I was itchin' to tangle with her. I think she won.

Will Wonders Never Cease?

I was restless last night, had wild dreams. I was in various domiciles and humongeous hotel suites, and then, the last one, in a basement apartment where my friend Ellen used to live. I lived upstairs. I think of Ellen a lot. She died peacefully in her sleep several years ago. She was an artisitic soul through and through. She raised her children, divorced her husband, lived on her own for a long time. She was sensitive and intellectual, always questioning, always searching. So, this last part of the dream I am actually living in the apartment she used to live in and I'm thinking, wow, this is awfully small, but I can manage. Maybe it would be nice to manage in a small space. Then, late morning, I get a call from her son E., who I have not heard from in several years. E. and I go back a long way, and he was very involved in my life when I was pregnant with Laurel and when she was very young. E. has been living on the upper east side of NYC for the years with his partner of 12 years, A. We lose track of each other and then, in a flash, we're talking again and it's as if no time has passed. They lived in Santa Fe before that, and Ellen moved there with them. I never got to Santa Fe for a visit, and when I was in NYC a few years ago, I had lost track and my conference schedule was really busy, so I didn't look up anybody.

It was a wonderful conversation, and I was stunned to learn E. has turned 50. He, in turn, was shocked to know that our lil' dumplin' L. had turned 18. World turning. I want to thank E. for pursuing my contact information and for getting in touch. What a gift. What a delight. Out of the blue, with perhaps Ellen as a harbinger...thanks, Ellen, you're still pulling fast ones in the great beyond!

He'd Be Singing the Blues If He Felt Them

Apparently, I go into the hosptial for a short stay and all hell breaks loose. What was Dick thinking? I knew I shouldn't have scheduled my surgery while he was hunting, but his staff assured me everything would be fine. They are always a bunch of f*ing liars, so I don't why I believed them, except that I really wanted this surgery and it had been delayed once already. I just hope Dick was not drinking from his flask when the incident occured. I will get out of my sick bed and kick his behiny if he was. I just wish he'd touch base so I'm not in the dark. If it was an honest mistake, I can forgive. Dick, gimmie a call. I've asked my secretary to wake me.

Fine Wine

So, once again I was treated to Ms. Bonnie Raitt -- an artist who gets better and better the longer she is on this earth. The house was packed, but like every other Santa Cruz event, a good third of the audience filed in well after showtime. Boy does that piss me off. They oughta close the doors and keep late comers out. This was a sit-down conert, so having people filing in for a full hour after showtime just was annoying and got my hackles up. And my hackles are pretty up just normally. Anyway, back to the show...Irish musician Paul Brady opened the show with a set that took awhile to warm up and grab the crowd. I had never heard of the man, but after awhile he grew on me, especially when he joined Bonnie in the middle of her set for a few songs.



Whenever Bonnie's in Santa Cruz she talks about how much she loves it. Last night she said that whenever she drove over from San Jose and hit the summit, cruising down highway 7 past Pasa Tiempo, her liver starts hurtin' in memory of all the damage she done it whe back when when she lived here a short time. She knows she always mentions it, but she can't help it. The crowd always goes wild of course.

So here's my other gripe (in addition to late people): obnoxious people at concerts. There were a couple of middle aged, overly done up ladies who had obviously been drinking, and yes, they showed up late. Then, when they were ushered to their seats a few feet away from us, they immediately started in with the gyrations and arm waving of teenage girls who just imbided their first six-pack. The poor couple next to them were horrified and N. and I said a little prayer of thanks that we were way over here in our seats. At one point the poor fellow asked the girls to sit down so they could actually see the show, and they just said, "Sorry!" and continued on their merry drunken way. Always the facist cop, I called an usher over and asked him to ask the gals to dance in the back if they must move so. He got a lot of lip from them, but they did sit down after arguing. But the very next song they were up again and when Bonnie was singing "People are talking...." they turned around and danced while pointing, pointedly, at this poor couple. Agh. That poor couple didn't even call in the reinforcements, I did. So much for trying to help. See, I have poor boundaries, and when someone else is hurting, I hurt as well. Plus I just really enjoy seeing assholes put in their place. In this case, I was not satisfied. It didn't ruin the experience for me, entirely, but it sure pissed me off. Why are people so stupid? You tell me.

At the end of the show, in her first encore, Bonnie brought the fabulous Linda Tillery to the stage, who, moments before, literally brushed my arm when passing by to get backstage. She joined Bonnie in that kick butt song "Love Letter." Ouch, but it was good!

If Bonnie comes to your town, go see her! She jokes a lot about how old she's getting, but I'm telling ya, she is better than ever. Ever. Fingers nimble, sliding away, raising her guitar over her head, and beltin' 'em out. I think of her dad, and watching him in musicals when I was a kid, and how funny life and time is, and how much I enjoy his progeny now. Fruit of his loins. And the circle will be unbroken.

It's a beautiful day

Gosh, it's purdy outside this morning. Clear, warm skies with a brilliant orange and pink sunrise. I'm late for work, well, not yet technically but if I don't get off this computer I will be. Call it an addiction, just don't call it late to dinner.

