Not Nice to Fool With Mother Nature

I think I will leave pure politics here for a moment and focus on some of the other news. I have had enough of the Republicans, who caused this economic mess, refusing to participate in a plan to clean it up.

I am not very tolerant of stupid people.

I think it is absolutely horrid that arson is suspected in some of the Australian fire storm. In fact, one fire fighter yesterday was quoted on a news video as saying that as soon as they would get one brush fire out or contained it was re-started by arson. I know that arson has played a part in more than one New Mexico forest fire and several California wildfires. I think this is such a sad statement on human nature. Over 130 people are dead in Australia with dozens missing. The injuries and property loss is horrific.The law in Downunder has declared the charred remains a crime scene. There should be a death penalty for people that cause these things. I was thinking of bringing back burning at the stake.

Did you know when they burned witches that their friends brought wood so they would burn faster and be released from their torment quicker and with less pain. A big fire can totally suck out the air you are breathing so you suffocate. I wonder if anyone in Australia would bring wood if they caught the arsonists?

Speaking of stupid people (only a few or this blog could go on forever) many of those trapped on the Lake Erie ice flows actually bridged gaps in the water caused by cracks so they and their Budweiser could cross. The cost of rescuing these idiots has really taxed already strained resources of the states, and at least one governor was considering fining those rescued for costs. And why not? Maybe Budweiser will be willing to make a commercial using these idiots to pay for their defense against charges.

Oh, to prove you don't have to be drunk to be stupid, let me mention here the engineers that conceived of and built the Three Gorges Dam in China. All dams are generally on fault lines because that is where rivers like to run. But this one was built in a very geologically unstable area. The dam itself is the largest ever conceived. And the weight of the dam and now the water is believed to be the cause of that huge earthquake China suffered.

Let us not be too smug though because here in the United States we take joy from building nuclear energy plants on top of fault lines like over the San Andres fault in California outside San Francisco.

I think the lesson in all the above is, "It is not nice to fool with Mother Nature."

Most of the People only Some of the Time

My father was fond of saying that you can please a few people all the time, and some people some of the time and none of the people all of the time. This week has certainly brought home that to President Obama and the American People.

I have been following as best I can the criticisms of the Economic Stimulus package as it makes its way through the shark infested pools that are the United States Senate. Clearly everyone has a different idea as to what stimulus is and how to create it.

An economist friend of mine once said you could put three economists in a room and come up with no fewer than five opinions on anyone economic issue. I really see that now.

I am not an economist by any means but I am a broke American trying to hold on in stormy seas and the best solution I heard to this whole mess was to not put it all in one package but divide it into three or four parts. Still I can see that with the direness of the consequences in the world economy that the desire to do it all at once seemed imperative.

With the Senate moving toward a workable compromise our new President may get what he has asked for. He seems more than willing to work with everyone but I was pleased when he told the Republicans, "you caused this mess why can't you help fix it" or words to that effect. I doubt we will know really what works and what does not for a decade. We have not been here before. When the Great Depression happened the world was more separate; not so globally linked. I am sure that historians and economists will be debating this for the better part of the century. Let's hope that we at least learn something this time.

I've learned we should not have let GW Bush have his TARP funds. They have been misspent with no limitations and in some cases drastic over-payment resulting in no stimulus to the economy. I am sure we will be debating that for several decades too. GW was obviously trying to please just a few people all the time - like already rich CEO's and business owners.

I have my fingers crossed that this will work. That pleasing most of the people some of the time is all we need to do to get the ball rolling again. I do know it is democracy as it is suppose to work. GW, I think history will find, ran a dictatorship.

Funding for the Arts?

I was reading recently in a blog that the Economic Stimulus Plan being touted by Obama and which has passed the house includes funding for the arts. The Republican opposition considers it pork and is fighting it even as long standing performing arts organizations are facing bankruptcy and failure due to lack of donations during this economic crisis.

