You Are Cordially Invited To A Tea Party - April 15, 2009

There is an interesting phenomenon going on throughout our country today. In ways not seen on this scale since the war protests of the 70’s, people are showing our government that they are fed up. Americans young and old are sending the message loud and clear that we are tapped out as a nation and weary of yet more restrictions, bail-outs and tax burdens being heaped upon our shoulders and those of our future generations.

It is not a partisan effort, despite what the ultra-left wing branch of the Democratic party would lead you to believe. There are Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike participating in this show of outrage and frustration. We are exercising our Constitutional rights as Americans, whatever our political affiliations might be, to assembly and free speech. We are, as a people, sending a message that while we respect the office of the President, many of us grow increasingly unhappy with the direction the country is being guided or shoved down a path we do not want.

So, today we protest our frustration and convey our disagreement with policies and new taxes and programs that it are being presented as what “we” want. I for one, am tired of being told what is good for me and to just shut up, sit back and agree with those that do NOT represent my views, despite what they seem to believe. I’m angry with the bail-outs that were passed “for our own good” even though the public outrage and opinion showed that Americans were soundly against their passage.

Washington and those currently in office better pay attention to what is being expressed by the people that have elected them as our representatives. If they are smart, they will not put spin on it or tell us once again what they think we meant to say rather than listening to what we are actually SAYING to them. This is a warning shot for those coming up for re-election that we the people, are paying attention and are discontented with their actions and disregard for what we think.

So, exercise your right to be heard. Even if you believe no one is listening, it is a sure bet that you won’t be heard if you don’t even try. In the past few election cycles it has vividly been shown that even a few individual votes do indeed count. If you choose to sit on your backside, then don’t complain when you are not “bailed out” like the major corporations or fall through the cracks when you thought you’d be saved from your responsibilities and allowed a free pass.

Wake up and smell the tea brewing!

Washington, you are not doing a good job at hearing the people you represent and that elected you. This is not just a fluke or something that will go away if you put your fingers in your collective ears and cover your eyes. To even give the impression, whether accurate or not, that the views of your constituents are falling on deaf ears would be a mistake if you wish to continue to serve the people that elected you. Change is indeed brewing in this country, although I’m not sure that it’s quite the change the current administration envisioned. I beg you, do not make the mistake of dismissing or alienating what is becoming a larger and larger section of the American people clammering to be heard.


On another little, purely personal note, I know that the original Tea Party was located in Boston in 1773. However, we in the South know the TRUE value of tea. Look in any refrigerator in a true Southern household, and you will find a gallon or two (or four) of the best SWEET tea that you’ll ever taste. I know that the Yankees amongst us (hear that oh stoic one?), don’t recognize the simple indulgent pleasure in a glass of sweet tea and insist that having sugar on the table will somehow negate the fact that your restaurants don’t have it available on your menus up North. You just don’t know what you’re missing. Perhaps it’s why Southerners always have a smile on their face and something to say to everyone, even making actual eye contact as we do!! We’re just infused with sweetness from birth through our tea! ;)


Today in Atlanta, our tea party will have sweet tea flowing freely and our voices as proud Americans will be heard loud and clear. The only question is, will those in Washington be smart enough to pay attention and react by rethinking some of their proposed actions?

Time will tell. One thing is certain, ignoring it or making light of such a large group of Americans discontent would be foolish and ill-advised on their part.

“We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the
majority who participate.” Thomas Jefferson

**The DHS bulletin released or ”conveniently leaked” on April 7th is troubling in the fact that it seems to be a not so subtle hint that our freedom of speech is being threatened at least by threat of intimidation and at worst incrimination. We all need to pay attention and be vigilant of such veiled threats against our freedoms.

Stomping Our Feet & Pitching a Fit..Yeah, That'll Teach 'Em! - April 05, 2009

The world has watched for weeks as North Korea has done exactly as it said it was going to do. Thanks to the obtrusive capabilities that Google Earth now provides us all to spy on cheating spouses and now Communist countries, even Joe Schmo could peek in on all the activity on the launching pad halfway around the world. We all watched and our government kept drawing a line in the dirt that they continued to not only step over, but flat out leaped past.


They said they were going to send a “communication satellite” into space. They hauled out a rocket. They fueled it. The world watched and used their “serious” words to tell them not to do it. President Obama and Secretary Clinton shook their fingers and stomped their feet in our stead, promising all sorts of dire consequences if North Korea stood by their word and dared to actually do what they said they were going to do. We all watched and waited and whined. China stood by figuratively giggling at the comotion and impotent threats from the “super powers” and chose to do nothing to intervene.


