Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Prisons Are Big Business, Man
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I read recently that the U.S. has a greater percentage of its population locked up than any other country in the world. Despite budget cuts and tax shortfalls housing inmates costs the country almost $600 billion a year.
Even more stunning, in 2009 there were 7.2 million people in prison and under official supervision like probation -- a larger population than the state of Washington. And 4 in 10 prisoners return to state prisons within three years of release.
I also read that it costs New Jersey $253 million every year to house just its death row prisoners -- $11 million apiece.
Guess how much is being spent here
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
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Did You Know . . .?
A thimbleful of tobacco can fetch up to $50 at a maximum security prison.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Upon his release, Hiss immediately declared that he wished to "reassert my complete innocence of the charges that were brought against me by Whittaker Chambers."
The controversy over the facts in the Hiss case is also here forever. It remains a highly charged issue. His defenders argue that Hiss was a victim of the Red Scare that swept through the U.S. during the 1940s and 1950s. Others are equally adamant in maintaining his guilt, claiming that documents recently released from Soviet archives strongly support the case that Hiss was a spy for the Soviet Union.
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WORD FOR TODAY
imprisonment
noun
- putting someone in prison or in jail as lawful punishment.
- the state of being confined; "he was held in confinement."
- the act of restraining of a person's liberty by confining him.
Imprisonment is a legal term. It refers to the restraint of a person's liberty. Imprisonment is no other thing than the restraint of a man's liberty, whether it be in the open field, or in the stocks, or in the cage in the streets or in a man's own house, as well as in the common gaols; and in all the places the party so restrained is said to be a prisoner so long as he hath not his liberty freely to go at all times to all places whither he will without bail or mainprise or otherwise.
--From Wikipedia
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born November 27, 1957)
Caroline Kennedy is an American author, attorney, Ambassador to Japan, and member of the Kennedy family. She is the only living child of U.S. President John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier.
(Nov 27, 1940 - July 20, 1973)
Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong American martial artist, action film actor, martial arts instructor, filmmaker, and the founder of Jeet Kune Do. Lee is widely considered by commentators, critics, media and other martial artists to be one of the most influential martial artists of all time, and a pop culture icon of the 20th century. He is often credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films.
(born November 27, 1964)
Robin Givens is an American stage, television, and film actress. Givens began her acting career after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1984. In 1986, she won the role of Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class. She remained with the series for its entire five-year run. After the series ended in 1991, she continued her career with film roles and guest starring roles on television. Givens has since had recurring roles on The Game, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and Chuck. In 2007, Givens released her autobiography Grace Will Lead Me Home.
(born November 27, 1955)
Bill Nye is an American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, writer, and scientist who began his career as a mechanical engineer at Boeing. He is best known as the host of the Disney/PBS children's science show Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-98) and for his many subsequent appearances in popular media as a science educator.
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The burning of an author's books, imprisonment for opinion's sake, has always been the tribute that an ignorant age pays to the genius of its time.
--Joseph Lewis, Voltaire: The Incomparable Infidel, 1929
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013
The Affordable Care Act
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For some reason it occurred to me to find out if the Affordable Care Act covers Native Americans. So I did an online search, an found that for most uninsured Americans, the motivation for checking out the health insurance exchanges is simple -- they could face stiff penalties if they don't sign up. For Native Americans, the decision is more complicated.
Longstanding treaties with the federal government guarantee all Native Americans free health care. As a result, the Affordable Care Act exempts them from paying a penalty if they choose not to purchase insurance. More than 2 million Native Americans receive free health care at federally supported Indian health facilities.
So the question is: why would an American Indian or Alaska Native sign up for reduced-rate insurance on the exchanges?
The complicated answer is supposedly contained within an article in USA TODAY -- But after reading it I'm still not sure I know any more than I did before reading it.
That happens a lot, it seems, as I grow older.
There is another source concerning the question. It is a PDF file from the U.S. Government titled: The Affordable Care Act Helps American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Here is the first paragraph:
For too long, too many hard working Americans paid the price for policies that handed free rein to insurance companies and put barriers between patients and their doctors. The Affordable Care Act gives hard-working families the security they deserve. The new health care law forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy because of an annual or lifetime limit, or, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition. And it includes substantial new benefits for American Indians and Alaska Natives across the country.
Since I no longer believe anything that emanates from spokespersons for the Federal Government, I am not going to read the whole thing, but if you care to give it a try, it can be found HERE. But I am not going to read it. Not right now, anyway.
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Did You Know . . .?
General George Armstrong Custer once said, "There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the Seventh Cavalry."
