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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, September 04, 2004 My Saturday A trivial thought or two while I wait for the coffee to finish, after which I must plant the dozen or so pots of salvia and impatiens that have lived on the front porch for the last two weeks, finish weed-whacking the back yard because the lawn mower is still in the shop, and take back the very pretty drapes which do not, unfortunately, go with the new carpet after all. Just another Saturday in rural America. The thought which has obsessed me for weeks now is, "What exactly are the goals of the current administration?" Not the rhetoric, but the actual long-term intentions. Creating a good place for their descendants to inhabit? That's a little doubtful, considering where the economy is headed. The people in power may be pig-headed but at least some of them are not un-intelligent. They do know--they have to know--that the country can not continue as it has been with trillion-dollar deficits and the decreasing availability of oil. Where do their grandchildren go when the economy collapses? Not all of them are going to be super-rich with sufficient foreign investments to sustain their life-style. Strengthening our democratic institutions so that America continues to be a shining example to the rest of the world? No, I am not being sarcastic. It may be comforting to the naive among them to think they can flee overseas if life in America becomes untenable, but the rest of them are smart enough to know they may not be wanted anywhere else. Protecting us from terrorism? Don't make me laugh. We're at least as vulnerable to terrorism--international and domestic--as we were before 9/11. The Department of Homeland Security remains underfunded, our ports are virtually unprotected, and the Defense Department's website was recently hacked. Safer from terrorism? Not that I can see. The folk in power in Washington know these things as well as you and I. So why do they persist in the same blind stagger down the same old road? Because they can't bear to admit their policies haven't worked. Because the only way to save face is to insist, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that the economy is improving, and that we're safer--loathed and gunned down in Iraq and with no coherent policy to protect us at home--than we were four years ago. That we can improve education by taking federal money away from the schools in the most difficulty, that we can improve health care by giving seniors a discount card for expensive medications, while Medicare premiums increase by a projected 17% and millions of familes have no health insurance at all. And as long as most Americans get their news from CNN and Fox, they'll believe it too. posted by Liz @ 7:36 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
A trivial thought or two while I wait for the coffee to finish, after which I must plant the dozen or so pots of salvia and impatiens that have lived on the front porch for the last two weeks, finish weed-whacking the back yard because the lawn mower is still in the shop, and take back the very pretty drapes which do not, unfortunately, go with the new carpet after all. Just another Saturday in rural America. The thought which has obsessed me for weeks now is, "What exactly are the goals of the current administration?" Not the rhetoric, but the actual long-term intentions. Creating a good place for their descendants to inhabit? That's a little doubtful, considering where the economy is headed. The people in power may be pig-headed but at least some of them are not un-intelligent. They do know--they have to know--that the country can not continue as it has been with trillion-dollar deficits and the decreasing availability of oil. Where do their grandchildren go when the economy collapses? Not all of them are going to be super-rich with sufficient foreign investments to sustain their life-style. Strengthening our democratic institutions so that America continues to be a shining example to the rest of the world? No, I am not being sarcastic. It may be comforting to the naive among them to think they can flee overseas if life in America becomes untenable, but the rest of them are smart enough to know they may not be wanted anywhere else. Protecting us from terrorism? Don't make me laugh. We're at least as vulnerable to terrorism--international and domestic--as we were before 9/11. The Department of Homeland Security remains underfunded, our ports are virtually unprotected, and the Defense Department's website was recently hacked. Safer from terrorism? Not that I can see. The folk in power in Washington know these things as well as you and I. So why do they persist in the same blind stagger down the same old road? Because they can't bear to admit their policies haven't worked. Because the only way to save face is to insist, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that the economy is improving, and that we're safer--loathed and gunned down in Iraq and with no coherent policy to protect us at home--than we were four years ago. That we can improve education by taking federal money away from the schools in the most difficulty, that we can improve health care by giving seniors a discount card for expensive medications, while Medicare premiums increase by a projected 17% and millions of familes have no health insurance at all. And as long as most Americans get their news from CNN and Fox, they'll believe it too.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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