WELCOME TO FLORIDA

Governor Rick Scott has a million of ‘em . . . jokes? NO! Not a jokin’ around man our Gov. These are Special deals for Special folk - corporate type folk, that is. His latest little "gimmick" is the "WELCOME TO FLORIDA" sign with his name on it. It should say: "WELCOME TO FLORIDA, CORPORATE AMERICA; HAVE WE GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!" And, I believe it should be posted alongside another sign that reads: "GOODBYE, LOSERS - TEACHERS, STUDENTS, ELDERLY, UNDER-EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED. DON’T LET THE DOOR SMACK YOUR BEHIND ON THE WAY OUT!"

Were the Florida voters asleep when this man was elected? And are we still sleeping? Something needs to be done! In a very short time, he has managed to cut jobless benefits and Medicaid reimbursement rates, and passed nearly $4 billion in budget cuts that will result in the lay-off of thousands of teachers and government employees. Not one bill has been passed to create jobs, which was what he promised to do when he campaigned. The cuts to Medicaid Reimbursements affect our elderly in a big way - and not in a good way. Nursing homes are losing their Medicaid reimbursements to the tune of $180 million – but not to worry because at the same time, a bill has been passed which lowers the minimum number of hours of direct care that homes have to provide for their residents – in other words, we’re giving you less money with which to care for your residents, but you will be allowed to spend less time caring for them.

And how about education? Have we lost sight of the fact that our children and grandchildren will be America’s leaders in the not too distant future? Don’t you think we should provide for them the best teachers and schools so that they will receive the kind of education they need to become enlightened citizens and leaders of a great country. It boggles the mind to know that we can raise incomprehensible amounts of money to fund a political campaign, but we can’t come up with enough money to keep our schools open or pay our teachers a living wage. Potentially great teachers choose careers other than teaching because they (who knew?) need to be able to pay their bills and put food on the table. When did we decide that paying less taxes was more important that educating our children and insuring this country’s future?

Oh, and yes, our illustrious Gov. returned a basketful of $$$$ to Washington, depriving Florida of high speed rail and the thousands of jobs that would have been created through that project . Way to go, Gov. – creating new jobs and all.
Time to wake up and smell the stench! Something’s rotten in Tallahassee - and it isn’t fish.
"WELCOME TO FLORIDA - WE USED TO BE PROUD"

LIFE IS GOOD - TODAY

Today, I am home trying to recover from a nasty bronchial infection - being sick makes you realize how wonderful it is to feel good!

Being sick makes you slow down enough to see the beauty that surrounds you. The tree is so lovely, but taken for granted day in and day out. Yet it never complains; just continues to provide cooling shade, nesting and perching opportunities for the little feathered singers who do appreciate it, and indescribable beauty for me to enjoy.

Being sick allows you to contemplate all the opportunities that are available for you to consider as well as all the things that need to be done that you have been meaning to get to one of these days. Also, just sitting and listening to the radio - I had almost forgotten how much I love "Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keiler. What a wonderful program.

Being sick allows you to relegate all the "cares" of the world to the back of your mind. I just don't really want to hear about the world financial issues, or political in-fighting, or climate change, or crime, or . . . anything! I can just pamper myself and not feel a a bit guilty about it.
Life is good - today.

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE . . .

There must be a good many people running around with their pants on fire these days. I know I’m not alone in wondering if any one of our "leaders," anywhere, is telling us the truth about anything. There is a disturbing lack of trust that permeates beyond borders to every part of the globe. When people in positions of power make those reassuring remarks regarding issues that concern us, we find it almost impossible to sift through the crap to get to the truth.

For instance: when we are assured that we needn’t worry about radiation resulting from damage to the nuclear plants following the Japanese Tsunami, can we believe them? When we are told that the oil that lies below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico has dissipated and that the fish finding its way to our tables is totally safe to eat, completely unaffected by the oil, can we believe them? Are we to believe that in the short time since that catastrophic spill, everything in the Gulf of Mexico waters is back to normal?

Can we believe that we’re getting the truth regarding our activities in Iraq, and in Afghanistan, and in Pakistan, and in Israel, and in Libya and in Yemin, and in other parts of the world where unrest is taking place. There is a super-abundance of "facts" - most of them conflicting - that we are being fed on a daily basis. It just depends on who is telling the story.

Can we believe that our elected representatives are working for our best interests while they bicker about the myriad of financial issues that burden this country. The only thing we can be absolutely sure of, is that they are working for their own best interests, including being re-elected. And while our dwindling "middle class" continues to carry more and more of the burden, those at the top and their corporate buddies get richer and richer. We can believe that.