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Blizzard conditions disrupted the entire area. Transportation became impossible; some trains were halted by 20-foot snow drifts. Communication was interrupted as the wind and snow brought down telephone and telegraph lines. In some towns and villages, residents were forced to dig tunnels through the snow from their front doors to the streets. In New York City, 2,000 workers attempted to clear the key streets and avenues.
Boston was perhaps worst hit by the storm. Approximately 100 ships were blown ashore from the city's harbor and another 40 were sunk. About 100 people died when a Portland-based steamer sank near Cape Cod. Bodies and debris filled the harbors and nearby beaches.
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WORD FOR TODAY
Amerind
noun
An American Indian.
Amerind is a blending of "American Indian". It refers collectively to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas who lived in the Western Hemisphere before European arrival to the continent. Use of the term is intended to avoid the confusion inherent in using "Indian", which can also refer to inhabitants of India.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born November 26, 1938)
Rich Little is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor, nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Voices," by voice actor Mel Blanc.
(born November 26, 1939)
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock) is a singer, dancer, actress, and author, whose career has spanned more than half a century, earning her widespread recognition and numerous awards. Born and raised in the American South, she is now a Swiss citizen.
(Nov 26, 1922 - Feb 12, 2000)
Charles Schultz was an American cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Peanuts (which featured the characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time.
(born November 26, 1973)
Kristin Bauer is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role as vampire Pam in the HBO series True Blood, as Jerry's girlfriend Gillian or "Man-Hands" on Seinfeld, and as sorceress Maleficent in the ABC series Once Upon a Time.
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"We also recommit to supporting tribal self-determination, security, and prosperity for all Native Americans."
--Barack Obama
"I am a red man. If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place."
--Sitting Bull
Hunkpapa Sioux
NASA TV
Monday, November 25, 2013
Too Many Books For One Lifetime
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Have you ever heard of an author named Doris Lessing? Until yesterday, I had not. I had heard the name, and the fact that she was a writer, but that was the extent of my knowledge of her.
For the last third of life there remains only work. It alone is always stimulating, rejuvenating, exciting and satisfying.
--Doris Lessing
I have never read any of Doris Lessing's works, but now I intend to do so since I heard mention of her on last Sunday morning's PBS show with Bill Moyers.
The show is titled A Tribute To Doris lessing
Doris May Lessing
(October 22, 1919 - November 17, 2013)
Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the Prize the Swedish Academy described her as "that spiciest of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny". Lessing was the eleventh woman and the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature
It seems that every day I hear tell of another book or two that I have not read and would like to read as soon as I possibly can. There are so many of them, and I am getting so dog-gone old, week after week and day after day. There must be thousands unread (by me) out there... tens of thousands, or maybe even hundreds of thousands.
It's a pity.
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Did You Know . . .?
The month of August has the highest percentage of births.
(. . . not sure if that's in the U.S. A. or in the whole world)
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Although this is a sign of positive change in the struggle to end violence against women, statistics show that there is still much work left to do. A report released in 1994 by the World Bank, entitled Violence Against Women: The Hidden Health Burden, estimated that one out of every four women worldwide has been, or will be, raped. The report also said that violence against women is as serious a cause of death and incapacity among women of reproductive age as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffic accidents and malaria combined.
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WORD FOR TODAY
feminism
noun
- Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
- The movement organized around this belief.
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(Nov 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999)
John Kennedy, Jr.,, often referred to as JFK Jr. or John-John, was an American socialite, journalist, lawyer, and magazine publisher. The elder son of U.S. President John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy, Sr. and First Lady Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Bouvier, he died in a plane crash along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy; and her older sister Lauren Bessette, on July 16, 1999.
(born November 25, 1971)
Christina Applegate is an American actress who gained fame as a teenage actress, playing the role of Kelly Bundy on the Fox sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). She has major roles in several films, including Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), The Big Hit (1998), The Sweetest Thing (2002), Grand Theft Parsons (2003), Anchorman (2004), Farce of the Penguins (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009) and Hall Pass (2011). She also played the lead role in the sitcoms Jesse (1998–2000) and Samantha Who? (2007–2009) and starred in the NBC comedy Up All Night (2011–2012)
(born November 25, 1944)
Ben Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Later, he entered the entertainment field and became an actor, comedian, and Emmy Award-winning game show host. His film career was launched by his performance as the monotonous economics teacher in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Stein has frequently written commentaries on economic, political, and social issues, along with financial advice to individual investors. He is the son of economist and writer Herbert Stein, who worked at the White House under President Nixon. His sister, Rachel, is also a writer. While, as a character actor, he is well known for his droning, monotone delivery, in real life he is a public speaker on a wide range of economic and social issues.
