Econ-o-ME

I haven't posted in awhile, life has been busy. But today is Alex's last day of Elementary School (Holy Fritos!) and things should calm down a bit now.

I am just wondering how many people are worried about the economy?

I know this is a dry subject....but I am curious about how others see America's economic future.

The economy is weak. I read news articles about foreclosures, interest rates, credit cards, layoffs, gas prices, etc everyday....but I don't see many people changing their lifestyle or freakin out.

So I am wondering how dire the situation will be. If we are reaching peak production of oil, then the supply will start diminishing, right? If gas/oil prices continue to increase and the wage gap between rich and poor continues to get wider........we are spending A LOT of $$$$ on the war......health care costs have the potential to cripple a family.......global warming and/or natural disasters could strike (Katrina anyone?)....don't forget a flu pandemic would hit us all hard......and social security and medicare issues with retiring Boomers - eeep!

Am I just worried about the sky falling? Or should we be seriously concerned?

My husband's point is that we should be as independently sustainable as possible, because even if the economy doesn't tank in our lifetime (though a lot of factors seem to be pointing in that direction) we will be less beholden to anyone AND save more money. The less we spend on utilities the better.

So getting out of debt is our first priority. We only have 2 more credit card payments & then we only have my student loan to pay off YIPPEE!!!!!!!!! No car payments either.

Debt is a really bad problem in the United States. Lemme tell you, you aren't going to get rich by being in debt. (My advice is buy a car you have the money saved for, never pay another car payment again.)

What is going to happen to all those Americans in debt if the economy slumps? How are they going to pay their debts and have any kind of quality of life? I joke to my husband that we will have debtor-prisons again. But seriously...I am kinda worried.

So

#1 eliminating debt,

#2 converting/building an independently sustainable house,

#3 growing your own food & buying locally,

#4 stop the consuming mentality


.......these all seem like good ideas. It will not be easy to accomplish these things, but it can only be beneficial.

I guess I am trying to process what my family needs to do in order to maximize happiness, health and freedom.....and minimize financial worries, health worries, and suffering. Hmmm, heavy stuff.

I know my husband is right and we need to make changes sooner rather than later. Change is hard....and scary!! But I suppose if the economy tanks everything is gonna suck. Might as well not lose our house......

.....or go to debtors-prison HAHAHAH!

PEACE (& financial security)

RX RE: NSA + AGs

Yeah another Youtube, but it is funnnnnnny.

Why?

and how, did we let our elected officials become a group of people who are not doing what is in our best interests.....or even attempt to do what is right, ethical, and life-saving?

Please take the TIME to watch Olbermann's Special Comments for May 23:

watch it here


I cannot force Americans to become more involved and engaged - heck I can't force you to watch the video link above (although I will try and make you feel really, really guilty for being complacent *grin*)


But I have to stress how important it is to stand up and unite against this war.

Olbermann nailed it. I am proud and grateful that we still have journalists willing to speak the truth and not try to infantize reality. We can handle the truth!

But it is just as important to care about the truth, our world, and justice.

Peace.

The President won't fire him -- but YOU can

*Sigh*

M. Ward - Chinese Translation

Enjoy your life today :)

Merrifield's Back, Baby

Colorado Confidential has an article about Colorado Springs State Rep. Mike Merrifield. Merrifield recently underwent treatment for cancer (now he is cancer-free), and got attacked for an email comment that was, to be fair, not fully put in context by the media & political peeps. It was more about the District 11 board debacle, than charter schools in general, but I can understand how folks might not have understood unless they witnessed the vileness of Eric Christen on their news every night like we did.

Read the CC article here.

Merrifield is a great education advocate, and a really nice change from a lot of the bat-shit crazy people who represent our city & county.

Here is a bit from the article:

CoCo: So what is your position on charters?

Merrifield: I have legitimate concerns about that, but there are some charters that are doing a great job helping children who couldn’t be helped any other way.

