Hanging Out With The Duchess: April 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

SOME OF MY ENTRIES
IN THE "365 PROJECT"

LATEST NEWS ON BUDGET AND MEDICARE

"House G.O.P Members Face Voter Anger Over Budget"
The New York Times
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208121&id=27145-4703541-hvWybkx&t=4

"Republicans facing tough questions over Medicare overhaul in budget plan”
The Washington Post
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208122&id=27145-4703541-hvWybkx&t=5

"Marist Poll: 73 Percent of Republicans Oppose Cuts to Medicare”
The Wonk Room
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208123&id=27145-4703541-hvWybkx&t=6

"Ludicrous and Cruel”
The New York Times
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=208124&id=27145-4703541-hvWybkx&t=7

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Siren Song of Empty Promises
Message from Truthout and William Rivers Pitt

Rachel Maddow described President Obama's speech on Wednesday as a "defining moment" for his administration, and she was absolutely correct. It was an excellent speech in the main, filled with the kind of lofty rhetoric we have become accustomed to since Mr. Obama first burst onto the political scene in 2004. In it, he proposed taxing the rich, cutting the defense budget and decreasing the cost of health care. He defended Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. For many in the progressive community, it was a reminder of the man who fired the imaginations of so many during his presidential campaign.

Therein lies the problem: it was all just words. Again. There have been many such "defining moments" during this administration, most of which involved retreat, surrender and failure after festooning the walls with words. We heard great talk about including the public option in the health care bill - until Mr. Obama retreated, leaving many to wonder if he ever meant to include it at all. We heard great talk about closing Guantanamo, until he retreated. We heard great talk about repealing the Bush tax cuts for rich people, until that fell by the wayside as well. The very fact that we are still talking about those damnable tax breaks is evidence enough of how far those words go, and that is not very far at all, so far.

And then there were the other words in Wednesday's speech: the ones that tipped a wink to the Bowles-Simpson proposal to eviscerate the social contract which has sustained this nation for generations. There were the words, "Any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table." If that is true, Mr. President, then a plan to provide Medicare for all must also be on the table … but no, that's not "reasonable" or "responsible." The debate over the future of this country has been skewed so far to the right that centrism appears radical, even as the worst elements in our nation win the day time and again.

Words are no longer enough, even pretty ones. Action is required, not only by our elected officials, but by you and me. Mr. Obama spoke of "shared sacrifices" on Wednesday, but it is time for shared actions as well. It is this endeavor to which Truthout has committed, and all of us here bear a responsibility to each other, to you our readers, to the country and to the world entire. When the real radicals of the right are allowed to frame the debate - allowed to disseminate outright lies with no answer or recourse - it is to this diseased estate we are delivered.

I ask you today to take action, to help us bring this fight to them every day, so that we can move beyond the siren song of empty promises and bring the genuine change we so desperately need. Truthout must raise $42,000 more during this fundraising drive in order to continue doing this work. Please take action with us today by making a contribution.

Click the link below to make a tax-deductible donation:
(Truthout is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 20-0031641)

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Only REAL Democratic Budget: Why Progressives Have the Answer to What the American Public Wants
By Rep. Mike Honda and Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-mike-honda/the-only-real-democratic_b_847474.html

Sunday, April 10, 2011

STOP THE WARS! Rally & March
Union Square on April 9, 2011

QUOTE OF THE DAY … “When you don’t know what to say, be silent, and the wisdom will come. Today, be patient, and trust the words that bubble up to the surface. And know it takes courage to say nothing.” – Yehuda Berg

The People's Budget
http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=70&sectiontree=5,70

By Jeffrey Sachs
Economist and Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-peoples-budget_b_846573.html

MORE QUOTES … “You don’t lack anything. Your 1% illusionary reality may not reflect that truth, but beyond that in the true reality, you have everything you could ever want. That reality is not in some far away place, or behind the pearly gates. It’s here now. Today, let this teaching come to life, and never surrender to despair.” – Yehuda Berg

Saturday, April 09, 2011

The Cost of War is Killing Brooklyn

Ten billion dollars has been taken from Brooklyn taxpayers to pay for the destructive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001

U.S. wars have created a trail of death and destruction overseas. They are also wreaking havoc on our economy. For just the $1 billion Brooklynites will pay for war in 2011, we could have had 11,397 school teachers, or provided 325,900 Brooklyn households with renewable solar electricity. What the U.S. will spend this year on Afghanistan alone would cover ALL the state budget deficits combined, with money left over for other needs.

Instead, thousands of teachers are threatened with layoff, hospitals, day care and senior centers are shut down, and mass transit is cut back. Each soldier tragically sent to Afghanistan for a year, and every cruise missile fired in Libya, is another million taken from human needs in the U.S.

Protest to stop the wars and move the money from warfare to schools, jobs, housing and healthcare NOW.

P.S. Save the date for the Brooklyn Peace Fair 2011, on Saturday, May 7th [12-5pm] at Brooklyn College Student Center, with host Juan Gonzalez and many workshops, events, video, music and discussions.

Go to www.BrooklynPeace.org

Thank you and be peace.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

DO THE HIPPOGRIFF
Move your body like a hairy troll
Learning to rock and roll
Spin around like a crazy 'elf
A' Dancin' by himself
I boogie down like a unicorn
No stoppin' till the break of dawn
Put your hands up in the air
Like a dog, or just don't care

(Chorus)
Can you dance the hippogriff?
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma
Flyin' off from a cliff
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma
Swooping down, to the ground
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma
Wheel around and around and around and around
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma

Move around like a scary ghost
Spooking himself the most
Shake your booty like a boggart in pain
Again and again and again
Get it on like an angry specter
Who's definitely out to get ya'
Stamp your feet like a leprechaun
Gettin' it on, gettin' it on

Chorus
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh, come on
Mmm, you gotta move it
Like a groovy creature,
Creature of the night
Yeah, that's right
Ah, a creature of the night
Well, do ya' feel alright?
Do ya' feel alright?
Ow! Yeah!

Can you dance like a hippogriff?
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma
Flyin' off from a cliff
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma
Swooping down, to the ground
Ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma
Wheel around and around and around and around

Come on, ah, come on, yeah!
Can dance you like a hippogriff? Yeah!

Harry Potter, the Exhibition: A Review
Jenna St Hilaire, The Hog’s Head
http://networkedblogs.com/glByY