Yet on Sunday morning, amidst all the tempest in a teapot, North Korea made good on their word. They did exactly what they said they were going to do and launched their new playtoy for all the world to see, effectively thumbing their nose at all the other kids on the playground. They provided the potential buyers for their wares, any potential future terrorists (oh, excuse me, the bringers of man-caused disasters), a wonderful demonstration of the viability of their product.
While the world watched and whined. Our President promised a STERN united international response. (What would that be, yet another visit to the UN’s dreaded “Time Out Chair?”)


A lot of good that did. Somehow I get the feeling that there was no shaking in their collective boots going on. The North Koreans proved once again today that they are better at playing chicken than we are.


Our President today got up in front of his teleprompter and fired off a very stern lecture toward the North Korean government. He raged and promised that the UN was going to hear about this!! (shouldn’t they already have known all about it?) He declared that this will not be tolerated. Of course that statement is like closing the barn door after the horse is running for the hills. It doesn’t have to be tolerated, it’s already done.


The North Koreans today put into practice what many people spout off as rhetoric. They showed in graphic form that it is easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. The only caveat to that is, of course, they don’t plan to ask for forgiveness. They simply intend to thumb their nose at the rest of the world and do as they please. A few more ineffective sanctions from the UN aren’t going to deter or even make them think twice the next time they plan to behave badly.
I will admit that one thing President Obama said today was very true. He declared as he did often on the campaign trail as well, that “Words matter”.


Indeed they do. North Korea took that phrase to heart and demonstrated it in no uncertain terms.


They said they were going to launch their rocket, and today, they did.


Who is standing by their words now? The North Koreans that did what they said they were going to do and carried through or the rest of the world issuing their stern warnings and impotent sanctions yet again?


Unfortunately for us all, the question is a no-brainer and the majority is proving to be the ones drawing the short stick.


Heaven forbid we hurt any feelings or actually take a stand.


That would denote strength of spirit and will. We can’t have that anymore, now can we?

The Best and The Worst of Times

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.

It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity...

It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness.

It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,

We had everything before us, we had nothing before us.

We were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way . . ."

"All going direct the other way." Somehow with the news of AIG's latest and greatest claim to fame this morning of it's plan to give out 165 Million dollars, the "other way" that Dickens speaks of seems to indicate the other way we are all going directly to is in fact, hell in a hand basket. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 (of course, unless you're entitled to a bailout), do NOT go directly to jail, even if you are well deserving of doing so, it seems.

I don' t know about you, but I'm one of the so called "little people" or middle class or what is quickly becoming the group falling through the cracks. I'm not entitled enough to skate through on my "last" couple of million bucks or downtrodden enough to qualify for free handouts from the government (yet). I'm simply in the group of trying to be responsible and pay our bills the best way we can amongst growing unemployment or shrinking salaries. The ones making do with what we have, rather than trying to find ways to work the system or have someone swoop in and rescue us or pay our way.

Granted, day to day living is not always a bunch of laughs. I seem to have missed the memo where I was promised that life would always be fun or easy. Silly me, I was raised to find ways to take care of things that were my responsibility. While I'd love to live high on the hog all the time with penthouses, expensive vacations and lots of "toys", I was taught that I was old enough for my wants not to hurt me. I learned that if I can't afford something, then I have to wait until I can and make do with dreams until I find a way to make it happen. In doing so, I learned to appreciate the good things even more when they arrived or were earned. I learned pride and perseverance. Qualities all that need we are going to have to find again and learn to teach those survival skills to our children..many of whom have never heard the word no or had to do without.

So news this morning of yet more stupidity on MY hard earned dime is purely starting to piss me off. It turns out the division that is receiving the "gift" of our tax payer money in the form of bonuses, is the division whose risky contracts caused massive losses to the insurer in the first place. Has the world lost all sense of reason? Am I the ONLY one that sees the irony and idiocy in all of this? The taxpayer funded bailout (I refuse to call it the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, what a load of manure...playing with semantics won't make it more palatable) is in effect being used to REWARD those that cause it to be needed in the first place. The vivid image of a cat chasing it's tail comes to mind.

I personally don't give a flying flip that AIG is "contractually" obligated to pay these bonuses...the game and world has changed and along with it the rules. The excuse that they would be sued if they didn't fork over the money doesn't hold water with me. Let the people that helped cause this mess sue to get their blood money, I double dog dare them. If they have the kahonas to file a public lawsuit and face the public outrage, I say, let them go for it...but do NOT just meekly hand them the money. Make them actually do some work for it. Lord knows, they didn't do work or practice due diligence to earn it in the first place. When are we going to start putting our collective feet down and say we're mad as hell and NOT going to take it anymore??