(born November 25, 1947)
John Larroquette is an American film, television and stage actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the 1984 - 1992 sitcom Night Court (winning a then-unprecedented four consecutive Emmy Awards for his role), Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, Lionel Tribbey on The West Wing and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.
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Borrowing is not much better than begging; just as lending with interest is not much better than stealing.
--Doris Lessing
NASA TV
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Strangers by Guest Blogger
Strangers
I couldn't park in my driveway when I got home today. There was a big white truck crossways in it, attached to a trailer sitting on my lawn. I was puzzled. Who do I know with a white truck? Oh, the lawn man has a white truck... but he doesn't have a trailer like that one.
I got out of my truck and heard noise. Loud noise. And then a man came around the corner to the trailer...
... and I didn't recognize him.
Worse, he was carrying cement.
The noise continued.
He threw the cement into the trailer and vanished back around the corner.
The noise continued, and now I could tell it was coming from *behind* my house.
The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up, but I brandished my purse and PC as weapons (I was just coming home from work, remember?) and followed the strange man.
The gate to my backyard was open.
In the backyard were two more men.
Before I clobbered one with my purse, though, I realized what they were doing. They'd broken ground for the Fox Room!
The patio is gone. Jagged remnants litter the ground below my elevated sliding glass door. (To go out, the dog now has about a three-foot jump.) Two trenches line part of where the room will eventually be, and white chalk lines delineate the rest.
I have a feeling my life will be filled with strangers for awhile. I must say, though, jackhammers are noisier than I'd ever imagined.
Copyright 2013 Michelle Hakala
http://www.winebird.com/
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Old Dog? New Tricks?
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There has been a change in my fiction reading process about which I am noticing more often and about which I am growing more and more disturbed.
The change is this: I am growing weary of what seems to be excessive inner-character description along with unnecessary injection of blatant authorial personal prejudice, especially in short stories, but to a lesser extent, also in modern novels.
This is hard to explain. It's difficult to put into words.
I guess you could say that a great percentage of the newest writers are following some kind of dictum representing unquestionable rules for writing that is deemed publishable. This writing is irritatingly padded with twenty-first century notions of moral absolutes compatible only with liberal and progressive thought.
And it pisses me off.
An example of this is . . . No, I won't embarrass the author by naming him, or by pointing to his online work. But I find his little stories to be both arrogant and boring.
After all, the problem of both word and concept padding could be no more than impatience on my part. Perhaps I am too old and set in my ways. Maybe I am so steeped in the older styles that new ones are boring and unacceptable to me. In other words, there may be no real problem except for my being an old dog unable to understand and unwilling to accept today's tricks of the trade.
See? I told you that it was hard to explain.
I suppose it's enough that I believe I know what I'm talking about.
When I was at the University of Arizona Wednesday attending my grandson's Ph.D.dissertation defense, I took several pictures of the buildings as we walked past them. I must admit that I do not remember the names, but I just felt like exhibiting some of the landmarks here.
This is a museum (I think)
This, I thought, would make a pretty picture
A thought-provoking image . . .
A center for programs, concerts, special events, and whatever
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Did You Know . . .?
11% of people in the world are left handed.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
The 7.2-magnitude quake struck at 7:34 p.m. on a Sunday night and was centered in Eboli, south of Naples. The first jolt was followed by 90 aftershocks. In nearby Balvano, children were preparing for their first communion at the 1,000-year-old Conza Della Compagna church. The violent shaking demolished the church and killed scores of people, including 26 children.
The Italian government spent 59,000 billion lire on reconstruction, while other nations sent contributions. West Germany contributed 32 million United States dollars (USD) and the United States 70 million USD.
However, a major corruption scandal emerged of the billions of lire that actually disappeared from the earthquake reconstruction funds in the 1980s. Of the $40 billion spent on earthquake reconstruction, an estimated $20 billion went to create an entirely new social class of millionaires in the region, $6.4 billion went to the Camorra, whereas another $4 billion went to politicians in bribes. Only the remaining $9.6 billion, a quarter of the total amount, was actually spent on people's needs
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WORD FOR TODAY
change
noun
- the act or fact of changing; fact of being changed.
- a transformation or modification; alteration.
- a variation or deviation: a change in the daily routine.
- the substitution of one thing for another.
- variety or novelty: Let's try a new restaurant for a change.
verb
- to become different.
- to become altered or modified: Colors change if they are exposed to the sun.
- to become transformed or converted.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(Nov 23, 1887 - Feb 2, 1969)
Boris Karloff was an English actor. Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). His popularity following Frankenstein was such that for a brief time he was billed simply as "Karloff" or "Karloff the Uncanny." His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch, as well as the narrator, in the animated television special of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). He also had a memorable role in the original Scarface (1932).
