a heart is captive

a heart is captive

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Lowes was right

Not wanting too respond in a knee jerk reaction to Lowes and other corporations pulling their ads and support from the Muslim family reality series, I have been mulling it over. And they were right to do so because this is a Conservative Christian ruled country. The Evangelical Conservative Militant Christian Fundamentalist (ECMCF) rule this country with an iron fist and we should not disobey them. If America stands for anything it stands for the ECMCF!
    President George W Bush set us on this scared path. And Americans have enthusiastically embraced this change in our governance. It is a soft revival of Adolph's early speeches and desires. One need not look very far to see how many of Adolph’s speeches were paraphrased by President Bush’s speech writers.
    The USA stands for the true creation of the great manifest destiny. And most Americans are all for the Evangelical Conservative Militant Christian Fundamentalists they may not say so as yet and hide behind libertarian or liberal or middle of the road terms as of yet, but they are shy. However they show their support in their speech and postings. The peek out from behind the old saw “Freedom of Speech is my right, not theirs”.
    This is the bedrock of the new America. The new attitude and mind set both foreign and domestic policy. It is what America wants that counts.
    Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.

Monday, December 5, 2011

The Post Office V. Internet



If you don’t send a lot of snail mail, if you use the internet for for bills, banking and communication then the news that the Post Office will be cutting back on service does not bother you. But It should.
    Slower to less frequent to none at all mail service is the next step to the Steampunk version of the fascism that this country is assimilating. Millions of pieces of mail go through USPS-United States Postal Service. USPS was one of the first departments created after the revolutionary war with Benjamin Franklin as first Postmaster General.
You are on the internet why should this matter to you? For at least two reasons for now.
The first is the most important. The government will and can control and keep surveillance on everything that goes through the internet- your banking & buying habits, what you say in emails, on social networks ...everything. Think not? The internet is too big? China has over One Billion people and the government can filter and block any internet activity it desires and does so. With every new bill passed there is some rider, tacked on, something extra that further narrows the scope of the freedoms that had been once America.
    The second reason is the jobs lost in this process of downsizing and not just in the Postal Service but the ripple effect that will touch everyone- maintenance people for postal vehicles, makers or the postal vehicles, janitorial services, artist who design stamps, printers, paper makers, stamp collectors, small mail order businesses, large mail order businesses, Netflix and other types of movie rental by mail, rural people who do not have reliable or fast internet service. Those who have no computer. The services that support the workers in any of the branches that are the post office and extended services. This list can go on and on.
    The way the current regime is operated is so far from efficient that anyone who thinks we live in a free and democratic country is either a fool or delusional. Not one elected official or wannabe elected official has this nation as their first priority. We no longer are citizens but consumers and cash cows. Elected officials are in it for the power and the money. We are now a miltiary-industial fascist government and like the pot of frogs the heat has been increasing for a long, long time, and those at the bottom are feeling the heat first. Soon all of you on the top will too. The Post Office is just the canary in the mine. If you can not send a private letter with any speed, and if people do not see that this is alarming then this county will deserve what it gets. I plan to send Christmas Cards.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Abdul Qudus A Poem By Vicki Kypuros


Abdul Qudus
Going into this class I had no idea that this man by his appearance could ever touch my life
He slept on dirt and as a child had to select his mothers burial site in Pakistan
Most people are selfish, materialistic, and conforming
He cares enough, he is willing to pay more taxes for his fellow countrymen to have benefits
He slept on dirt and as a child had to select his mothers burial site in Pakistan
Education has been his focus, getting it and giving it
He cares enough, he is willing to pay more taxes for his fellow countrymen to have benefits
He has worked so very hard and is deserving of the glorious retirement and life he has planned, sitting on the bank of a lake listening to poetry and sipping some drink
Education has been his focus, getting it and giving it
Rocks, minerals, earth, its age and plate tectonics are what was he was required to teach
He has worked so very hard and is deserving of the glorious retirement and life he has planned, sitting on the bank of a lake listening to poetry and sipping some drink
It was in his tears and his smile along with his genuineness that my eyes were opened
Rocks, minerals, earth, its age and plate tectonics are what was he was required to teach
As he taught the requirements of the course he made sure to make us aware of what was going on all around us
It was in his tears and his smile along with his genuineness that my eyes were opened
He challenged his students to attempt to make a difference for the future of our earth which he adored
As he taught the requirements of the course he made sure to make us aware of what was going on all around us
He is retiring and moving away, to sail on high seas
He challenged his students to attempt to make a difference for the future of our earth which he adored
People do not realize that there is so much more to a person than what they look like or what the world says they are
He is retiring and moving away, to sail on high seas
I did not believe that genuine, honest, peaceful people existed
People do not realize that there is so much more to a person than what they look like or what the world says they are
I found that there are genuine, honest, peaceful people
I did not believe that genuine, honest, peaceful people existed
Life is so important to him and through him sharing his wisdom my life has been touched
I found that there are genuine, honest, peaceful people
He is the most genuine honest person I know and he only desires the best for humanity and our world
Life is so important to him and through him sharing his wisdom my life has been touched
He will be remembered, he will be missed, I will never forget him
He is the most genuine honest person I know and he only desires the best for humanity and our world
I have learned all the requirements of this course and have been given a hope that people will see others for who they are and not what they look like

