Looking out my window...

One of These Things Is Not Like The Other. One of These Things Is Not The Same.

Photo Found On Internet

 

Having my one and only child born around the time Sesame Street came on the air was fortuitous for us both. Well, I may have enjoyed it more that she. In fact, the runner up program for second place was Saturday Night Live. What a nice time for television viewing.

Here is another example of the "One of These Things" game:

Prim and Proper

   

Bared Ankle

 

Boy, do I remember when women could finally wear a pant suit to work instead of a skirt or dress.

 

Ethnic Apparel

 

The Nun's Habit which kind of, sort of, reminds me of...

 

The Muslim Burka

 

All of the above is to help me illustrate an idea I had while watching Herman "9 9 9" Cain voicing his denial of having participated in sexual harassment. It also reminded me of the denial given by Clarence Thomas to Anita Hill's statement.

Back in the smoke filled rooms of yore, men laughed at these women who said their bosses, for example, had in some way and to varying degrees sexually harassed them. They referred to the women as "sluts, whores, and sometime even c**ts." Some of the words used I won't type and some newscasters won't say. Or, even worse, they will say.

Thinking on this I was reminded of the politically incorrect word "n****r."  This word was said when talking about people of a certain race. The other words were said about women.

Back around the same time as "Sesame Street" the National Organization for Women" was formed. Forty years ago It was and still is a civil rights fight against discrimination against women. The words I listed are just as offensive to women as the racial slur. And yet no one seems to acknowledge it.

The women involved in sexual harassment are often debased and ultimately deemed at fault for the action taken against them. Her apparel is considered: "Her skirt was so short you know what she wanted."

And so, we come to the Muslim Burka. Apparently the women must cover themselves to assure their beauty, their sex appeal to men is not seen. In other words they have to cover themselves up to keep the men in check. Men, it seems, cannot control their sexual urges and so women must be covered from head to toe.

All of this gets to the point that women are a minority. A minority who at one time could not vote, even when male slaves were considered 5/8th of a man. Women could not own property and in fact, were the property of their father or husband. They were property of their husband just as the slaves were.  

I think, as women we need to say "No More" when words are used to slur our name and character. It's about time, don't you think?

Oh, and men need to take responsibility for their thoughts and actions. And control the urge that turns them into breeders.

Republican Objective: Make Obama A One Term President

 

It started almost from the beginning of President Obama's Presidency. The Republicans made it clear that their objective was to ensure that Mr. Obama would only be in the White House for four years.

Mr Bush had left office leaving the largest deficit in our history for the new President to solve. The United States was on the verge of repeating the 1930's deep depression. Wall Street had snookered American citizens. Banks had committed financial crimes and the housing bubble had busted.

In the election of 2010 the Republicans took over many democratic seats in the House of Representatives becoming the  house majority. 

Even though the GOP ran on "jobs, jobs, jobs," the new majority was determined to make the POTUS a "one termer." They blocked the passage of  job creating bills as well as the budget... because they would not compromise. Never. Ever compromise. This left the President unsuccessful in his attempts to make the changes he had promised.

Instead of creating jobs their focus has been: taking away women's health care rights, increasing the availability of guns, extending tax cuts for the richest in our nation, taking away the bargaining rights of unions, and decreasing unemployment coverage, to name a few.

With the current proposed budget they added riders cutting minuscule amounts of money while taking away education and health programs, and eliminated college funds for the poor.

Right now, they are in the last days of negotiating the proposed budget, with the stoppage of the government hanging over the heads of the American people.

They have tried very hard to be successful in their "one term" goal. And, they will be successful...but it will be a "one term" for the Republicans... not the President.

How To Ruin My Day: Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Meltdown, Republican Ruses

 
Collage of Stock Photos Created by Sharon

The last few years I have had a growing love for circles which turned into 3D circles more fondly known as bubbles. I love their characteristics of grace, transparency and light reflections. For all their beauty and symbolism they have one huge defect. They burst.