(born November 23, 1996)
Lia Johnson is an American teen actress notable for her roles in the Emmy-winning web series Kids React and "Teens React", Spirits and a webseries "Terry the Tomboy" with AwesomenessTV which has recently been aired to Nickelodeon. She is also a prolific YouTube performer, with more than 26 million views on her YouTube channel, liamariejohnson,
(Nov 23, 1888 - Sep 28, 1964)
Harpo Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish blonde wig, and never spoke during performances (he blew a horn or whistled to communicate). Marx frequently used props such as a horn cane, made up of a lead pipe, tape, and a bulbhorn, and he played the harp in most of his films.
(born November 23, 1992)
Miley Cyrus is an American actress and recording artist. The daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, she held minor roles in the television series Doc and the film Big Fish in her childhood. In 2006, Cyrus rose to prominence as a teen idol after being cast in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana, in which she portrayed the starring character Miley Stewart. In 2011, she was named #1 on the Top 10 Richest Teens in Hollywood, with $120 million.
In August 2013, Cyrus was the subject of widespread media attention and public scrutiny following a controversial performance and duet with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance began with Cyrus performing "We Can't Stop" in teddy bear-themed attire. Following this, Thicke entered the stage singing "Blurred Lines" alternatively with Cyrus, who stripped down to a skin-colored, latex two-piece outfit. Cyrus subsequently touched Thicke's crotch area with a giant foam finger and twerked against his crotch
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It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.
--Charles Darwin
Friday, November 22, 2013
President Kennedy Was Shot!
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I at first thought to write some honest memories of the many derisive phrases about President John F. Kennedy that I heard on the day of his assassination fifty years ago and throughout that week.
My hometown was a Republican town in Indiana and Kennedy was not lauded by all as is currently supposed. He was a Catholic, which was at the time in that locale tantamount to being a cultish lover of the Pope and dedicated to raising the Pope to a position of World Dictator. I'm not making it up. That's how is was back then in that little farming town when I was in my early twenties.
But then I decided not to write about it after all. Who would believe me? Who would believe that a majority of the comments I heard during the week following the assassination were, for example: "It's 'bout time we finally got that Papist bastard out of the White House" and "Good for Oswald!" And much, much more of the same.
No. It's better that I write nothing more here in the blog about the real truth of the matter.
So I won't.
I looked out my bedroom window a moment ago and saw several large puddles of water that had accumulated during the night, and the sky was filled with black clouds from over the mountains. The TV weather forecasters had last night reported that a big storm system was headed this way and would bring both showers and heavy downpours to the Tucson area over the coming two or three day period.
So I guess that I will not go for my usual walk this morning.
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Did You Know . . .?
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair than do less intelligent people.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Forty-five minutes after the assassination, Oswald was seen hurrying through the Dallas streets by police officer J.D. Tippit, who identified him as matching the description of Kennedy's killer. When Tippit attempted to apprehend him, Oswald shot him to death with a revolver and fled.
In the early afternoon, police converged on the Texas Theater, where Oswald had been spotted. Inside, Oswald punched an approaching officer and withdrew a pistol. The gun misfired and other police officers grabbed him. "I am not resisting arrest," Oswald cried as he was dragged out in front of an angry crowd of onlookers. "Don't hit me anymore! I want a lawyer!" In fact, Oswald would never require the services of an attorney because he was shot and killed by Dallas restaurant owner Jack Ruby as he was being transferred from the police station to the county jail two days later.
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WORD FOR TODAY
stigmata
noun
marks resembling the wounds on the crucified body of Christ
Stigmata (singular stigma) is a term used by members of the Christian faith to describe body marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, such as the hands, wrists, and feet.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born November 22, 1958)
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train. Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many genres. Her 1998 book, Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, made the best-seller list in The New York Times. Curtis has appeared in advertisements, and is a blogger for The Huffington Post.
(Nov 22, 1921 - Oct 5, 2004)
Rodney Dangerfield was an American comedian and actor, known for the catchphrase "I don't get no respect!" and his monologues on that theme. He is also remembered for his 1980s film roles, especially in Easy Money, Caddyshack, and Back to School.
(born November 22, 1961)
Mariel Hemingway (granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway) is an American actress and author. She began acting at age 16 in a breakout role in Lipstick and is best known for her roles in Manhattan (for which she received an Oscar nomination), Star 80, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. She has starred in and co-produced videos about yoga and holistic living. She published a memoir in 2002.
(born November 22, 1940)
Terry Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed several films, including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009).
The only "Python" not born in Britain, he became a naturalized British citizen in 1968. In 2006, he formally renounced his American citizenship.
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"As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities."
--Voltaire
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