POLITICS 2010

I came across this political cartoon and had to post it....unbelievable that this is the state of the country isn't it?

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. ~Anaïs Nin

The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution. Paul Cezanne

I love the garden, often when I can't think of what to have for dinner I go there for my inspiration. Tonite it was steamed, young carrots drizzled lightly with butter, and eggplant parmesan. The layers of tangy, freshly grated cheese, sauteed, sliced onions and eggplant, a garden-fresh tomato puree poured over all, with a final sprinkle of the cheese on top, and oven baked, was perfect for the later summer dinner we enjoyed on the patio.

OBAMACARE

I watched some of the coverage of President Obama at a gathering in Virginia today. I listened to everyday americans who have already benefited so much from what the Republican Party derogatorily like to call " Obamacare" and I shake my head in amazement that anyone, shy of those profiting from the industry in some way, shape or form, or who is wealthy enough to have never had to worry about such a basic human need in our country, or is a US Senator (Governor, et al) who has the best possible coverage, paid for by our tax dollars, would be opposed to the new Health Care Plan.

As Rachel Maddow likes to say, someone talk me down. Seriously, what is not to like about the fact one can no longer be denied health care insurance based on some pre-existing condition? What is not to like about having the option to cover ones children on their plan, up till age 26? What is not to like about being able to choose ones own physician? What is not to like about having to not fear a "lifetime limit", a point at which you can be cut loose from your policy by the Insurance company? Whats not to like about no longer having to worry about losing your house and home to bankruptcy when you are hit with a health care issue that turns out to be unconscionably expensive and ongoing? That you can no longer be dropped from your insurance because of some innocuous mistake on either your or the Insurance Company's part?

AH but the COST you say! The Deficit! Hmmm ... I see...it was ok for the Bush Administration to bail out the Banks two years ago to the tune of $700 Billion Dollars with NO pre-conditions?

Last account of the TARP money (according to an online source dtd April 2st, 2009) showed it going here:

FINANCIAL STABILITY PLAN FUNDS (nee TARP) as of March 30
To date, $667.4 billion committed of the $700 billion, $109.6 billion remaining.
-- $218 billion available to financial institutions (previously $250 billion). As of 3/30/09 banks had received $198.8 billion
-- $40 billion for AIG. AIG received the money on 11/25/08.
-- $20 billion in additional funds for Citigroup (announced 11/23/08, provided 12/31/08)
-- $5 billion committed to any potential losses from Citigroup announced on 11/23/08
-- $45 billion for Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (previously $100 billion)
-- $5 billion to GMAC on 12/29/08
-- $1 billion for GM related to GMAC on 12/29/08
-- $9.4 billion for GM on 12/31/08 ($4 billion that day and $5.4 billion on 1/16/09)
-- $4 billion to Chrysler on 1/2/09
-- $4 billion to GM promised on 2/17/09 (subject to meeting certain conditions)
-- $20 billion to Bank of America promised (1/16/09)
-- $7.5 billion committed to any potential losses from Bank of America (1/16/09)
-- $1.5 billion loan to a special purpose entity created by Chrysler Financial (1/16/09)
-- $50 billion for Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan ($25 Freddie/Fannie)
-- $30 billion to AIG (3/2/09)
-- $15 billion SBA loans under the Consumer and Business Lending Initiative to improve terms for securities backed by SBA loans in the TALF (3/16/09)
-- $5 billion Auto Supplier Support Program (3/19/09)
-- $100 billion for Public Private Initiative Fund (3/23/09)

For the latest click here: http://www.financialstability.gov/docs/transaction_report_03-30-2009.pdf

BUT I digress...."Obamacare" or whatever anyone likes to call it, is not another BAILOUT. And its one this country can and will afford, there are several options for funding it, beginning with ending two wars, taxing the upper 1% for their fair share, taxing/penalizing offshore corporations that take jobs away from americans, just for starters. "Obamacare" is ONE thing in this mess that has been done FOR the American people and not for Corporate America. I believe given time, "Obamacare" will be looked upon with the same respect as Social Security, if fear and politics do not prevail.

Those of you screaming an end to Obamacare...be careful what you wish for.

Every Single Thing You See Is Future Trash. Everything."