Off hand, below are some of the burst bubbles that have recently ruined my day:

• Housing... I was at last able to purchase a condominium. This was just as the Housing market was beginning to rise. Wow! After about four years the value of our home increased by 40%. What an investment. And, then the bubble burst.
• Health... Neither of us were in A+ form, but well enough to enjoy our retirement by being physically able to do what we wanted. And, then the bubble burst about two or three years into our new life.
• Wealth... We were never "wealthy," but lived a comfortable middle class lifestyle. And, then the bubble burst and we have not received a cost of living increase in neither social security or pensions for the last two years even though costs have risen.
• Car... The last car we purchased was a wonderful Honda Odyssey. We thought this could be the last car we purchased if used and cared for properly and paid for it in cash. We could see the bubble burst as we neared and passed 200,000 miles driven due to unexpected usage.
• Grown children... We erroneously thought that once children were grown we would be on our own, so to speak. And then the bubble burst. How could we have been so naive? We are family forever.
• Humanism... We believe in the strength and goodness of people. The bubble burst, what with terrorists, tea baggers, and such. We still believe in the innate goodness of humans, but some need a little re-education.
• Earthquake Disaster-Free Zone... Except for tornadoes, we thought by living in the Midwest we were in a pretty safe part of the country. Bubble burst when we learned we live near one of the largest fault system in the country.
• Tsunami Disaster-Free... Sure, we're not near an ocean, but what about Lake Michigan? POP!
• Nuclear Energy is Clean and Safe... tell that to the Japanese people. Our bubble burst after listening to American Nuclear experts and learning just how unsafe our reactors have been.
• Republican Ruses... As a progressive Democrat, I've never really cared much for those Republican rascals. But, all and all, thought they were relatively benign since the Democrats would come along and hopefully fixed what ever was broken. That bubble didn't burst, it exploded this year. They ran on the economy and "jobs, jobs, jobs." They brought in the Tea Baggers. Yes, I know I'm being politically incorrect by not calling them the Tea Party. But at this moment the Tea Baggers is what they are: filled with ignorant bitterness and good only for dunking. With a majority in the House they proceeded to work on taking back women's, as well as children's, rights. Republican Governors ran on fixing the economy and then proceeded to take away union bargaining rights. They have taken the position that to get rid of the deficit they will take away entitlement programs for the elderly, the young, and the poor. This is instead of taxing the corporations that have made BILLIONS in profit and currently pay 0% in taxes. The Republican Congress has done everything in its power to make President Obama fail and become a one term president.
• Racial Equality... our first African-American President was such a wonderful happening. To be able to see that in my lifetime, my mother's lifetime, gave me great joy. And that bubble burst when I saw the racial hatred expressed by American Caucasians. Any newspaper or on line commentary regarding President Obama had comments that included the words: n****r, tar baby, Muslim, non-citizen, coon, darky, and jungle bunny.
• Religious Freedom and Tolerance... Even though our country was founded on freedom of religion that bubble was definitely busted when the Twin Towers came down.  Anything to do with Muslims was not tolerated. People actually thought about doing the Japan Internment Camps again, but with Muslims. Do we never learn when we've done something on the WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY? And then we have this guy:

 

Enough said. Enough bubbles burst. 

Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Meltdown: No Special Effects Needed

 
Cups for Coffee
Picture by Sharon

I spent a week watching Egypt 'round the clock. My sleeping pattern completely changed: up at night, down during daylight. It took me 2 - 3 weeks to finally get back to a semblance of normality.

And then it happened. A huge earthquake in Japan. What a horrible event to watch, let alone live through or die in. Then a tsunami greater than any recorded. Swallowing cities and people.

It seems, as I think back, that these events more often occur in third world type areas. Japan is different. Highly populated with an educated, highly technical citizenship. A people who experience "quakes" often and without too much destruction because of the anti-quake engineering of buildings and structures. Everything was built to withstand a 7.0 earthquake, not an unheard of, unexpected 9.0.

And, then came the tsunami. Bigger and stronger than ever recorded. Traveling inland six miles. Destroying all and everything the earthquake did not. Sweeping up and out to sea thousands of people who have yet to be returned and washed ashore. Babies pulled from their mother's grasp. Husband and wives separated never to see each other again. Four floors of patients in a hospital swept away.

Two terrible disasters happening sequentially within the same day. No time to breathe, let alone rescue, between them.

Then before the people could get their bearings, before they could grasp the horror that had befallen them, the damaged Nuclear reactors were getting ready to meltdown.