Monday, November 21, 2011

Punkee's Sister- A True Story

Punkee’s Sister

In October 2003 a nest of feral cats was disturbed in my back yard. The backyard was ½ acer so there was a lot of growth by the time the lawn man found time for me. It was a time when San Antonio still got autumn rains and the beautiful wild flowers of fall had to die down before they could mow. I had been feeding a beige cat, a bit fluffy and what would be called oatmeal colored with a few brown tips. She was pretty, and I wanted her to trust me enough so I could catch her and get her spayed. I did not want more homeless cats to suffer and I was tired of suffering for them.
     The lawn man scooped up a black and white kitten thinking it was mine and it escaped from the house and put it on the back steps. He told me later that it ran away. That night we had a cold rain, another of the last cold October rains we would have. About 2 am my cats became quite disturbed and woke me; it was then that I heard this little screech outside the window. My cats were jumping from my bed to the window sill and I could not sleep. I put on the lights and went outside in the rain and found a little gangly black and white cat caught between a Lantana shrub and the fence. He was wedged in tight. He was soaked and frightened. I picked up the little mite and brought him inside. Dried him off with a towel and held him to warm him. My big cats were sniffing him and Scholar and Inkee began licking him. The little guy calmed down. He was a baby and had no real teeth yet. I had no baby formula and it was 2 am. So I put him on another dry towel and he fell asleep. At 6 am the next morning I went to the local grocery store and bought the only can of milk replacer. Having raised many throw away kittens I had plenty of bottles. The replacer had weevils!  I had to sift them out since that was the only can and poor baby needed food. He downed 2 bottles of formula and
fell asleep in my lap.
That Sunday was spent fretting about this baby-  I did not need another cat - I had four. In 2002 I lost my most beloved companion cat Hodges. I was devastated at his death and still have a grief that will not go away today.
    The next day I bought some fresh replacer from the vet and gave this baby his morning bottle and when I got home from work his evening bottles. He would not sleep in the bed for the first 3 days, but that Thursday night I heard him thump down from the sofa and climbed  up to my bed and got comfy on my pillow and purred until he went to sleep. He grew fast and with in the month had ventured to the big cats food, He also made his trips to the litter box. Doing a stretch climb into it and a thump out of it after he finished his business, I put a cigar box step for him and he used it. Each evening when I came home from work he came for his bottle. I’d crush fleas since he was too young for the flea medication. One evening I crushed nine fat fleas. In December the vet said he was old enough for the flea stuff. It took two applications for all those fleas to be gone.
Punkee thrived and grew to be a long, tall lanky cat that looked like some naughty child got him with a paint brush. He was cute but no real “cat” beauty. He was, though, sweet and a love bug.
I continued to feed his mother and his sister outside. One day I got the sister inside but she went so wild that keeping her in would not be possible. I let her out and continued to feed them.
Months after I caught  then released her. I heard a plaintive loud cry at my front door. It chilling to hear. I looked outside and there was sister cat. She had brought two tiny kittens and laid them side by side on the door mat. She sat there and cried. I came out and she did not run away. I patted her head, and picked up a baby and felt it was cold, held it close to my ear and heard no heart beat blew into its nose and mouth rubbed it a bit to stimulate it but nothing worked on either of the little mirrors of their mother. I was in tears at this point. Mama cat sat there and I told her I could not save them. She rubbed my leg, cried, and ran off. I prepared them for a burial. Under my bedroom window where I found Punkee 6 months before. I wrapped them in white hankies and used a beautiful stepping stone to mark their grave. I cried the whole time. I did see her watch me from the garden the whole time. She sat there after I left to go inside it had started to sleet. I called her and hoped she would come in now but she did not. I never saw her again. But, I have Punkee who does not look like his mother or sister except for the few longer white hairs that he is getting as he ages. His sister and mother disappeared. I moved that year in August. The person who bought my house asked about the stone in the garden and he has kept it there since when I told him the story of Punkee’s sister.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The Best Person I have ever known

