Open letter to any Family

Open letter to any Family….with stress on the word “Family”

[Disclaimer: any attempt at, or appearance of, satire or humor heretofore will be solely for the  benefit of the author herein,

and is not intended as commentary on the content of this missile. Any, and all, run on sentences and erroneous punctuation are to be considered under the “poetic license” provisions.]

All of us have grown into very distinguishable personalities throughout the years. I feel it is imperative that we all come to grips with reality, and recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses……we seem to have a fairly good share of each. With these individual qualities in mind, it may be a good thing to think about how these individual traits can be successfully co-joined in a true, honest, loving, and nurturing family dynamic. Each to another, we are a family and, if all else be lost, we have only each other. Therefore, can we all agree to come together and recognize who we have become, our fears and hopes, and how we feel about each other.

Perhaps one way to start this discourse would to put down on paper our own sense of self [pluses & minuses] without regard for any other family member. We could then share these papers with the rest of the class, and open a meaningful discourse that leads us to a more empathetic, compassionate understanding of one another.

Our ship has taken in some water on our journey. Let’s try to dry out the bilge, and get back on course. I will gladly offer my self-examination first as a test run. I will not do this until we have all discussed this proposition in, at least, general terms.

I don’t feel I am over-stepping any boundaries, or, stepping on any ones’ toes. I am trying to bring a little more peace and happiness to each of us as we grow older [and, perhaps, wiser??].

Plus or minus, up or down, in or out, please let me know if this is something we could do for ourselves.

In loving outreach,

______(name)_______

Must see to apprec.

The New York Times – Friday, July 27, 2012

Front Page:

1)   “A Storm Study Ties Warming To Ozone Loss”

            Strong thunderstorms pump water into the upper atmosphere

            causing a depletion of the Ozone layer.

2)   “China Casts Ex-Leaders Wife in a Familiar Role”

            Wife of Politburo ex-member charged with poisoning a British

            businessman.

3)   “Once a Rebel, McCain Now Walks the Party Line”

            Senator John McCain is no longer going rogue; he is toeing the

            Party line these days.

4)   “Cocaine’s Flow Is Unchecked In Venezuela”

            Claims of success in the drug war may be exaggerated.

5)   “HOSPITALS WORRY OVER CUT IN FUND FOR UNINSURED”

            A sharp drop in aid to those giving care to illegal migrants is a

            result of the new Health Law”

6)   “Next Act for Superstar: Conquering New York”

            Fans are expecting great things from a Seattle player recently

            traded to the Yankees.

********************************************************************                                                                                                                              

Page A6: 3 articles – one on Syria, one on Afghanistan, one on Iraq

Page A8: one article on cyber attacks targeting the U.S.

Page A11: one article about the drought in the Midwest

Page A15: one article about cuts in funding for Head Start Programs

Page A16: one article about States manipulating the Federal Education System

Page A19: one article about a tentative deal to end the strike at Con Edison,

                    one article about an Army Private’s revelations just prior to

                    committing suicide.

 

*****************************************************************

Would someone please tell me where our priorities lay? We’re fighting two wars, still. Our computer networks are constantly under attack. There is a major drought occurring in a large section of our Nation. Head Start, a time tested winner, is in jeopardy. We continue to allow our Education System to be manipulated, and decimated. Our Armed Forces can’t seem to find a solution to the huge numbers of suicides of our active Servicemen/women. And, did anybody realize that one of New York’s largest consumer power suppliers was on strike?

Well, my shorts are in a knot and I am vomiting all over my Friday newspaper.

Plow Shears, or Swords?