Is funding for the arts merely wasteful pork? As an artist myself I am inclined to say no so I did some research on the economics of the issue. There are some six million jobs in the arts which would be effected by this bailout. My guess is the number of artists in dance, music, and visual arts that are actually suffering because of this depression in the economy is a tremendous deal amount larger.

Arts also from the information I read seems to generate about $167 million annually in revenue. I am not enough of an economist to figure out how they derive that figure and if it is fact merely ticket sales to the Boston Ballet and the Philadelphia Symphony, etc. It would be hard to track the sales of individual painters and sculptors or even small studios and galleries. And are classes for our children in ceramics and dance included in that figure? They are not included in the bailout funds. It does not pretend to be that comprehensive in its scope.

After all this research I decided not to give the world economic perspective on the closing of the Kennedy Performance Center in Washington, D.C. I was too upset remembering great evenings there and at the Arena Stage in D.C. to be rational.

And then there is my community. We started as a ski resort. Then expanded to a golf course. Because of our wonderful location in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico we get bikers, hikers, campers, sightseers and an ever growing amount of art tourists. They come here to enjoy Music from Angel Fire, a chamber music festival in August; Angel Fire Mountain Theater performances and ArtsFest Fine Art Fair in July presented by the Moreno Valley Arts Council; and shopping the studios and galleries of local artists. This May we are launching a studio tour funded in part by the New Mexico Arts Council and the state tourism bureau.

Art Tourism provides a lot to the gross receipts tax base upon which our community depends for the maintenance of roads, civic improvements, and schools. Hotels and condos and restaurants all benefit from the classic music lovers that come here to listen to New York and world renowned musicians performing during Music from Angel Fire which has been going on for over 25 years. And while those performers are here they give free concerts in the schools which have been deprived of music and art education courses for years.

Art Tourism is non-polluting. Does not rut the mountain roads like mountain bikes or ATV's. Is not dependent upon snowfall.

Arts are not pork. Arts enrich our lives. And they are an integral part of the economy of many a town like mine.

What don't they get?

I just was catching up on some of the news of the last week and discovered that all those bailed out financial/investment corporations are still giving excessive bonuses to their executives that have failed in keeping the companies solvent. And Citibank, that credit card company you love to hate, is going to buy a new $42 million corporate jet.

How many people did they kick out of their homes for this? And how many Citibank Credit Card holders are now paying 26% interest and $35 late fees? Or better yet, how much of my taxpayer money is funding this joy ride?

This new toy of the CEO's carries only 12 passengers and a crew. Twelve! And just where do they travel on this gold plated luxury ride? Isn't this the day of the Internet? Conference calls? Live video streaming that allows you to hold a meeting with nobody leaving their conference rooms?

And shouldn't Citibank and all these "on the brink of failing" companies be cutting back on expenses and frills and bonuses like us middle class (rapidly becoming lower class) members?

I am sorry you managed your companies so very poorly but in true capitalism you should be allowed to fail. I say take the remaining TARP funds and open a government bank to provide loans to people getting foreclosed on or in bankruptcy themselves. No more for banks and investment companies. Zero. Zip. Nada.

They just don't get it. Literally!

Write your congressmen and President Obama Today.

He Said Things Would Change

I have been off-roading and spending quality time with my sister and my best friend here in Cedar Crest and not even watching the political news. But I get these alerts in my e-mail from New York Times and they said Obama was again heading to the hill to confer with Congressional leaders and Republicans on his economic stimulus bill!

Wait this is a sitting president. Not a president elect or a presidential wannabe. GW Bush spent eight years enshrined in the Oval office! He never even invited a single Democrat to the White House until his final two months in office. And President Obama has not only had everyone up for lunch and conference but is going once again to the Capital to confer with the opposing party!

For those of you looking for signs that he is fulfilling his promise for change look no further. This is a huge change. And not only is he talking to them but asking questions like, "Do you have a better suggestion?" Boy is this a far cry from the belligerent, "I am the decider" we have all become so used to in almost a decade of disastrous leadership.