I am not the best blogger out there. I do not have a sunny side up attitude most of the time. I do not even want to research anything anymore- I always know the results before hand anyway- that is the Cassandra in me. I can complain about the weather, climate change, the broken government I live under, and society in general. And I do. But not today. Today I will share these letters. One from the professor and one response from a previous student. I do this because he deserves to be recognized. He graced San Antonio College for 27 years and gave his all to his students and never said a bad word about any colleague. He kept up with his topic- Geology- and he gave the best foundation for the subject that any Ivy League University could give. He always choose the best books for his students and did not dumb down the course. He valued and still values education.
http://www.theranger.org/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-farewell-sac-1.2631748
This is his farewell letter- the only retiring teacher to write one. Professor Qudus is a class act and there is no one to follow him. Students will lose but so far the school is self-destructing and will not notice. Here is a letter from a student.http://www.theranger.org/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-thanks-for-job-well-done-mr-qudus-1.2666449
I feel the need for this man to be recognized in this day and age of blatant discrimination. He gave more to this country then he got. He was treated rudely by police, administration, UT at Austin Geology department when he wanted his Ph.D. and worked full time, commuted and earned good grades only to be told "your kind are not really...." Imagine hearing "Your kind..." and then have all your work for several years go down the drain in such a vulgar manner! And even his long term colleagues turned on him after 9/11. Wake up people not all Muhammad dudes are bad not even 1% are bad. This man educated people and for many he educated their children! His life story is as compelling to hear and as inspirational as any I have read. From a mud brick hut to a full professor in the USA. I will tell it someday if anyone wants to here about a real person.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Make Love Happen

There are so many wonderful things in this world. The air, the scenery, food, love, flowers. What I can not understand why so many people want to make life miserable for others. I can say with out qualm that nearly everyone on earth wants to live a nice life with a proper house, enough food and clothes. Not in pig in mud rolling luxury just a simple but secure life to enjoy this short time we have here. This earth is billions of years old- we live at best 80 years; many of us die before that and never  had breathed a happy or content moment during our short miserable lives. I say STOP! To every government and faction that has some power lust. No one’s religion or political ideology is worth suffering millions for. Nothing is worth dying for. If we must die let us die in our sleep after a good life. Do not tell me what life I must lead- I am moral and I aim to hurt NONE. Yet all those who rabidly profess faith seem to want to hurt others. We have only this little earth to live on and there are people striping its skin for wealth, poisoning the air, water, land. Poisoning minds to do evil things in the name of god. Live and let live. If you seek your path with a religion seek it; do not force others to tow your load too. This is free will. Free will is just that. I am thrilled you have -faith keep it. I have mine- I do not share it; it is mine, it is personal. What I want is to be left alone and I want others to feel and live how I live- a house, enough food, enough clothes, safe water safe neighborhood. It seems I want for you what I have. Do unto others as you want done unto you. Simple as that. Yet we are victimized by our own greedy governments who lust for power, lust for war- simply because they can not seem to leave others alone or be still in their minds and hearts. No child should go to bed hungry, no animal should be killed for recreation, no woman should be abused, no man should have anyone's boot on his neck- all should have meaningful work, with time for family or hobbies or leisure. How can this happen? I am at a loss to tell you except to love one another. We have such a short life here. Love one another. Live well. And maybe I will no longer cry for my beloved planet, sisters, brothers, and animal cousins.  Make love happen.

Friday, November 11, 2011

The House of Good-Bye


This House knows we are leaving it. I feel it and see it getting depressed at the realization we are leaving for good this time. It breaks my heart to leave this House. If I could take it with us I would, how I love this little big House. Yes it needs some decorating, but since we are leaving we do not need to fix it for ourselves- just so someone will buy it and I hope love it as we do. If I could move it to Maine 3000 miles… but the cost is out of our reach maybe a million dollars sound like a lot of money to me so I pull that from the air. I do know it is close to 3000 miles depending on the route needed for a house to be moved then set up again. It will need to be insulated for Maine weather- Texas is never that cold for that long. I already miss this house and feel so sad. This loss is like when I  left home to marry, but I knew I’d see Mother again. No this is like when I left the US for Canada- I knew I’d never see my mother again. It is a haunted feeling to know in your soul that those you love will never be alive again in your eyes- just as memories inside. Six years Mother is gone and I am just beginning to heal. So many have passed away since. The toll was frightening, the grief unbearably painful. And now. And now to truly leave this House forever hurts. I do not like the climate here, but I love this House, this neighborhood. I can bird watch here, see squriles, opossums, grow a garden on its ⅓ acre. I miss this house and must no look back when we leave this spring. I never looked back before but since marriage this House has been home, a place I am loved unconditionally. It is not the House of course but it is. It is this House where I found love. I honor that. I miss House. Good-bye.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Social networks

I am here too    The one thing I have noticed while roaming around the online social net works is people dwell in the silly and ridiculous or want to sell something. I have seen so many clips of cute cats and disparaging cartoons about women, and some about men, that I do not doubt my assessment of the quality of educated folk.
    Sometime, well most of the time, it is like hiding in a men’s locker room listening to their inane chat- cars, sex, nagging wives, and their work. That there are those who are religious or non religious and they find each other to argue the nature and existence of god. Politics are rampant but there is no humanity- it is all about money, making money...worst of all is the lack of compassion toward those less fortunate. I am told this is a Christian country but love of neighbor is non existent- there are hungry, homeless, sick people by the millions just in the United States of America and still there are great hordes of citizens who rail against universal health care and other social services.
     We like to gawk at Kim spending $10,000,000 for a sham wedding- how many families could have been given $100 a week for groceries for a year with that kind of cash? Rich wedding planners, florists got their share but the waiters still got below minimum wage and had to rely on tips. I always feel dirty after ready about these famous for nothing people- I never read the first hand events there are plenty of folks on the social networks to post this stuff that I never need go beyond Face Book or Google+.
    I live on the bridge between two very different cultures. Many times they do not mesh, well most of the time. I need to be on a tightrope to balance between the two. So I feel at an advantage to see from a unique perspective- no average westerner has this, and no easterner has this.
    If I lived in my home and not as a refugee I could network the old fashioned way- in the garden club or friends of the library. So now I am here and here is where I will ge involved. And who are these people anyway -Kim? What is she besides famous enough to be talked about? Never mind I don’t really care.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Pascal's Wager