   American History is really starting get to me, and not in very good way. For just over 236 years, our Nation has had its hand in almost as many armed conflicts of one size, or another. Our Military might and capacity to wage War grew quickly throughout those years. It seems we are at the top of our game, and way out in front of any other Nation on the Planet. In general, you can make an argument that the speedy growth of our capabilities in this area is all for the good, and is designed to foster World Peace. You can also make an argument that we have been one of the most bellicose Nations in history. Whichever side of this argument you may find yourself, think for a minute how nice it would be if the United States of America took a short “time-out” from all this saber rattling. How would things look if we just simply backed off for a while; mended our own fences; and held up on trying to shove our social, economic, and political beliefs down everyone else’s throats?

   It is no longer a question of who is going to blink first. It has become a large impediment to our own social, economical, and political growth. In a sense, we are doing to ourselves exactly what we did to the Soviet Bloc, as we simply forced them into bankruptcy trying to keep up with us. Do any of us want to see this Nation slide down that slope? I would venture a guess that the answer is, “NO”. Yet, no one seems ready to stand up to this issue in any substantive way. There is a mechanism, just around the corner, that will force our politicians to act on our Defense spending. There is a mandatory, and draconian, cut in Defense spending spelled out in the last “can’t we all get along” Allan Simpson blue ribbon panel;  staffed by a lot of folks who sit on the hands most of the time. (I don’t even want to know how much we, the Tax Payers, got bilked for that little adventure.) The truth is we can’t afford blowing stuff up, and shooting people, any more. I doubt very seriously if the cost of OIF and OEF will ever be fully disclosed. My “guess-timate” a few years ago was $3.4 Trillion, and I don’t think I’m too far off. (I haven’t considered the cost of taking care of our Veterans in this figure.)

   So, how about it, folks, could we try for a five year moratorium on entering any more expansionistic armed conflicts? Of course, we will pursue anyone who takes it upon themselves to attack us directly, or chooses to attack our Citizens outside our borders. But, as for policing the World, and forcing our values on people who don’t understand them and don’t want them, let’s stay away from that, and see how things go. My money is on the probability that things will go reasonably smoothly, and our types of intervention won’t be called for. To this effort, the phrase, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” may be just what the doctor ordered. It’s time to give Peace a chance.

Any Questions ?

Below are just a few questions and thoughts on the last two week’s occurrences.

      Can anybody remind me of why the Hell civilians need to own and/or carry Military style weapons of any type? I carried a Military weapon for one year, and I don’t have any desire to carry one again, ever. There is absolutely no rational for owning such weapons.

      Is there no decency in Journalism anymore? If I lost a relative in a “news worthy” event, and someone shoved a camera and microphone in my face, I would dispatch said “news” folk to the next zip code without hesitation.

 

      Why don’t I know where any of this year’s political hopefuls stand on any of the issues that actually matter to this Country? Sure, a good indication of future behavior can be found in current behavior, but I just end up getting my shorts in a knot when I hear the words Bain Capital and Birth Certificate, ad nauseum.

      Why does my Cable TV supplier choose to ignore FCC regulations that make it against the Law to air Commercials at a significant higher volume than your own personal setting? They were good about it when the regulation went into effect, but now, three years later, they have slipped back to their old ways. I do believe the Cable suppliers offer the higher volume to advertisers, as an option in their marketing contract.

      How do our returning Veterans feel about a Country and the Press putting their Wars on the back burner, while we all piss and moan over very trivial stuff, in comparison? Well, this one I can answer. They are starting to feel a lot like the Viet Nam Veterans did when they came home: forgotten, neglected, unappreciated, unwanted, disposable, depressed, and suicidal.

AIDS Memorial - New York City

   I read an Article⁽¹⁾, recently, on the proposed “AIDS MEMORIAL” for lower Manhattan (New York City). The second thing that came to mind was the question of why would anyone feel the need to glorify such a devastating disease. So, I did a little “google-ing” of some of our major disease over time. I wanted to find out if any other disease had memorial status. What I found was, where a memorial was present, the focus was not on the disease, but on the people who succumbed to them. For the most part, these memorials are unobtrusive, stone markers. They seem to be located in, or very close to, the Cemeteries where the afflicted are buried.