I'd come across this headline in a September 3rd article of GOOD (www.good.is/) and found the article so interesting. All about our "relationship" with trash, what it says about us, and why is that ok with us?! I'd never thought in terms of actually having a "relationship" with trash, but it is so true! And its shameful, shocking and time to take stock.

However, most of us never think about our trash, how much we accumulate, how much we waste, where does it all go after we toss it in the wastebin to be hauled off once a week, to 'who cares' where...let alone ask the inevitable ... just how long can we sustain the status quo? Perhaps you've read of the large clump of garbage that takes up miles in our Atlantic Ocean...miles below the waters surface...it just floats...and grows ... as more and more of our garbage attaches to it. In light of all the non-biodegradable "junk" we produce, use, break, cast off, how long can this go on? Where do we dispose of it next? Into space? Maybe we're already doing that ... for all I know.

In checking the archives, I saw that about a year ago (October 7, 2009) GOOD published an article about "The Bigbelly Solar Compactor" being used in a few cities around the country...these garbage cans are actually trash compactors all in one. "When Philadelphia introduced the BigBellys downtown, each one only had to be emptied once a day. To fund the transition, Philadelphia used $2.2 million in grant money. Meanwhile, they’re estimated to save $875,000 each year—and free up city workers for other jobs. Other cities have been experimenting with the trash compactors, too. Boston installed 42 of them in 2008, and they’ve been introduced in New York, Vienna, and Vancouver, among other places. With smart bins, waste collection doesn’t have to be wasteful."

In March of 09 they wrote about the city of Somerville, Massachussettes garnering 49 of the trash guzzling beasts... "Because trash is compacted where it's deposited (rather than piling up and spilling out), each BigBelly can hold five times the trash a normal can could, which substantially reduces the number of pickup trips necessary. And the energy is clean: the compacter is powered by solar panels on top of the can which are, apparently, efficient enough to work in cloudy Somerville."

These new waste depositories seem like a no-brainer, an actual solution (though temporary as we still need to rething that relationship with garbage, right?) to an ever growing problem. Perhaps we need to be asking our city and town councils WHEN we will be seeing them locally?

Perhaps an upside to these difficult economic times, when so many of us have had to rethink our "relationships" with just about everything...including what we want vs what we need... we'll all begin to truly appreciate the gift of our planet and realize if we don't take care of it, who will. And this includes re-thinking our relationship with garbage.

Favorite pictures of Derek

Out of all the thousands of photos of my first baby boy, now in his mid 30's, these have always been two of my favorites. He was maybe about two years old, his little brother maybe a few months old, the spring day I froze this moment in time. Derek was simply in awe of the bright yellow dandelions springing up all over the yard, I was wondering how to get rid of them!





He was just over a year old when this one of he and his dad was taken.

We do not remember days, we remember moments.
Cesare Pavese

Favorite pictures of Corey

There are too many "favorite" pictures of my sons to count, but these two of Corey have to be right up there.




I remember how proud he was of his bunny hat, the latest project at preschool...what a wonderful thing, the innocence and imaginations of a child.

We were vacationing on the Oregon coast when this was taken. A rare moment when Corey was not in motion!

In childhood, we press our nose to the pane, looking out. In memories of childhood, we press our nose to the panes, looking in. ~ Robert Brault ~

LATE SUMMER BOUNTY



I love wandering through my garden just as the sun comes up each morning...the plants still damp from the previous nights watering, the suns rays flirting with the colorful fruits and veggies... the butterflies flitting from plant to plant.
















I love the whole gardening experience ... the early, spring tilling up of the ground, planting the tiny seeds, waiting and watching for the very first sprouts to emerge. Its all too exciting. The miracle of "life".

I can recall big gardens I'd put in every year when Rod and I were first married, and the boys were babies...it was much harder work back then, mostly because my gardens were so big, and I'd never heard of "raised bed" gardening! But the daily weeding, hoeing, harvesting, hard manual work that it truly was, always gave me such a sense of accomplishment and pride. And back then (not that "back then" was all THAT long ago, I'm talking 30 or so years) it was just something most of us in a small town did...we never had to think about what sprays or insecticides were covering our produce, what hormones were being fed the meat we ate or

the milk we drank contained, even if we or our neighbors didn't produce it ourselves! What was in the supermarkets was fresh and you could trust that what you were buying/eating was safe. How far we have strayed in such a short time...what comes next? How will the foods and all the additives and poisons they contain affect our children and grandchildren years/decades from now? We all bear responsibility for letting it all get out of hand ... we broke it, but we can fix it too...but will we?