Since this is an online blog I will link the text rather than retyping it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager

    I can not accept this as a viable solution to the question of god or not because what if the religion I follow, since I must follow some organize pattern or doctrine since only religion recognizes god, goes against my internal sense of morality and ethics? What if I strongly believe that animals are my brother creatures, that I do not want and am offended at the ideal and practice of eating them or using them for sacrifice to this god? What if I reject from my very core of morality those teachings that allow, condone or encourage things repugnant to me? Then what? Do I simple reject those parts of the dogma and go my own way rejecting the word of god since these are part of the tenets of the religion I am following in agreement of Pascals Wager? Does that make me a hypocrite to go through the motions of religion and faith with out belief? If god knows my heart, thoughts, everything and I am in a service not believing the Eucharist of the wine and bread or any miracle, then is its intention not counted by this god, is it just mindless  rote?
    If I live my life in moral boundaries harming no one adhering to my ideals that I am my brother’s keeper, that all life is sacred. That killing another out of anger, hate, or killing an animal to satisfy my desires to consume their blood and flesh in depraved. That is wrong; then what kind of god do I worship who would approve or desire this? To lie to myself every day that there is some reward for my actions according to whatever belief pattern I have chosen, and that doing good is just the means to this reward that the desire to be good, do good has lesser value then mindless obedience?
    No religion reveal by holy prophets have ever allowed women full measure of freedom and choice, Am I to accept my second class status to bend my neck to a man as my earthly lord and master? What of my life and ambitions? Since Pascal's Wager says to believe in god and god is only mentioned with in context of religion am I to deny my entire time however short or long my own heart and mind?  What kind of monster god would inflict such cruelty on me for the need of my adulation and worship? Then the nature of god must be accepted in my heart for faith to be real or it is no more real than my rejection of faith and god at the beginning. What then will all my worship and prayers be accept by rote with my intent simply to avoid punishment of hell and seek a reward? Which religion is the real religion of god? God seems very vindictive in these religions to risk offending.
    I would have to deny my own internal morality, accept my inferior status which would grate on my self esteem that I was created as subservient by this god demanding my worship and praise, in order to be accepted into his heaven? If I am told I may choose a religion that best fits my moral structure what should this say about the revealed religions? That there is no consistency to them that one is as good as another since all paths lead to heaven? What nonsense must I put up with to assure my salvation from a god who has thus made my life unpleasant and sad? What kind of god is this? And how does my life benefit now is it only after death I get the reward?
     And what kind of reward for a hypocrite who lied everyday and caused harm in my own mind and by my own actions, what manner of divine being accepts this as good?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

I will be 60 in a month. That number has bummed me out. 60... sounds like I am getting old. I feel lousy since I have a cold but more lousy since I am almost 60 with a cold. I have done a lot of interesting things in my life, met interesting people-in person not cyberspace- I am still alive, which is a good thing. My Father was gone at age 58, many of those I went to junior high school with were dead before they reached 30. I remember the 1960s and much of the late 50s. It is not what I did or remember that has me down and out, it is what I still want to do and how much time I do or don't have in which to do it. Can I still wear boots? I was never able to wear them when the first couple of times they were fashionable since my calves were thick. Now I can find them to fit and am I too old to wear them? I still do not have a home decorated to near any level shown in Traditional Home or House Beautiful. So many movies to watch; Autumn leaves to gather; so many Christmas snows I still want to see. However, I have learned a lot in my journey- The best incense is Gonesh brand-even not lit they smell wonder-filled. I do know that drugs and alcohol will kill people, have killed many I once knew, and kill the personality first before the body. I know Marie Antoinette did not say let them eat cake, that ancient man was smarter then modern man. There are too many people who do not understand how important water is for everyone's survival. We do not need to kill each other in wars if we do not want to. We do not need to kill any animal for food-we kill only because we want to. We can go to the moon but can't decide that health care is important enough for the population to take it out of the greed market. I am no longer a believer in any religion but will not want anyone forced to see my truth- many could not handle it. I am not a Capitalist at all, I do not believe in rampant consumerism. I have socialist liberal leanings after seeing how cruel those who claim to be conservatives are. So I am back at turning 60. My mind does not feel old, my tastes are not old-I know what steampunk is and I would wear a glass eye ring. Am I everything I could have been? No, but who is really? So there I am -60 going on infinity.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Traveling Mirror: Universal Health Care/Socialized Medicine

Traveling Mirror: Universal Health Care/Socialized Medicine: Why I like universal health care- I do not feel well since yesterday. Could be an anxiety attack, part of the ptsd I have, a heart attack, o...

