Today, the Justice Department announced the indictment of a number of officials  of FIFA, the governing body of International Soccer.  I guess this is important, but it seems incongruous for the US to spend such energy on a global problem that other countries with a greater interest in soccer could prosecute.  Meanwhile, some large American banks, not bankers, have admitted to all kinds of wrongdoing that effected a large number of Americans and paid a fine in the billions.  My question is, why not penalize the Bankers who designed the ways to bilk citizens out of large sums of money and almost caused the collapse of our financial system?

Now let's see if I have this right.  Thousands of people die every year from guns but we cannot even get a bill through Congress that would require background checks before purchasing a gun. One person dies from Ebola (contracted in another country)  and we want the President to close our borders to anyone coming from West Africa. There are some governors who want to quarantine health workers who have cared for Ebola victims in other countries.  There is something wrong with citizens who cannot discern a unreasonable reaction to the small possibility of contracting an infectious disease while ignoring the much greater probability of being killed by a gun.

I just finished watching "The Roosevelts", Ken Burns' latest documentary.  It was like watching the history of my life, reliving major events and  recalling my experiences during those years.
During my years from 9 to 13, we lived through World War II.  I remember being afraid that I would never get to grow up, that I would die in the war.  We had blackouts, my mother had a draft classification of 2A, we could only get food and clothing using stamps, the newspapers had long lists of dead and wounded every day.  It was so frightening. The amazing thing is - I am now 82 years old having lived far beyond my expectations.  Thankfully, my life has not only been quite long, it has also been a very happy and blessed one as well.

Fahrenheit 451

Two articles recently have caused me to panic...yes, panic.  News of the New York Public Library eliminating their prized reading space (a place of quiet, peace, reflection and learning) to install a computer space (perhaps not so quiet, not so peaceful, etc) and another article written by a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer about the rapidly advancing pace of book store closures.  Do we really think that disposing of books is a good thing?  Are we on the way to Fahrenheit 451?

I KEEP THINKING...

I keep thinking...we are going to stop this creeping loss of democratic functions:  like one person, one vote; like majority rules; like the voice of any one person can be heard; like freedom of the press.
I am thinking...#OccupyWall Street may be the entity that will give voice to those whose voices have been drowned out by the top 1% that owns most of the money and power.
I am thinking that our country, our democracy is too young to die.

"1984" All Over Again

I just learned that Jon Corzine will receive about 12 million dollars for being the leader of  MP Global as it sinks into bankruptcy.  No doubt his contract guarantees this.  This gives me pause as I await the outcome of the decisions of the Congressional Super Committee.  These six people are looking for ways to reduce the national debt.  According to recent information about this group, the Democrats are ready to sell out senior citizens by reducing Social Security and Medicare. The Government has a contract with seniors - we pay into Social Security and Medicare during our working days; the government pays us when we retire. (By the way, we continue to pay for Medicare from our Social Security benefits.)  That is a contract between citizens and the Federal Government.  I want to know why contracts like Corzine's, along with all those sacrosanct contracts for outrageous bonuses given to Wall Street players, are enforced and the contract with senior citizens is not.  Could it be that "some contracts are more equal than others"?  Thanks, George Orwell, for the thought.

Irene, Good Night and Good Morning

Irene has come and gone. The fear of water gushing into the basement kept me awake until 3:30 am Sunday and during that time I used my big shop vac to vacuum water coming up through the cracks in the cement floor. After succumbing to fatigue, I went to bed and slept for a long time. When I returned to the basement there was moisture around the entire perimeter and the many cracks in the floor. But to my great surprise, very little water came under the outside door. Both sump pumps worked through the night (the one in the front of the basement has not pumped for years) and were still working through Sunday. I am thankful I did not have any disastrous standing water but I am now determined to remove much of the unneeded and unwanted "stuff" in the overfull basement. I am resolute!