The earthquake broke the electric grid, stopping the cooling system. Then the tsunami flooded the backup generator, thoroughly  demolishing any possibility of cooling the core. The reactors were dieing. Every day new events arose, from fires to explosions, despite all efforts being made.

As I write this, I don't know the ending. If it was a disaster movie, I would guess. But it's not a movie. And I don't want to guess the ending because it is too scary.

Two good movies to see: The China Syndrome and 2012. It is much easier to watch the movies than the videos the Japanese people have taken. When you watch special effects, no one really gets hurt. But, this is real and too many people to count are hurt.

**********************************************

One bit of good news has worked it's way through the rubble. A medical study done has shown that drinking multiple cups of coffee a day, helps decrease the risk of strokes in women. Good thing. I've been drinking a lot of coffee this past week.

Understanding Unions in America

 

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 I am not an historian. In fact, when in college and taking History I decided I’d rather learn how to play pool at the Student Union. So most of my classes were spent learning the finer techniques of handling a pool cue stick.

Part of my difficulty with history is the date stuff. I’ve never been good at dates. But, truth be known, even with the few classes I actually attended, in addition to reading the text book, I did come away with a “feel” for what had happened and why. So, with transparency noted, I will continue with the current subject matter: Unions.

Much like women fighting for the right to vote, people fighting for unions had a hard, long journey that included their physical injury and death. What could they have wanted that the “business” owners didn’t want?

They wanted living wages. They wanted to get rid of the “company stores” where they had to spend what little earnings they had. They wanted not to work 16 hours a day or longer. They wanted their children in school and not out in the fields or in locked urban factories. They wanted safe working conditions so they wouldn’t lose a hand or leg, or their life. They wanted health care where there was none. They wanted a day off. Vacations came later. They wanted to be treated fairly and respected for the work they did. They wanted a chance to advance and make more money.

Their struggle resulted in Federal work laws that companies had to follow. Regulations increased after the Civil Rights movement to ensure all people regardless of race would be treated fairly. Even today, women are still fighting for equal pay and promotion.

All this was necessary because the people who owned and operated business (in general, there are always exceptions) wanted to make as much money as possible without regard to the people working for them. And that is still true today. I know from experience.

When I started working for a living I started as an hourly employee. I worked 40 hours a week, 5 days or more a week. No overtime. One half hour for lunch. One week vacation until I had been working for the same company for 10 years. Then it went up to 2 weeks. I believe there were 3 paid holidays. There was a minimum wage in effect and that’s what I got paid - $3.25 per hour.

Over the years the jobs I had went from 40 to 37^1/2  hours per week. Ten paid sick days, but if you took them you could be disciplined. And, then one wonderful day I was made a “middle manager” responsible for a department with 6 to 10 staff for 17 years. Yes, I received a raise. Yes, I got more vacation time. But, I also worked over 40 hours a week at times and did not get paid for it.

And then one year, a Union came to try and get our Nurses to join. It was a difficult time for me, since I “as Management” was not Union eligible and worse yet, was educated by Administration on how to legally discourage staff from voting for the Union. Everything about it made me sick to my stomach.

WISCONSIN UNIONS DEMONSTRATION

What I learned during that time: it was the Unions that had given me at least a minimum wage, vacation days, shorter hours, better working conditions, health insurance, more holidays and sick days. Unions had fought for those benefits and I was the recipient of those benefits – even though I never belonged to a union. Why was that?

To keep Unions from organizing at their companies, businesses bribed employees with benefits similar to the Unions. In many cases the bribes worked.

This is why the pundits analyzing the current situation are wrong when they say non-union workers don’t like union workers.

We know that the salary and benefits we non-union workers have are the direct result of the bargaining Unions have with their companies.

We also know that our future benefits depend on future Union negotiations. And, if those are taken away, leaving the Unions “busted,” companies will start taking benefits away. It is those benefits that created and sustained a new middle class. Without them the middle class will disappear. And, the owners who today get millions in bonuses will get even more millions. All at the expense of the workers.

The Governor of Wisconsin says he has to do this because of the budget deficit. I say bull hockey! Because prior to trying to pass the bill regarding Unions, he passed a bill giving businesses billions of dollars in tax credits.

Sorry Gov, you can’t do both. Not ethically, at any rate.