Universal Health Care/Socialized Medicine

Why I like universal health care- I do not feel well since yesterday. Could be an anxiety attack, part of the ptsd I have, a heart attack, or just tired of the intense heat we have had then the sudden weather change. I have no health care coverage so if I go to the doctor and it is nothing big deal I am out $150 office visit, which I do not have to spare, or if it is a serious thing no coverage for that either, so that adds to what ever stress I am feeling. I can not just up and go to the doctor either it will be a week or maybe 3 weeks during this time of the year for an appointment. An emergency room visit will cost at least $5000-10,000 if I am there over night- a real amount from a person who did need 18 hours in the hospital via an emergency. So you tell me why this "socialized medicine is wrong" and somehow un American.
Tell me why I am out of this wonderful American health care loop since I can not afford it?  Why should only the rich receive healthcare- any kind of healthcare with out the added worry of paying for it? Tell me why it is not Christian to have health care. Hell tell me why it is not Christian to not have homes for the homeless, why should anyone in the USA go hungry because they cannot afford food. Many Senior Citizens are not rich and are considered food insecure. And many more people in this once great country live on the edge of homelessness or in that one pay check away from the streets reality. Why is this the Christian way to all the Tea Party types? Why are you not your brother’s keeper and why don’t you care about others? It is so obvious that you are callous and are repulsed by the not rich citizens of this once great country. I can not understand your logic and lack of compassion. You seem to me cruel and mean spirited. Life is so fragile, so fleeting that it is a wonder why so many people want to make so many others miserable for this short life span.
So tell me why socialized health care is so wrong.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Who are the Domestic Enemies?

    When does the federal government become the domestic enemy? I believe it became the enemy of the people when the congress and senate passed the Patriots Act with out reading it and let Bush and Cheney invade two countries with out provocation or review.
     Afghanistan did not invade nor fire on the US until we invaded their country. We forced Osama Bin Laden out of the Sudan where he was easier to keep tabs on into the wilds of Afghanistan. Now we are occupiers of a hostile people because they do not want to be occupied. We invaded and ruined Iraq and caused the brutal death on tens of thousands- why- because Saddam wanted to “hit my Daddy”? That country’s infrastructure is in shambles everyone is living under war stress and getting angry and desperate - they have nothing to loose. Now we are continuing the destabilization of a country with nuclear weapons. Pakistan was never treated nicely by Afghanistan since it came into existence. Afghanistan wanted major parts of Pakistan for decades. Pakistan took in millions of Afghanis including Karzai. And now Pakistan is blamed for everything that has gone wrong with the US invasion.
    The government has protected and danced to the tune of big business, the military industrial complex and other high dollar lobbies.
The economic meltdown was not cause by me, but by banks and financial institutions believing they are above the law and idea of ethics- any ethics. Millions of jobs went overseas never to return again for only one reason -profit. We have ceased to be a democracy for many decades now- we are a capitalistic nation with out any set of moral boundaries. That is why the Tea Party types are going fundamentalist Christian on us. They need some sort of divine guidance since they refuse to take responsibility for their inactions and actions. The blind faith in some sort of god takes the responsibility off their minds while they call for more slaughter, more derision to destabilize the US. They blight the name Republican- a once proud progressive party.
    So when can we decide the federal government has become the domestic enemy? When will the leaders of this once great nation accept the responsibility of its acts that have caused this slide down to a fallen empire?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