The government and our illustrious administration is all over the place on every single issue put in front of it. They manage to come down on both sides of every issue, sometimes within the confines of a single speech. First we're in a catastrophic crisis that is going to get hellaciously worse. Then as of last week, all of the sudden, maybe it's NOT as bad as we thought? HUH?? Excuse me??? It just all leaves you scratching your head and saying what in heavens are they all thinking? ARE they thinking at ALL or is everyone just throwing a dart at a big board of possible outcomes and using it as the message of the day? No wonder the stock market and consumers are totally devoid of direction or confidence. I have said many times in the past 4 to 5 months, that my head is going to literally explode one of these days as I listen to yet one more speech or lecture from our leaders. Maybe that's the grand master plan...To have as many of us stroke out from frustration over the mixed messages, ineptitude and confusion being spread by those we elected to higher power.

I'm here to say, just as many others more learned than I am..that life is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. You can bet your bottom dollar on it or take it to the bank (just make sure it's a solvent one). We have all enjoyed the decades of excesses and must now fall back to earth and our roots. Many of us in our 40's or 50's remember our parents teaching us right from wrong. Somehow that message got lost or ignored along the way in the name of profit or greed or keeping up with the neighbor next door. We allowed ourselves to make excuses or allowances for why we deserved to have more than we had actually earned. It's now costing us all.

It's going to be painful, but not fatal. We are capable of fixing this mess and finding a sensible middle ground on which to now live. Will our world ever be the same again? No, I personally don't think so. This is not just a localized problem in our nation, it's a worldwide meltdown. The world and all our ways of living are now changed. Given the scope of the mess we're fighting our way through, we never should have been living life the way we were in the first place. Moderation and common sense are going to have to prevail.

It's not as bad as it sounds to find new ways of doing things. There will be positives amongst the icky stuff to come. We'll find who we can depend on and rediscover or find in the first place ways to enjoy ourselves and families without the distraction of so much "stuff" getting in the way. We will learn if we're smart enough to pay attention, that there are more things important than getting a new car every year or going on several fancy vacations a year so we can compare pictures with our friends and have a contest to determine who had the best time or spent the most money. Who knows? Simple pleasures just may be rediscovered along with the joy they can bring. To learn appreciation for living life without so much pressure to always have more and the finding that even the more is never enough.

We have to stop the stupidity of letting the inmates rule the asylum. To continue to let executives or those so used to "playing the game" keep sliding things past us on the rails of excuses or reasons why things CAN'T be changed, has to stop. The government has to develop a backbone, stop trying to please everyone and start handing out consequences for bad behavior. Let the big boys fail...nothing is TOO big or TOO important to fail. Someone or a better organization will rise to take their place.

It's the American way. Now we all just need to remember what that way is and work to build a better more stable foundation that has some common sense...and learn to savor the good things before always needing more.

The lyrics of a Styx song, "The Best of Times" come to mind...

Tonight's the night well make history honey, you and I..
And I'll take any risk to tie back the hands of time
And stay with you here tonight.

I know you feel these are the worst of times..
I do believe its true
When people lock their doors and hide inside.

Rumor has it its the end of paradise
But I know, if the world just passed us by
Baby I know, you wouldn't have to cry.

The best of times are when I'm alone with you
Some rain, some shine, we'll make this a world for two..
Our memories of yesterday will last a lifetime.

We'll take the best, forget the rest
And someday well find these are the best of times
These are the best of times

The headlines read these are the worst of times,
I do believe its true.
I feel so helpless like a boat against the tide.

I wish the summer winds could bring back paradise
But I know, if the world turned upside down
Baby, I know you'd always be around.

The best of times are when I'm alone with you
Some rain, some shine, we'll make this a world for two..
Our memories of yesterday will last a lifetime.

We'll take the best, forget the rest
And someday we'll find these are the best of times..
These are the best of times.

And
So my friends we'll say goodnight..for time has claimed its prize.
But tonight will always last
As long as we keep alive memories of paradise...

Just Another Day in Paradise!

I was born and raised in Georgia. I’m the proud product of the many varied colorful influences that one can only benefit from if they were immersed in our unique and at times ludicrous way of life here in the South. As most will say of the place they call home, I will admit that I have always felt very fortunate to have had my personality formed with a mixture of family, friends, God and country..with a dash of bizarre thrown in for good measure.

One thing that Southerners are never accused of, is being boring. We tend to have an unique way of looking at life. I will also readily admit that you also have to have a healthy sense of humor and not take yourself too seriously to grow up in the South in order to be able to fully appreciate all it has to offer..from the subtle nuances and tempo of the culture to the in your face eccentricities.

