Happy New Year

I voted for Jill Stein from the Green Party, so I'm unhappy, but feel no guilt, regarding the current circumstances. All you mainstream folks -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- should be making an effort to broaden your perspective. Until then,  rightfully carry the guilt, experience the anger and disappointment, and pay the dues for supporting and participating in "same old . . . same old . . . politics."

Now What?

Well, it's been a year since I've blogged. I used to get upset if I missed a week or two. Now, it seems, I don't give a hoot. I weathered a health scare that lasted 7 months. (I'm fine now).
Thinking I was dying fed my "don't sweat the small stuff" philosophy, but so much has gone down that it's challenging to maintain that equilibrium.

My nest is empty (kids grew up and moved out).

I have a new puppy (Polly) which ameliorated Eileen's empty nest syndrome but not mine!

My outlook remains glass half empty.

I don't know anybody who's content. Society is in shambles. Conflict and hatred, bigotry and racism thrive.

Politics in America is more of a demockery than a democracy.

The masses remain dumbed down, misinformed, and fearful.

Republicans continue to lie and cheat in an effort to steal the election (again)! And the democrats aren't particularly successful at bettering the human condition either, though I'd feel a lot happier surrounded by democratic rather than republican neighbors.

The gap between rich and poor continues to widen.

Basically, I think nothing short of an alien invasion will ever unite us, so I'm hoping for one. I feel like a stranger in a strange land. GROK.

Occupy Wall Street

So much has gone down since I last posted on this blog:
The continued blooming of the Arab Spring with unrest in Syria, Yemen, and the killing of Gadhafi in Libya.
The relentless Obama bashing.
The obnoxious intrusion of the arrogant Tea Party in national politics.
The Republican primary circus. Opinion: A bunch of pathetic wannabees.
The relentless teacher bashing.
The still rising number of foreclosures.

The economic outlook remains dismal, due to, IMO, the refusal of the Republican house to compromise with any of Obama's proposals that involve raising taxes on the wealthy and the uber-wealthy, and the systematic, policy-driven oppression of the poor.

But the most significant and worthy event --Occupy Wall Street-- is, for me, the most promising global action in decades. Finally, Americans are once again exercising their democratic right to protest en masse. I hope that the numbers of protesters grow exponentially, and that we have a similar result as we did when we protested for peace in the 60's. Back then, the cops were pigs. I'm not sure that's changed, except that perhaps some are more discrete because of all the cameras that can broadcast abuses to the world instantly. 
It's two-faced to lecture foreign despots for abusing peaceful protesters when our own cops have done it and do it. The Kent State massacre is still vivid in my memory.

Even more than voting, peaceful protesting is the ultimate expression of freedom. To call the "Occupy Wall Streeters"  un-American reeks of Neo-Nazism. If you don't agree with their agenda, start your own movement.

AHA!

OK. I discovered that you can reverse the order of posts that are displayed, but then the viewer has to click on "Newer posts" each time she wants to move on, she can't scroll at all, so it's a hassle.
Or, I have more discovering to do.

. . . Still Counting.

One thing that sucks about Blog-sites (especially sites like mine, which is really just an ongoing personal journal for the most part), is that a reader really should start from the first post and scroll toward the most recent in order to avoid redundancy, but it's the most recent one that's posted on the landing page.  There's no easy reverse mode.

Maybe I just haven't discovered it yet.

Am I being picky? After all, a blog does not a book make.

Or does it?

Six Weeks and Counting.

Six weeks since I've visited you here, Bloggee. I should be ashamed of myself, I know. You were my very first social networking experience. We were hot weren't we? Posted a lot! I'll admit to tiny twinges of guilt, but nothing more. Even Twitter, your successor, with whom I tweeted endlessly, has been leaving messages in my IN BOX, probably worried about me, as I've hardly visited her universe either, lately. If it wasn't for the fact that I use my FB author's page to post consecutive chapters of "The Zedland Chronicles" every third day, I'd be a stranger in Facebook land, too. It's a good thing the novel has 98 chapters.

Just sayin'. 

The marriage between me and social networking is on the rocks, it seems. From Blog to Twitter to Facebook, I have lost the energy to fight for recognition, to gain thousands of friends, to become famous, and rich. It's all my fault, I'm sure: lame efforts, like the ones I made at bars when I was in college.

One can't keep giving without getting in return, so I have slacked off for self-preservation, which I remain good at.  So be it, I say. No more promises. I'll be back when it feels healthy.

Presidential Sound-Bite

"There is nothing as a nation that we can't do." (A ridiculous sound-bite by President Obama regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden today).

Dear Mr. President,

How about ending hunger and poverty in the USA -- with a quick pre-emptive strike! We can do it! Just pull out of the wars and redirect that money toward education and programs for the needy. Voila!
I want the man, not the politician.

Sincerely,
Ed