An Idea

<DIV>    The world is an ever changing place, and to meet the challenges as quickly as possible to avert major economic and social hardships new solutions to the problem of affordable housing need to be started now. Everyone deserves a safe, clean, secure place to live. Yet the industrialized nations also need to limit their carbon footprint.
     In Europe and North America there are far too many homeless people, and far too many isolated people struggling to make ends meet in over priced apartments, living with slobs for room mates, or needing to commute from reasonably priced housing to the city for their work. New housing  uses more resources than needed per individual for an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Simply put individual houses and self contained apartments use more resources.     Also there are those who need to travel to jobs as itinerant workers or temporary workers, but still need reasonable and secure homes for shorter periods of time or a home to come back to.
    The new age solution is an olden days staple- The Boarding House. A modern take on the old boarding house is a workable solution to many social and environmental problems in today's society.
    First, what was a Boarding House?
    A Boarding House was a two to four story house that had rooms on each floor, each floor having a bath room and toilet room to be shared by those on the floor. The rooms were furnished; some were spacious with a separate sitting area, some were smaller with just a bed, dresser, closet, an easy chair, table and lamp. All the room rents included two meals a day- Breakfast and Supper. Some had Tea time and sack lunches available.
    The residents and the owner/operator ate in the dinning room, with fixed times for meals. There could be a common room for receiving visitors, conversation, music or other activities-like card games, jigsaw puzzles and the like.
    Single men, women, couples with-out children, widows, widowers, retired elders, and traveling business people frequented these places. Long term residency was common with some Houses having extra rooms to let on a weekly basis. Today a mix of people will also be residents.
    Retired, widowed, young adults starting out, and those in between need a safe, secure, and friendly place to live. With wages falling, the idea of ownership of a house or setting up house in an apartment has become the impossible dream or the nightmare of living above one&#8217;s means for many people; as well as isolating and using more resources than needed for a comfortable life.
    The Boarding House of today and the future would cater to individuals of similar needs such as Vegans and Vegetarians. A mix of ages and genders is optimal for a family like setting to keep individuals from becoming isolated and the related ills with isolation. Structure of a home-like atmosphere as well as the freedom of independent living combine to become the ultimate safety net to avoid homelessness and reckless behaviors. It also allows for individuals to put money aside, live a more green lifestyle since less resources are needed to accommodate the 8-20 people in one house rather than individual apartments & houses, lessen commutes, thus traffic congestion. A Boarding House gives security to the residents - how many people have some one that can be called in case of emergency? Who will know if you are over due getting home from your day, or not up for breakfast? Who will know if you were living alone? An example of why this matters is a colleague of mine- an unmarried woman who had a small home did not show up for work after a 3 day weekend. After calling her phone number it was decided to go to her house and the police were called and she was found dead of an apparent fall in the bathroom- had she lived with someone or was a resident of a Boarding House she would have had someone hear her calls for help, been attended to, and not died.
    Boarding Houses should be owner operated and not corporate chains. This as a cottage industry would employ people, add to income and create a more friendly, caring society.
    With all the modern technology -wifi, cable, cell phones, head phones, people can live with each other and still have a nice amount of privacy. If the idea of shared bathroom facilities are incompatible, then the new smaller all in one bathrooms can be added to the remodeling and retro fitting of buildings that could be converted into Boarding Houses. An ideal is to have these boarding houses in the cities, on the public transit systems, in mixed use neighborhoods. Areas of cities that once were mixed commercial can be revitalized with residents and vacant areas adjacent to the houses can be gardens where flowers and vegetable can be grown by the residents and owner.
    There are many levels of service that a Boarding House can provide- laundry, meals of course, internet, cable. The idea is to have less space and resources used by just one person- such as a 4 room apartment ( bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen) and all the paraphernalia that goes with housekeeping contribute to a more green society.
    Making meals in itself is a time consuming process that needs special equipment, planning, shopping, and clean up. Many single people either don't eat properly leading to illness, obesity, over thinness, or eat out adding to the cost of living and added cost of the useless complete kitchen space in the rented apartment. Sharing meals has been proven to bring people together, creating compassion, camaraderie, better nutrition and mental health.
    The convenience of a Boarding House is no room mates from hell and no isolation. The people who will work in service to the house- an honorable, useful job- can get room and board with a small salary for their time and work. Running a boarding house is like running a family- there is cleaning, cooking, shopping, paying the bills as well as the joy of a friendly home and companionship. With these chores out of the way the residents can be relieved of the added stress of a household albeit a one person household- in the times of job insecurity and dwindling paychecks.
      Boarding Houses can accommodate pets, and other essentials of living well. The cost to live in a Boarding House should be less than an apartment with as much opportunity for privacy. The responsibility of the residents is to be clean, tidy, have cordial behavior to all or out they go- unlike the room mate on the lease!
    Unlike a co-op living arrangements where everyone is suppose to pull their share of work, and we all know they do not, the Boarding House takes care of the cleaning, cooking, and laundry. The resident keeps his or her room neat and tidy, leaves the shared bath room ready for the next user, and the common rooms also neat and tidy. Responsibility and a safe, affordable home- a win-win solution for many of societies people as well as the developed world using less of the finite resources.
     The Modern Boarding House is one solution for Europe's and North America's housing and societal ills in the face of dwindling paychecks, isolation of single individuals, land use, and the decline of the current standard of living of the Western world. It will be much easier to relocate for work, sit tight when unemployed, and still not face living on the streets.  Change should now start to be for the better. It is time to come full circle. </DIV>