I'm happy to report I haven't had a "fig beetle" sighting in a few weeks now. Nothing is more frightening than being wrenched from a "zen garden" reverie than the loud, vibrating hum of their buzz as they come flying through the garden. Fortunately (or not!) they had taken up residence in my large nectarine tree, happily ensconced among the soft yummy fruits, so didn't seem to want to stray very far from the trough! But on occasion they'd exercise their perogative and zoom over to where I'd be working in my garden beds, and I'd hightail it for my back door! I wonder if anyone else is as shaken by these big, black irridescent bugs as I am!


Man - despite his artistic pretensions, his sophistication, and his many accomplishments - owes his existence to a six inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains. ~Author Unknown

MORE SOCIAL SECURITY MYTHS

"President Bush's Social Security plan is in trouble, and Republicans are angry. They say everyone is attacking it and it is still a work in progress. They said, 'Of course it's not clear what the solution is -- we're still inventing the problem.'" --Bill Maher

The site I mentioned in my last post, www.NCPSSM.org/ is titled "School Yourself: An Advocate's Guide to Social Security - Everything You Wanted to Know About Social Security But Were Too Busy to Ask" and I did find this particular site to be most informative, answering all the questions that had been rumbling around in my mind. I had read on many occasions some of these things they speak of, the questions, the answers, but here it was, comprehensively grouped together. Below I've copied the article pretty much verbatem, so you can read much of it here, or visit their site for even more comprehensive info.

A few of the other "myths" addressed are common concerns, the ones we hear the most, in particular how the babyboomer generation will bankrupt the fund. This always seemed a weak argument, sure there are going to be many of us retiring in the same time frame, but ALL us boomers have also been paying into the fund, through these past decades of the "fattest", highest income earning periods of all time, so there "should" be a surplus of $$, besides, its all relative...

"Myth 2: "Social Security will soon go bankrupt"

The truth: If Congress does nothing - makes no changes at all - Social Security is projected to deliver full guaranteed benefits until at least 2037. Even after 2037, again without any changes, the trust funds will continue to pay 78% of benefits for decades into the future. The program was adjusted in 1983 to prepare for the baby boomer bulge. To date, Social Security has paid benefits in full and on time for nearly 75 years. If Congress enacts modest changes, Social Security will be able to meet 100% of its benefit obligations indefinitely. As one of the most successful government programs ever, the administrative costs to run it - less than 2% - are far below what Wall Street will ever charge investors for private retirement accounts.

Myth 3: "The Social Security Trust Fund is full of worthless IOUs"

The truth: Social Security's surplus is invested in American government securities. Like other government bonds, they are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States . That means that as long as the government is around, it is obligated to pay both principal and interest on its securities. The federal government has never defaulted on its bonds, which are considered one of the safest choices in an investment portfolio. The Social Security Administration provides more details on the Trust Fund here .

Myth 4: "The government is raiding the Social Security Trust Fund"

The truth: Because Social Security takes in more in taxes than it spends in benefits, it has a current surplus of $2.6 trillion invested in bonds. A bond is like a loan to the federal government that earns interest. While the federal government uses the money loaned by the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for other government spending, just as with other holders of U.S. securities, the government is legally obliged to repay the holder when the bond comes due. There has not been one case of the government failing to pay a bond holder.

Myth 5: "People are living longer, so we should raise the retirement age to 70"

The truth : Proponents of increasing the retirement age argue that people are living longer, and, therefore, can continue working for more years. Although it is true that people, on average, are living longer, these longer life expectancies are by no means across-the-board. Studies have shown a strong correlation between longevity and income. That is, most of the increase in life expectancy for those who reach age 65 is enjoyed by workers with higher incomes. This is not surprising considering they are less likely to have physically demanding jobs and more likely to work in jobs with high-quality health insurance coverage.

It is also important to note that not everyone is healthy enough to continue to work even if they would prefer working into their later years. This is especially true of workers with physically demanding jobs. While fewer factory jobs exist today than in the past, many service jobs are backbreaking, including nursing and nursing home care, janitorial jobs, outdoor service jobs, waitressing, or any job where workers have to stand on their feet all day. Millions of American workers have these jobs, and asking them to work an additional 3 or more years is often simply not possible for them physically.

