Thursday, March 25, 2010

What a bunch of snollygosters!

"I say...what have we here? a possible clue?
Could it be the hair of a blue snollygoster or a red snollygoster?!?
I'm not sure how I'll tell the difference really..they all look the same to me!! How will we know who's to blame for this dastardly crime?

Hmph...I guess we'll just have to wait for a clearer perspective...it's bound to show up in a decade or so!

I've been listening to the news quite a bit the last few days, but today...ya today I heard A REAL KICKER in the news!! Here's an "I bet you didn't know"!!

So what's behind Arizona's budgetary problems?? Well...for investigative sleuths out there trying to figure out how Arizona got itself in this HUGE mess...here's another piece of the puzzle... Here and Now talked to Goldwater Institute investigative reporter Mark Flatten about a tax loophole that costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year. You can either listen to the broadcast or read the article. Hearing this was eye opening and mind blowing for me!

Maybe it's just me...but after what happened in the housing market to send the financial market into such a tailspin for the middle class, well I continue to shake my head at the continuous unveiling of "special favors" given to the "wealthy and powerful" in this country. If this is happening here...I can only imagine how widespread this type of practice is across the country.

Honestly it seems never ending...the rich just continue to get richer...NOBODY IS STANDING IN THEIR WAY! In fact they've still got the red carpet. When it's the wealthy who work as our legislators, why wouldn't they pass out favors to like-minded people of the same class. I'm sorry folks, but I don't think it really matters whether a politician is a republican or a democrat. What they do in their legislative processes is rarely to benefit the common man-the middle class/working class. None of them (truly I don't believe a single one of them) is innocent and free of corruption...in some sense. It is just so irritating to hear politicians from both parties speak such negativity along party lines. It all seems so hypocritical to me. And though I wonder "how this can keep happening?" ...deep down I know why it keeps happening!

It takes alot of time and effort to hold politicians accountable and it is often difficult to get the truth...the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It takes lots of digging, persistence, open mindedness, perspective, etc. to get the big picture of what is going on. For everyday people, it may seem impossible to arrive at an educated, informed, "got all the facts" viewpoint. We are exposed to so much propaganda and media spin. I mean I'm one of them (the middle class, I guess) and I'm busy and overwhelmed...maybe pretty much uninformed (about what's going on behind the scenes with government, laws and all that) much of the time. With the ongoing disclosure of corruption in government and big business/corporations being given special favors at the expense of the everyday person working hard to stay on top of mounting expenses, it is tempting to become complacent and cynical.

I try to use common sense, but there is no way you are going to get me to believe this is about good vs evil within our two party system. One's just as corrupt as the other. So what people tend to do is listen to political party rhetoric, pick sides and sling mud. All while the truth of what's going on is watered down and/or covered up. Come on folks! It didn't just arrive with Obama's administration!

This being an election year and all...well mud slinging will be a favorite past time for some and things are bound to get really messy. With so much mud flying, who can even clear the air and get down to the business at hand. Who's willing to forfeit party loyalty to simply "do what is right" for the constituents. There seems to be a whole bunch of people who are suddenly so concerned about "what the government is up to". A quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson seems fitting:
Who you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying.
It is irritating that people and politicians (including President Obama, sadly) are so caught up in the mudslinging against a particular party when their party affiliation houses various forms of corruption themselves. What hypocrisy!

But what can we do? As I need to support myself by working a job and then attending to the things I need to do, and attempt to find some time for the things I like to do...who's got time for politics? Well, unfortunately that is what the politicians are "banking $$$ on"...really who's got time to hold them accountable consistently and fairly. Well it's surely not the average tax payer!

I'm amazed by movements in the past, and even people, today, that are informed and active in attempting to impact our political process and change laws. It is an overwhelming process to me. Props to all who are able to stay well-rounded and informed...not just listening to the nay-sayers or just one political party or the other, but truly seeking out the truth and working to impact legislation for everyday people. I'm not sure how you do it. Maybe sometime in the future I'll figure out how to take on a more active role.

To those that truly are well-rounded and informed, not only about what is going on with specific issues and bills, but about the political process, MAD PROPS TO YOU PEOPLE! You have your work cut out for you!

This post reminds me of a bit from a tribute poem I wrote in 2008 titled
"Hope Found"
...That what Beat writers have to say is sometimes shocking, reflects
a view of society struggling beneath a weight
of confusing messages of worshiping wealth and expressing hate
through computerized violence. The rich and the famous pampering pets,
while returning from war as heroes, Iraq war vets,
who deserve efficient, top-notch medical and psychiatric care
are left instead to face the realities of Vet hospitals in disrepair....
(to be continued...next post)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Life is a balancing act

life is a balancing act
and to keep from crashing
fatally to the ground
we must practice often
falling, bruised we sit up
broken we rise
and eventually step
out again...
to live.
-tkaeu

Phillipe Petit...courageous, crazy, amazing moments...watching him balance in extremes...
i remember the first time i heard of him...his story was part of the history of New York City dvd collection i watched through Netflix a few years ago...hearing his passionate connection to this time and space event and watching him "perform" on the wire, between the twin towers, myself, for the first time, i cried...

and was inspired...the visuals of him on the wire between the twin towers sent shivers down my spine...

and when the visual reminders of his historical escapade, the world trade center towers, were destroyed, obliterating the lives of so many...i can sense just a tiny bit of the shocking loss that followed...such an unexpected turn of events...relationships torn into bits and pieces literally (it is noteworthy to me that it was twenty-seven years between the triumphant tight wire walk between the towers and the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001)...the irony of life.

and then the movie Man on a Wire came out...with all the details-the good and the bad of Phillipe Petit and what led up to the event on August 7, 1974...he is far from perfect as a man, but his courage, tenacity and creative, wacky genius lifts me....and actually reversed a domino effect that turned the WTC from financial disaster to financial pillars...his is one of the great life stories.

It is amazing what occurs when we act upon our passions with grace and even, I guess, a sense of humility...how our actions can so powerfully impact the lives of others when we are in our element or using our talents, passions to their fullest extent.

Though sometimes the impact seems swallowed up in ashes and we wonder "was there ever really any purpose after all" or "what was the point of it all"...I guess some of what we do is for future generations alone to appreciate, understand and articulate.

thinking of human frailty, connectedness, humility, and brokenness, as i am today...it is good to be reminded of stories such as Phillipe Petit. Thank-you Phillipe Petit. You are one of my heroes!