CoCo: But why weren’t you more aggressive in efforts to correct the record?

Merrifield: Part of the problem was this was hitting at the time when I was at my weakest — I didn’t have the intensity and anger to take it on, and wasn’t able to attack it. It made it difficult for Senator Windels and myself to push some of the legislative stuff — they also went after her for an e-mail message that she had sent with a comment that some kids who take online courses were lazy. But I’m looking forward to picking up the gavel next session. I’ll be back as chair of education committee, strong and full of vim and vigor. I’m really looking forward to working with a lot of people from around the state with real expertise, who are interested in real education reform, with less political bias.

CoCo: What do you mean?

Merrifield: Well, consider the sudden push, especially from the Republicans, demanding a mandated curriculum with math and science — and forgetting other aspects of education, as if that were the silver bullet. Forget about the joy that we have in school — we’re never allowed to talk about the joy and fun of learning. No, everyone is supposed to be in the same curriculum, on the same track and with the same interests. Well, you know? That just won’t work. They have no data and no research to back up this mandatory math and science push, but I’ll tell you, if you get students involved in arts and [social studies], their success rates are much higher.

Peace.

Why does it take such a prig to tell the Truth anymore?

Mom's Day was Cool

Did I mention I had a wonderful day last Sunday?

Alex had a friend spend the night. Jeff and I made cinnamon-orange french toast for breakfast. Then we jumped in our new (old) Caddy and headed for the big city :)

We saw the William P. Gottlieb exhibit of Jazz photographs at the FAC Modern. Amazingly cool.

Next brunch at the Olive Branch. It was really good.

Then we came home and set up my presents we bought in town. My badminton kit:

And the new hammock we got 4 the family:

Alex and I played badminton while Jeff worked on the yard. Look at the pretty flowers & lilac bush:

And then that night Alex gave me a Chop-o-matic thingy, which I LOVE:

A perfect day. I am the luckiest Mamacita ever. I love my family. They are kick ass.

Peace.

Do You Realize?

A Beautiful Song for a Beautiful Day.

Peace & Bunny Costumes

Mother's Day for Peace

Happy Mother's Day, MOM!

You Rock

GENERALS AD - VoteVets.org

A Bit of Happiness

Pictures from my life that make me happy.

A Bit Depressing

It can be really over-whelming to think of the mess we have gotten into in our country.

The rich own the media (approx. 5 companies own just about everything), and have decided that the fourth estate should not be conveying reality to us, but rather feed us craptaculer sensation and spin.

Does the mainstream media relate news about corporate corruption? Hell no! They are owned by corporations.........why would they expose their bosses?

Rent the movie Orwell Rolls in his Grave. You will be suitably horrified.

Only rich/big business players have the resources to represent our interests in Washington. You need so much $$$ to get elected, it is preposterous for us to even entertain the idea that politicians have any real experience with 95% of American.

1% owns the wealth. They are getting wealthier. We are getting poorer. Check out some graphs.

What is wrong with us??!!

Why is it "impolite" or "annoying" in our culture to talk about politics? IT HAS GOT TO CHANGE. We cannot afford to piss away our freedom. A good case could be made that we don't live in a democracy.......or we live in a very, very weak one. Yet we all wave our flags, and line up to meet politicians. Tickled pink that we live in America. Yet watching our democracy been bought up by the highest bidder.

WE NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT.

Speak up. Demand more. Resigned negativity (ie yes, its screwed - but that is life) is not going to cut it anymore. It is embarrassing and ignorant.

Everyone go read "1984"............. rent "Brazil" if you still don't get it.

We have got to change things, before it is too late.

Here are some recent stories at Democracy Now!

One In Eight Iraqi Children Die Before the Age of Five

Iraq's infant mortality rate has soared by 150 percent since 1990 according to a new report by the charity Save the Children. One in eight Iraqi children now die of disease or violence before the age of five. In 2005 alone, 122,000 Iraqi children died before reaching their fifth birthday. Save the Children said Iraq's child-survival ranking is now the lowest in the world.