Monday, September 26, 2011

Humane

    A New World Order with a kinder, gentler people. Civilization should be evolving into a kinder, gentler new world order. We have had thousands of years of religion and philosophy to create a moral foundation for human beings;  much of the tenets from the worlds religions are sound practices and have become the foundation of all the world’s laws.
     However nice the sound of a new world order is, there will always be a percentage of the population who will choose to live outside the law and commit horrendous crimes that must not be ignored and can not be condone or ameliorated with a finite prison sentence and rehabilitation. For these crimes against society harsher means must be used. However, many civilized countries have abolished the death penalty as being barbaric, and it is, to commit a cold blooded murder as revenge is also a barbaric act. But how to deal with those who outrage society?
    Life in prison is one way to remove those who do not wish to live in a civilized world. The old banishment from the tribe is the best way to remove those who commit outrage. We imprison those we banish to make sure they will not inflict themselves on others somewhere else.
    What does life in prison mean now when people live longer? It means elderly prisoners with all the infirmities that comes with aging. These men and women can not be let out of their banishment just because they lived long- where would the justice be to those victims and their families who had no life- prison or not?
    In addition, the growing scarcity of resources to be used to create a better environment for a criminal rather for the law abiding citizen would add additional insult to the social and personal injury.
    One solution for the geriatric prisoner population is in the prison population itself. For those who wish to reform their ways while serving their time, training them to be medical care givers for the elderly prisoner is a way to not use valuable civilian caregivers (nurses, nurse practitioners, orderlies, and the like), and to give valuable training to short term prisoners for when their sentence is served and they re-enter society as a useful, rehabilitated citizen. The trained and experienced ex-offender care giver will be required to work as a care giver for a number of years in areas that need them as their payback for the training they received..
     Warehousing convicted men and woman for a period of time has not helped them nor society. It cost more to keep them in a prison cell than to attend an ivy league university. And we still have criminals let loose after their time is served. Society needs to allow time served to be accepted and not let the stigma brand these people but allow the newly released human being to work, join, and be productive to society

    In addition to this, the young offenders given life sentences can redeem themselves by giving back to the society they have wronged, by caring for the elderly prisoners after they have been properly trained. The new lifers will have meaningful work during their banishment and serve the greater good by reducing the need for the civilian population to go without care givers that would need to be shifted to the elderly prison population.
        Life in prison is a better choice than adding to the brutality of the human spirit with the executions of those people convicted of horrendous acts; however, if we are to become a kinder, gentler world we need not torture and mistreat those in banishment. To be without family and friend, to not be able to choose from life’s bountiful offerings again is a severe punishment. 
    Life in prison with no parole is reasonable punishment from society.  The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few -especially when those few commit unspeakable crimes against society.
    There is no perfect utopian dream that will come true in a world fast approaching eight billion people. Finite resources and a fickle climate will turn our normal living standards of today into dreamy past stories told to our grandchildren. We do need to create a new world order; however it must meet the needs of the real human beings that will populate it- criminal or not.
     Preparing for the criminal element now will release us from that burden later. Creating a training program for those who can be reformed allows the debt to society to be paid, and allows society to benefit from its choice to reform and rehabilitate not just punish.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I have gotten brave and updated several of my sites. I am no longer afraid of the USA and fear their storm trooper mentality. I have spent years trying to blend in to the scenery- but no more. Put me in jail at least there I can get some medical care.
 I have had this site since 2004, no one but me reads it and that is ok most internet browsers are like me  wants some fun. And most people who reply to common sense get offended  and use foul language since they are not in front of any real person. A lot of knee jerks out there to be sure. A lot of ignorance - I can tell when people are ignorant and proud of it-shows all over.
I do not support the troops for these reasons:
1. there is no draft everyone in the service wants to kill the enemy or at least get a little torture in. After all they are not real people the Narns are they? Is is not like Muslims have any human feelings.
2. This is too much way too late where were all of you when Viet Nam was going strong and men/boys were drafted- except the slimy ones who got out of the draft- with no choices but jail or die in the jungle.
We should never have invaded Afghanistan or Iraq or compromise Pakistan to near destruction. Troops murdered Osama- why? Why not a big showy trail demonstrating how Our Democracy works? To show those evil bastards that we are not those evil bastards they think we are?
It is time for truth all over the world- we are going bankrupt but we became morally bankrupt a long time ago. There is only one law- do to others what you wish done to yourself.