But it takes more than just one side to make for bipartisanship. Come on Republicans get into the spirit of this new cooperation. Let's all pull as a team to get us out of this quagmire into which we have sunk.

We are not Republicans and Democrats or liberals and conservatives or Red States and Blue States. We are Americans all in the same state of economic collapse with an eroding infrastructure and an over-dependence on foreign imports be they oil or Parker Toys with lead paint from China. If you cannot cozy up to the opposition at least give President Obama an honest hearing when he comes to your house to extend the hand of cooperation.

We're all in this together?

I came down to earth yesterday from the high of the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. Traipsing through CNN videos I saw the horror that was Gaza after the Israeli forces pulled out, read the reports of white phosphorus being used on civilians, and listened to Rush Limbaugh declaring that he hoped Obama failed in his agenda for America.

And later I got out into my conservative Republican community and listened to the people that bought GW Bush's version of his eight years in office. There seem to be some people desperately clinging to the Red State/Blue State assignation of blame game. And I find that sad because we are all in the same boat and blame gets us nowhere. Certainly not ahead. And if Obama fails in the tasks before him then the United States fails. And it can happen. We are damn close to it right now whether it is GW Bush's fault or not.

I am not enough of a economist to know what exactly that would mean in the world scheme of things but I doubt China would be doing very well since we won't be buying their goods. And we could no longer afford to keep troups in Iraq and Afganistan or even bring them home?

I am not even totally sure what the United States failing would look like. I assume something like the collapse of the USSR. Various states would form independent federations for survival. Those with the least population and the largest natural resources would fare best. Those with the largest populations and least resources would try to take over the others. We definitely would no longer be a world power that could rescue other nations in trouble or send aid to the starving.

It would be best if Obama does not fail, Mr. Limbaugh. I doubt you would have a radio station to talk from if he does. And what is to be gained, Israel, from having that many children in a neighboring country hate you? Or putting white phosphorus in the air for your own troops to breathe? I think we ought to all (like the entire world) work together to get this floundering ship to shore before we start pecking holes in it. We are in enough trouble with global warming. No need to heat things up more with bombs. We don't need more negative thinking or more toxic chemicals in the air.

As every school child knows from the playground; enemies are all too easy to make. Time to make friends and foster hope. Time to put our energies into our collective survival.

Free at Last

I have been up and reading blogs from around the world on what today means to people! I thought I was excited before. I have not been so excited about a new president taking office since John F. Kennedy.

And there were a lot of similarities. My mother was Democratic Precinct Chairwoman and we lived in a decidedly Republican neighborhood. All our windows were broken out of our car one night. And it became so uncomfortable to attend Girl Scout meetings I stopped attending. One of my best friends belonged to a church that was afraid that electing a Catholic president would turn our country over to the evil pope. So she ceased to be a best friend because her mother verbally attacked me all the time. If I could have stopped going to school I would have.

It is a shame when the politics of division effect even school children. And that among all the wrongs I can contribute to GW Bush was his worst: He totally divided the United States into Red states and Blue states. For the last eight years I was afraid to even admit I was a Democrat or, heaven forbid, against any of his policies. If you were not with him you were a terrorist or in league with the devil.

So when Barack Obama takes the oath of office I am likely to be shouting: "Free at last, Oh, God we are free at last." To oppress any group of people for whatever reason also oppresses the oppressors. All the energy gets taken up with finding the enemy and keeping them down. I think I have been most uplifted by the crowd scenes with blacks and whites and all races and creeds shoulder to shoulder elated at seeing our 44th President of the United States. I am proud of people freely expressing their opinions at last. By polls that show that regardless of party or religion we are behind our new president.

I am so proud of our country at this moment. Especially since the last eight years were designed to make this moment impossible. We have been bombarded with a campaign of fear and hatred and division. And to ruin the spirit of a people is worse than ruining its safety, its economy, its self worth, its reputation around the world. Because of that I vote GW Bush the worst president this country has ever had. And I am happy to state he has failed.

We are free at last. Free to hope and dream and work toward a common goal.