   It is my sincere hope that this Memorial in Manhattan reflects on all the Souls lost to this disease, and that it not singularly for those in New York City. All too often, it is the disease and the Doctors who get the accolades and the Memorials; all that is good, and fitting. I look forward to this Memorial’s completion with an emphasis on the People.  The heart of this City is certainly big enough to be Nationally, and Personally inclusive.

⁽¹⁾ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/permanent-aids-memorial-in-greenwich-village- 

    takes-a-step-closer-to-reality/

MEMORIALS/MONUMENTS TO PEOPLE WHO DIED OF MAJOR DISEASES ( Google searched} 

Polio	NO	there are statues & monuments to Dr. Salk for his vaccine
Smallpox	Absolutely no mention of Native Americans	Smallpox Island Memorial - West Alton, Missouri - American Civil War -Monument faces south and is in memory of the 26 Confederate prisoners of war and 16 civilians who died from smallpox
Cholera	Europe, Africa, Far East	Cholera Monument Grounds and Clay Wood -You +1'd this publicly. Undo                The Cholera Monument is a memorial in Sheffield, England to the victims of a cholera epidemic of 1832.
Measles/Rubella	worldwide	Measles Memorial Cemetery, AR You +1'd this publicly. Undo
Diphtheria	NO
Bubonic  Plague	Europe, Eastern Europe - Slovenia, Germany, UK, Austria, Czech Rep.
Sickle Cell Anemia	North America; On-line memorials and testaments	Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. - Tributes & Memorials:You +1'd this publicly. Undo SCDAA's Tributes and Memorials. Tributes are to someone that wakes up each day and overcomes insurmountable odds. Memorials are a testament to a life
Malaria	NO

Today's fireside chat

ARTICLES   OF   DECONFERATION

ARTICLE 1 - The Constitution will be replaced with a modern

                            version of the Letters of Confederation.

ARTICLE 2 - The Nation will return to its tribal roots and have

                            no Federal Government, as we know it today.

ARTICLE 3 - The Country will break up into Local and Regional

                            tribes, with the necessary alliances for trade and

                            business.

ARTICLE 4 - The tribal heads will be elders of some wisdom

                            and reason.

ARTICLE 5 - Their “terms” will last for eight years, then a new

                            set of tribal leaders will take “office”. Each tribe

                            will determine in their own way just who will lead

                            them.

ARTICLE 6 - There will be no “lawyers”.

ARTICLE 7 - The tribal leaders will hold court on any dispute

                            between tribal members.

ARTICLE 8 - There will be no “bankers”

ARTICLE 9 - There will be no Banks, as the system will rely

                            totally on bartering for its existence.

ARTICLE 10 - There will be no “stock brokers”

ARTICLE 11 - There will be no Corporations. There will be no

                              “stock” to be bought and sold.

ARTICLE 12 - The only “industry” will be that which stems

                              from, and is necessary to, the agrarian culture we

                              will embrace. That industry will be communal in

                              nature.

ARTICLE 13 - There won’t be any other form of organized

                              manipulation of the People and the goods and

                              services they provide.

ARTICLE 14 - No taxes are to be collected.

ARTICLE 15 - The Border Tribes will have the task of securing

                              our borders. All tribes will contribute to that

                              effort, as best and as much as they are able.

                              Separate, but equal, Militia will constitute our

                              common defense.

ARTICLE 16 – Every household and/or place of residence will 

                               maintain sufficient means of self protection.

ARTICLE 17 – All Tribal Units will provide for their own   medical system; to include personal hygiene,               

                               dental, pregnancy, abortion, immunization, and any other service deemed necessary by the

                               Tribal Elders.

ARTICLE 18 – All Treaties, with exception of current treaties with Native America. will be considered null and     

                               void.

ARTICLE 20 – We will have no expansionist Armed Force. We will no longer police the World. We will continue    

                                on this path until we pull our knickers up.