http://home.earthlink.net/~gholibaz/

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Ten Years After

    The 10th anniversary of the horrific events of September 11, 2001 will soon be here. Today on the front page of my local newspaper the head line reads “America's new view of war: There’s no end in sight.”  The first sentence reads-  ”This is the  American era of endless war.”
    Why is this so? Why must we keep this endless war? Whom are we fighting and for what and why? Do we hate Islamic everything? Do we hate Muslims? It looks that way from across the borders-  we do not see how we look to others. Nor do we care apparently.
    Osama Bin Laden is dead, murdered instead of captured. A convenience for the USA- why kill an unarmed man? He did not sanction the events on 9/11. We forced Sudan to expel him and he went to Afghanistan. The tailban did not raise a weapon against us until we invaded their country. So why are we there in Afghanistan - the tailban gave sanctuary to a fellow Muslim and we knew he did not have his hand on the trigger that caused the horrible events of 9/11. Is this enough to kill tens of thousands of people and create millions of refugees swarming into Pakistan? Was this reason enough?
    Our government lied to us over and over and over again until their lies started to sound like truth. Like children confronted by an overbearing stranger we allowed the constitution to be violated by the president and our representatives. Why such a cruel revenge- for revenge is what it is now. We are mired in a Viet Nam war like war- with out the draft- we now hire mercenaries to fight for the pay of citizenship.
    Why not ask this sacrifice of our own people-  draft my sons and daughters to fight this just war? Where is this cry from the citizens of the United States of America, from the Tea Party people, the Republicans, the Democrats? If this is a just war then draft and kill more people. Fewer than 4000 people died on 9/11. How many people have died so far in our war of revenge in Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan? Oh I forget these are Muslims and therefore not 100% people like us good Christians in the United States of America.
    Where are we as a nation tens years after? Are we safer? We were never safe. Timothy McVeigh was here, Ruby Ridge was here, Mt Carmel was here. Were they Muslims?
    So this is the 10th anniversary of the events of 9/11. We now have an endless war draining our resources, our morality, our intelligence, and ability to think. All we do now is cower in the corner and lash out in fear and ignorance. Our economy is in a depression unlike the one in the 1930s since we can’t use a war to bail us out of this one.
    10 years later and where are we-  business as usual?

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cassandra Calling

My name is Cassandra, and I am writing this while waiting for a page to load. It is unusual for me to wait so long. And the server is timed out so I am off line.
    I have had this “feeling” for some time now that the internet will fail. Soon. How soon I am unsure. Since everything is getting internetized we are more and more dependent on a technology that is really just an infant subject to the whims of undisciplined  minds.
    Many of us become “friends” with others from over seas- much like pen pals of the last centuries. Mail can be slow, however if it is operated properly mail gets to the receiver from the sender.    
    But I see s sinister slowing of dial up, a sinister non availability through wiifii, and other so called fast connections, that puzzle the user and causes them to doubt their machines and their abilities to connect and use their computer. This is not so.
    Unless you have never used a computer then it is not you but the system that is failing. It fails because of weather, but it fails because of over extension and the bravado  of those who operate the internet and all the connections.
    Governments and corporations have infiltrated and threaded themselves in all facets of the internet and track us, block us.
    The internet is a drug most powerful and we are heavy users. The world is dependent on the ether-world.
     Remember it was created for government use, corporate( academic) use. Not for our use. Yet we are the sheep who have flocked to the siren song of internet. The freedom to travel and see and do what we can not do at home. And they have enslaved us, lulled us to its easy use then slowly rachetted up the difficulty. Yet it was always difficult with the early computers with all the patches and bugs and we were conditioned to expect glitches and others problems that vex and hinder us. When Apple came out computers were easier and had less problems. So the golden age was a few months maybe a few years. Then the complications crept into this world too. Partially greed and partially design and purpose to further enslave those who resisted the first wave. And now what can we do with everything online from bills to communications? We become blind and deaf when our connection is off line.
    We have lost the freedom of non-digital broadcast television. Hooked to the cables that are owned by the sinister corporations who have never had anything in their sights but gold. We are the cash cows. We are the duped and gullible who are becoming more ignorant everyday we tweet, twitter and not really read or even think our own thoughts.
    Civilization is in a downward spiral and we are being sucked into the vortex that has atrophied the minds of three generations. Baby Boomers, their children and their children’s children are now doomed.
    It is not too late to change, however it is too late, for we are in denial and will not see the abyss until we pass through the portal.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Things do not change, we change. Henry David Thoreau

Our experiences shape our hopes and dreams. Time recreates our understanding, attitudes, and responses. Hearing an old favorite song from our youth can elicit nostalgia or a wonderment of what did we hear in that song?
    We all can look back at our hairstyles& clothes and shudder what was I thinking?! However we should not be dismayed, that snapshot of our past is the us we were then. It is where we were, what we did, and what we thought. We have been in many cocoons and reemerged as many kinds of butterflies and moths. Life is the journey and we change with the times and trends. We grow and evolve to include new ideas and jettison old out dated ideas. Our lives are ever evolving and as for our changing for good or ill only time will tell.
     Some will know only at their death bed how good or bad they truly were, some will only learn after being caught that maybe they were wrong. A successful life lived is when you can look yourself in the mirror and like what you see with out the frosting of justification for your misdeeds. Mistakes are made but the conscious deeds made from anything but a fair and honest corner should cause some shame and regret. How many lives have you ruined because you followed orders with no questions? How many people are fired for no real reason except the bottom line for stock holders or the ego of the Dean, office manager or other higher ups?
    We all share in some form or another in these events either the wronged or the one who does wrong. The big question and truth is when do we discover that we have been wrong and must change. We can not change the past but the right now must be changed or your life will amount to nothing.
    Why are we here on earth? Big question. Many people stay shallow and cling to religion as their answer saves time and contemplation. The easy way out of the big question.  Why are we here?
    The reason we are here is not important it is what we do that counts in life not the why am I here question. You are here now, do good things and get on with the short time you have. Asking the right question is the most important thing you will ever do.
Do you know the right question?