I just read that the Danish cartoonists have gone into hiding if you can believe it. Poor dawgs. And there's a pretty funny and instructional cartoon from Mark Fiore as well. How will all end? These loonies will make all the xenophobic nut heads even more paranoid about Islam, which will lead to more confusion and separation. Whooooo boy, good thing I'm not in charge of solving the big problems.

I just need to get my butt outta this chair, slap on some lipstick and hit the road.

Photoshop R-O-C-K-S part deux

Photo pre-photoshop.

Photo post photoshop. Liquify bases of bushes, copy and invert.

This is fun!

Why I love Jon Stewart

Pithy remarks.

Jon Stewart on the Enron trial:

"The trial of Enron chiefs Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay began four-and-a-half years after perpetrating -- allegedly -- the fraud that led to the second largest bankruptcy in American history. Why four-and-a-half years? Because apparently it's harder to bring Ken Lay to trial than it is to invade two countries."

Oh...SNAP!!!!!

Amen

"Religion is a way of walking, not a way of talking."

- Dean William R. Inge, Author, Divinity Dean, Oxford d.1954

Photoshop R-O-C-K-S

You are getting very sleepy....that's right...your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier and you can barely hold them open....sleep now, close your eyes and sleep....

Antidote

click to enlarge


I finally loaded photoshop and starting playing with it. Can you tell any difference between the two photos (other than my name on the photoshopped one)? A slight color change...but I was trying to saturate the image a bit more. I also practiced dodging and burning, and dang that tool is sensitive!! Just like in the darkroom, if the "negative" has a light image on it, dodging it will not necessarily give you the details that you belive are hidden in the darkness.

It was fun to play, however. I would get up every now and then and catch up on laundry and housework. I was so busy and moving about, that I decided not to take Shasta out for her romp in the park. My blood sugars are low, and if you're diabetic, you'll understand why I didn't want to exert myself any more. This usually happens when I do vigorous house chores -- I check with my glucose monitor at regular intervals to make sure I'm not about to have a bit of insulin shock.

Now I'm up in my [nice clean] bedroom sitting in my sling back chair, listening to Grassy Hill Radio on iTunes and feeling glad for this day. A good one. Productive and creative. Keeping on my liquid diet in prep for surgery on the 13th. Staying busy is good while on this diet....

Next Friday, Bonnie Raitt at the Civic. I try to see her whenever she comes to town, which is fairly regularly. Damn, she just looks better and better the older she gets. She's at the peak of her powers musically. Impressive. She loves Santa Cruz (oh, I'm sure she says that to all the towns....) and its funky populace. We are a funky bunch. We're so funky that I feel like a straight soccer mom most of the time, whereas if I'm in other places, I feel so incredibly radical and dangerous. Hmmm.

Saw on t.v. that the Danish and Swiss embassys in Lebannon were torched today. F-ing idiots.

Madness in the world - again

I've been reading about the furor over these cartoons, which depict religious Muslim fanatics...much like many times cartoons depict religious crazys of all stripes. Now angry Muslims are burning emabassys and calling for the cartoonist's death, "We will redeem our prophet Muhammad with our blood!" they chanted. Mahmoud Zahar, leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, told the Italian daily Il Giornale the cartoonists should be punished by death. "We should have killed all those who offend the Prophet and instead here we are, protesting peacefully." he said. I just don't get the violence -- don't they see they are playing out the very stereotype the artist depicts?

Is everyone on the planet suppose to walk on eggs shells so as not to offend a particularly violent sect of this religion? Remember Rushdi? Wrote a novel and had to go into hiding for years. This is madness! This is intolerance and hate at its vile worst. Hey, I respect anyone's beliefs in a higher power, god, and whatever religious and or spiritual belief system they have. Just cool it with the violence. Remember when Muslims destroyed statues of Buddha carved in the mountainside that were thousands of years old? Enough! These crazy peole don't own some kind of moral high ground, like they would like to believe. If others can learn to live in peace, why not them? Why should we not expect them to live decently among the rest of us in the world? This is not Islam, just as the Spanish Inquisition was not Christ-like, nor the bloody crusades.

I just needed to vent. These people are too damn scarey. And no, I'm not talking about all Muslims. Please. Dare I publish this? I dare.

R.I.P. Stew

Stew Albert is dead at 66. A lesser known Yippie, but a very active one, and someone who seemed to know everybody, including Allen Ginsberg and Eldrige Clever. A jokester, an expert in guerilla theatre, a pain in the ass to many. Long may his freak flag fly!

Once Again With the Monkey Face

From the State of the Union farce, "Abroad, our nation is committed to a historic, long-term goal -- we seek the end of tyranny in our world. Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism. In reality, the future security of America depends on it. On September 11, 2001, we found that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to our country."

Gee folks, is he finally getting real about Saudi Arabia?????? No, he's just being vague in order to perpetuate his lie that Iraq was behind the September 11 acts of terror in the U.S. Oh, but pressed, he could always say, "I were [sic] referring to Afganistan." Sadly, it's not hard to believe he's still trying to 'massage the message' when we know damn well what his game is -- and the the jig is up.

Bush, talking with God, while Cheney contemplates his war profits.

I couldn't bring myself to watch and listen tonight, but of course my sick curiosity got the best of me so I looked up the text. Ugh.