Chevron to Pay Fine For Paying Kickbacks to Saddam Hussein

The New York Times is reporting, the U.S. oil company Chevron is preparing to pay up to $30 million in fines for illegally paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein for access to Iraq's oil before the U.S. invasion in 2003. The penalty, which is still being negotiated, would be the largest so far in the United States in connection with investigations of companies involved in the oil-for-food scandal. It appears Chevron began paying Iraq kickbacks in August 2000. At the time Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was a member of Chevron's board and led its public policy committee, which oversaw areas of potential political concerns for the company.

Canadian Company in Talks to Buy Reuters For $18 Billion

In media news, the Canadian company Thomson Corporation is in talks to buy the British news organization Reuters for nearly $18 billion. If the deal goes through, the merger would result in the world's largest news and financial data company.


Tenet Makes $2.3 Million From Companies Profiting Off Iraq War

Investigative reporter Tim Shorrock of Salon.com has revealed that former CIA Director George Tenet has made at least $2.3 million since he left the agency by working for four corporations that are directly profiting from the so-called war on terror and the war in Iraq. Tenet did not disclose any of his corporate ties in his new book "At the Center of the Storm." Tenet sits on the board of directors of L-1 Identity Solutions, a major supplier of biometric identification software used by the U.S. to monitor terrorists and insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tenet is also a member of an advisory board for Analysis Corporation which is designing terrorist watch lists for the government. Tenet also serves on the boards of two other government contractors, Guidance Software and Kinetic.

Can you believe this is happening??!!

Peace.

Drunk Monkeys Make Me Happy

Forsaken Generation Diatribe

I am PISSED that the baby boomer generation has FORSAKEN us.


Do you think my assertion that the Baby Boomers have screwed us is too severe?

Chew on this Generation X and younger:

--NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The trustees of Social Security and Medicare now estimate that the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in 2040 while the Medicare trust fund will be depleted in 2018, slightly sooner than previously forecast

And:

--Obesity rates continue to rise in the United States. Since 1980, being overweight has doubled for children and tripled for adolescents. With sixteen percent of children and adolescents age 6 to 19 overweight (9 million children), childhood obesity remains a pressing public health concern.

Being overweight puts children and teenagers at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes, risk factors for heart disease at an earlier age, and other health conditions including asthma, sleep apnea, and psychosocial effects such as decreased self-esteem. In one large study, 61 percent of overweight 5- to10-year-olds already had at least one risk factor for heart disease, and 26% had two or more risk factors for the disease. By adulthood, obesity-associated chronic diseases – heart disease, some cancers, stroke, diabetes – are the first, second, third, and sixth leading U.S. causes of death

Our food is now poisoning our children. We are fighting against fast food, television, school cafeterias, and the corporations that fund them all.

We should be very, very concerned.

Here is also a great statistic:

The Pueblo Health Department says one out of three girls in the US will get pregnant as a teenager.

or how about this?

Loose mortgage-lending practices, appraisal fraud, overstretched consumers and low home-appreciation rates due to overbuilding are among the causes of foreclosure that were cited by industry experts in a 10-part Denver Post series, "Foreclosing on the American Dream."


And NOW the government and right-wing think tankers have the audacity to tell us that what we *need* is for the executive branch to decide our future for us.

That is bullshit. I was raised to respect and believe in America and our Constitution.

Now we find ourselves in a situation where our President rules without respecting us.

We want out of this war : Poll: 63% want all troops home by end of '08

The situation is not good.

Our generation is headed toward recession, cancer, obesity, global warming, and a world that has zero respect for our country.

WTF????

Put pressure on some Baby Boomers, we need their help to straighten this mess out.

Peace.

Happy "Mission Accomplished" Day

The number of people killed in terror attacks in 2006 rises by 40%, says the US State Department.