Finally, while many older workers may be healthy enough to work, jobs for them may simply not exist. Although high-income professionals are often encouraged to continue working indefinitely, few employers are eager to employ 70-year-old blue-collar or service workers. In fact, older workers are typically among the first targeted for buy-outs or reductions in force when the economy contracts, and are rarely recruited by employers absent a severe worker shortage."

Granted, there are no guarantees ... in this...as in life...with wise leadership, and if most will take the time to explore the subject, look for answers themselves, rather than depend on soundbites from biased politicians, they will see that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

"Dick Cheney said he felt terrible about shooting a 78-year-old man, but on the bright side, it did give him a great idea about how to fix Social Security." --Bill Maher

SOCIAL SECURITY - What is fact, what is myth?

Like so many babyboomers, who are now approaching the age at which we can begin to draw benefits, after decades of working and paying into the system, we hear from the political "right" (by whom I mean the Republican Party) that its time to scrap what they like to call an "entitlement" program, that it is unsustainable and a huge drain on the economy, one we can no longer afford. As always the GOP is very good at using fear tactics in their political maneuverings, in all fairness I suppose both the two Party's are, but it seems the GOP has gotten it down to an art form.

Well I'll do my best to skirt political issues in this post, my intent today was to try to find out what of the rumors surrounding this wonderful program (not just as it benefits our generation, but perhaps even more so our children and grandchildren) are true and what is hype and fiction. Is Social Security doomed? Also as I now find myself within 6 months of finally being eligible to collect "entitlement" (LOL) benefits (at age 62) whether to choose to indeed begin collecting in January or wait another 4 years for a slightly larger benefit?

My husband has done "the math" and believes collecting at age 62 is the way to go. However, as he intends, God Willing, to continue working a few more years I am torn, and find myself thinking 4 years is not far away, and we don't "need" the extra income at "this particular" time. That in 4 years, just a year or so after he "plans" to retire, the extra monthly income might be more appreciated. Anyways, I'll probably continue to struggle with that decision for a while yet.

Getting back to the Myths of Social Security, from what I found out, and I scoped out many different sites, I found what I felt was the most comprehensive information on NCPSSM - National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. They are extremely informative and address many issues including the "myths", of which I'll address only one in this post, with more to follow in consequtive posts. SO, to begin with:

"Despite wide support for Social Security among all age groups and political affiliations, some policy makers in Washington are proposing Social Security benefit cuts. These so-called "fiscal hawks" have suggested cutting Social Security will show America is "serious" about fixing the fiscal mess created by a decade of failed economic policies, despite the fact that Social Security has not contributed one thin dime to the deficit.

Myth 1: "The cost of Social Security is a burden to our grandchildren"
The truth: Social Security costs are expected to grow only slightly as a share of the U.S. economy and will remain quite manageable. As a proportion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),Social Security costs are projected to rise from under 5% in 2009 to just over 6% in 2034 and then drop back down to only 5.8% by 2050. Traditional pension plans have all but disappeared. Only about one half of all Americans have access to a retirement plan, such as a 401(k), at work. And those who are saving have a median account balance of $70,000 in their plans as they approach retirement. It is clear our children and grandchildren will need Social Security more than ever when they are ready to retire. They can't afford not to have a Social Security program.

I'll be back soon with Myth 2: Social Security Will Soon Go Bankrupt. (Poppycock!)

The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it. ~H.L. Mencken, Minority Report, 1956

TIME FOR EGGPLANTS

Mid September has brought us a bounty of eggplants. The plants themselves tower over my carrots and yellow pear tomatos, and the pendulous, gorgeous, deep purple fruits (veggy?) hang glossy amidst the cool, deep green leaves. I am thinking Eggplant parmesan???? Or Eggplant moussaka perhaps?

The colorful "rainbow" variety of swiss chard is one of our favorites, we have munched on raw swiss chard salads of every type, as well as lightly sauteeing it to go alongside whatever protein we've decided on for dinner. My husband prefers it to spinach (which we also eat a lot of) because of its denser quality. This is the first year I've grown the muliti colored variety, but it was worth it if only for the vibrant colorful (red, yellow, orange) stems.

Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees. ~Anne Raver