I’m a true Southern Belle raised with cotillions and crazy relatives that in many cases, had colorful pasts..bless their hearts. We had dinner on the grounds once a month after Church on Sunday with some of the best cooking on God’s green earth. We eat supper during the week at night instead of having dinner..BUT the meal in the middle of the day on Sunday was always called dinner. I know the difference in pitching a fit or having a conniption. We worship at the altar of our SEC football teams and life stops on Saturday as we follow what is happening to our beloved Alma maters (in my case, UGA..GO DAWGS!). We eat grits and drink sweet tea. We mind our manners and still say “Yes Ma’am” and “No Sir”. We cannot drive in snow or ice…or are smart enough to pretend not to know how to do it, so that we can have snow days or weeks off now and then. We can literally talk the ears off a June bug.

This week a National Survey was released and conducted by Gallup in partnership with Healthways and America’s Health Insurance Plans that ranked the top areas of the country in terms of residents overall well-being. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the rest of the country will see what I have always known, the county I grew up in and still live in, is ranked second in the nation in the survey.

The survey questioned residents across the country about physical health, life evaluation, emotional health and basic access. Here in Cobb, we scored first in the physical health category, second in life evaluation, fourth in emotional health, and 10th in basic access.

Move over Disney World, there’s a new sheriff in town. Who knew we were already living day to day in the new “Happiest Place on Earth”?? All this time we’ve been spending our vacation money (mortgaging our firstborn in some cases) and risking our sanity to go visit the Big Mouse so that we could immerse ourselves in happiness on the E-ticket rides. If we had ONLY realized we could have stayed home and avoided the crowds!!

So, the message for today is…don’t worry, be HAPPY!!

It appears I’m in better shape than I thought given the changes in the world and economic climate and all the accompanying challenges.

Who knew? (besides us, of course)

Why Waste a Good Crisis...

...when you can create widespread comic relief and chaos instead??







Let's put aside for the moment the pure idiocy and symbolism of giving a button to push, much less a RED button to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as her opening salvo into discussions of US-Russian relations. Ummmm..HELLO?? How in heaven's name do translators get the intended word "Reset" somehow confused with "Overcharge"??? Where were the proofreading skills that I make even my kindergarten students practice? Perhaps a Freudian slip.


Let's totally disregard the fact that just last week it was leaked, rumored, whatever..that President Obama sent a letter a few weeks ago offering to put the brakes on or totally abandon the missile shield program overseas if Russia would "help" us in persuading Iran to play nice and give up their dangerous toys (can't have them putting anyone's eye out, now can we??)


Then our illustrious Hope and Change administration also managed to alienate British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and in the process look cartoonish, when in an epic (can't do anything small, now can we?) thoughtless gesture, gave him plastic gift shop helicopters and a DVD collection of American movies in exchange for a few priceless "trinkets" that he and his country bestowed on our new best hope. I guess Walmart didn't have any of the "As Seen on TV" products in stock to sweeten the gift pot.


I know what you're thinking...obviously DVDs and plastic helicopters stack up SO well with an ornamental desk pen-holder made from the oak timbers of the Victorian anti-slaver HMS Gannet, once named HMS President for the Resolute desk in the Oval office...the framed commission for HMS Resolute, a vessel that came to symbolise Anglo-US peace when it was saved from ice packs by Americans and given to Queen Victoria...and a first edition set of the seven-volume classic biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert. They also brought thoughtful handpicked gifts for the first girls.


The Obamas in turn, managed to treat the Gordons like the relative you see once a year at Christmas and use the last pennies of your gift budget to grab something on clearance...and in the process snub one of our staunchest allies. Mission Accomplished, Mr. President!! Please keep making us proud! Why not just give them a gift card while you're at it. At least that might have stimulated the economy in some way if they redeemed it.


When the Obama administration touted the fact that they were going to boost our reputation on the world stage again, I didn't think they meant the comedy stage. The world is starting to snicker at the United States and beginning to fall off the adoration bandwagon. The pedestals are being put away in favor of feet of clay.


The resounding chorus coming from the top...starting with Rahm Emanuel and echoed by Hillary Clinton this week...

~“Never waste a good crisis,” Clinton told a hearing at the European Parliament.
“And when it comes to the economic crisis, don’t waste it when it can have a
very positive impact on climate change and energy security.” … “This is a
propitious time … we can actually begin to demonstrate our willingness to
confront this. We are making up the best we can for lost time,” she
added.~

...when in the middle of a worldwide economic meltdown is chilling if you pay attention. Focus is being absolutely lost on the important immediate economic domestic issues in favor of cramming every single piece of expensive pet agendas through on the coattails of each piece of legislation being considered. Heck, ignore the fact that we are hemorrhaging money, let's revamp health care and give everyone a pig in a poke while we're at it!! Oh wait, those pigs probably cause global warming and might be construed as pork or need lipstick...better make it tainted peanut butter instead!!! Yeah, that's the ticket! That will build respect for us around the world!


Hold on to your goodie bags, it appears to be Howdie Doodie Time again!


Bless their hearts.

"Obama inherited a disaster and has created a catastrophe." Ann Coulter