Solidarity Forever!

Walk Like An Egyptian: With Pride

 

An Egyptian boy his face painted with the colors of the Egyptian flag stands at an anti-government demonstrators barricade on Cairo's Tahrir square on February 05, 2011.

Photo by: AFP

 

I'm so proud of the Egyptian people for their adherence to non-violence. 18 days of peaceful demonstrations were only threatened by police and paid mob interference, as I understand the reported news. What an example for the rest of the world!

It gave me hope that, regardless of nationality, race, religion, or political leanings, people have the capacity to live together peacefully. As well as hope for the day women will be given their rights as human beings, equal and toe to toe with any man.

My country has yet to fulfill these dreams. We have much sadness in our history for human rights. My comfort is that, as a country, the United States of America is quite young. We have made many good changes as we have grown. We have many more to still achieve. But, as long as we can keep our Democracy working we will be able to make the changes needed.

Thank you to the Egyptian people for reminding me how important democracy is. You should walk proudly into your future of freedom.

You Took My Dreams From Me...

 

My friend Janice sent this to me. I've never heard of the group or the singers. But, she does not send me uninteresting things. Usually, good things. And so I watched and listened. I hope you will do the same.

What I particularly reacted to were the lyrics toward the end:

I could have been someone.
Well, so, could anyone. You took my dreams from me, when I first found you.
I kept them with me Babe, I put them with my own, can't make it alone, I built my dreams around you.

I do like the sound of Irish music. Even the happy songs are sad. Which, to my way of thinking, is the truth. Any happiness we have, upon close inspection, is often the result of something sad. You can't have one without the other.

Anyway, back to the video. The singer Shane MacGowan seems to be a wee bit wobbly due to a drop or two of gin. And, of course, the woman singer is the stable one. (Am I just personalizing this?)

My first husband. Cue for the Chief to say "You were married before"? Yes I was. Continuing... my first husband was an intelligent, talented man. I had dreams of my own of "making it" in something. I just hadn't figured out what that something was. And so, like many women, I let him take my dreams to add to his own. You know, the woman behind the man kind of thing. That was, after all, the philosophy I grew up in.

Unfortunately, he was also an alcoholic and a wife abuser. We did have happy times, good times. But, the bad and sad were becoming more frequent. These were the times before "wife abuse" was considered wrong and not acceptable. After almost nine years I finally had the courage to leave him. That courage was my baby daughter. If not for her, I probably would have stayed even longer.

Back to the video. I was so curious about the singers I looked them up on Youtube and watched Shane as he swirled down an abyss of gin. Losing his teeth. Unable to speak clearly. Yet, remembering exactly the words to his songs as he sang.

The female singer is Kirsty MacColl who at 41 died a horrible, but courageous death at 41. They were not partners from what I can tell. I'm glad for her.

My dreams went with my ex. I was a single mom with a baby to support. And so, I did what I had to do and that was to work and survive.

I was curious about my ex recently. He had hit hard times in the past, literally lying in the gutters of Chicago. He rehabbed several times. I had not seen nor heard from him in an eternity. I decided to search his name on the internet. I found him. I found his obituary. He died about four years ago. That was a jolt, leaving me as the only one with those memories. Sad. I'm sure this is a feeling experienced by widows.

Now, some thirty-five years after leaving him, I have a loving husband, daughter and three grandchildren. I have survived many things, including cancer.

And, I think I have reclaimed my dreams. You can see them in my blog.

My Grandmother and The Suffragettes

 
Susan B. Anthony, American Suffragette.

 

When I was a VERY little girl, I remember my Grandmother (my mother's mother) would always participate as an election judge during the voting season. I could tell it was important to her. And, I would never understand why later in her life she changed from Methodist to Jehovah Witness - and, in doing so was told not to vote.

It was 1920 when women in the United States of America were finally permitted to vote. And that memory of my Grandmother as an election judge has stayed with me to today.

We owe those Suffragettes a huge debt of gratefulness for the harsh and deadly trauma they experienced. To pay that debt women need to vote. I always vote. And I always remember.

Below is a film trailer "Made in Dagenham" that opens this year. It's about women trying to get equal pay for equal work. In 1968.

And, we are still trying.

 

And, on it goes. How do we cope? We are women!