Our leaders have evolved over the years from people of character, integrity, idealism and strength to self-serving bureaucrats. We can’t rely on them to listen to us and actually represent our interests. They simply do whatever they have to do, including outright lying, to get our vote. And we, average Americans, have forgotten how to think for ourselves and stand up for what we believe. We are a nation of lazy, "feed it to me" people. We allow the "news" commentators to feed us information, tell us how to think, mold our opinions, and ultimately to control our destiny. Shame on us!

It was painfully clear when Katrina hit the gulf coast, that our government was more interested in looking good in the face of unmentionable pain and devastation than in actually doing everything possible, as quickly as possible, to meet the needs of their constituents. Can we ever believe our government when a natural disaster or man-made disaster occurs? Have they ever told us right up front the painful truth about what has happened and why, in terms of government assistance? Have they ever given us the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Nonsense! They just feed us "crap" and we swallow it.

Are we so stupid, so prone to hysteria, so incapable of hearing the truth that we must be spoon-fed tiny dribbles of the truth along with large portions of half-truths or outright lies, over an elongated period of time so as not to become unmanageable? And is that the ultimate goal? To keep us ignorant so we can be "managed?

I’m sick of being fed lies and half-truths. I’m sick of not knowing who to believe, or even if anyone can be believed. I’m ready to become "unmanageable." This country desperately needs some honest leaders who care more about the health of America than about their re-election campaigns. And we need more people who will put forth the effort to learn the facts and who won’t settle for less than the truth.

Someone once said, "The truth will set you free." It’s the truth!

MONDAY BLUES

What is it about Mondays? I no longer have to go to the office on Monday morning, since most of my work is done from home these days, and the Wash-day Blues are a thing of the past (most young people have no idea what that is), and being the first day of a new week, Monday should bring with it a sense of anticipation, even excitement. Instead, it's Monday . . . ugh!

Hmmm - see, on the weekends, we keep pretty busy with yard work, family time, church on Sunday and then Sunday dinner with the kids and we have very little time to dwell on the problems of our world, our country, our state, our community, our finances, our health, etc. And then comes Monday and it all comes flooding back. There is on-going strife in Lybia, on-going war in Afghanistan, on-going bombings in Iraq, on-going nuclear danger in Japan, on-going search for folks lost in the earthquake, on-going politicking in Washington, on-going on-going on-going. It is harder and harder to maintain a positive attitude in today's world.

I'm considering turning off the radio and TV and staying off the internet for a while to see if I can be like the ostrich. He seems to be able to pretend that life is good if he can't see it; I think he may have something there! Life is good. You know what? I'm still breathing and I feel pretty good. Chocolate and red wine are still very tasty; my animals still love me and loving on them makes my blood pressure come down; the birds are still singing in the back yard and the hummingbird is still a beautiful little gem; the roses are blooming and there are tiny tomatoes on my plants in the garden; new mown grass still smells wonderful and even the weeds have pretty little flowers on them. Life is good.

Happy Monday!

A WET MONDAY

It's raining again and the raindrops obscure my tear-stained face. My sweet Annie, whose photo you see here, has begun to show signs that she is, indeed Pit Bull, a reality I have tried to deny from the time she began to grow into the undeniable "bully" body. When I adopted Annie from a local rescue group, I was told she was a Boston Terrier mix and at eight weeks old, she certainly could have been. The color and markings were not unlike that breed and she was very sweet. She is still very sweet, well-trained and mostly obedient. When she refuses to be obedient is when she is chasing other animals in the back yard. Some time ago she caught and severly injured an opposum, which did manage to get away in spite of her injuries. Of late, Annie has managed to catch and kill four squirrels. Yesterday was the worst. I heard the squirrel squealing and I ran out with the broom and tried to make Annie drop it from her mouth. She stubbornly held on until the squirrel stopped squealing and breathed its final breath. When Annie finally dropped it, I was in tears and sick at heart. I was faced with the reality that when she has "prey" in her mouth there is no stopping her. I took care of the dead squirrel and, through my tears and utter disgust, washed the blood from Annie's face, and pondered how I could possibly live with a dog who takes such pleasure in the "kill." Because . . . if she can do that with squirrels, could she one day do it with a child? Or an adult? She has shown definite signs of being more territorial with my sixteen year old dog lately, growling and even attacking her if she tries to go under the bed to sleep; Annie considers "under the bed" to be her "den" and when she's under there no one else may enter. To be completely honest, I hesitate to stick my hand under there when she's there, although she has never shown any signs of aggression toward me. I recognize, however, that I should not even have a second thought about that and since I do, somthing is not right. When I first brought Annie home, she came down with Kennel Cough and I nursed her through that illness like you would nurse a baby. And she was my baby; she loved to cuddle and I loved to tuck her in close to me in the early morning just before we got up. She grew quickly and clearly was not Boston Terrier. She is high-strung, and a little timid with strangers, particularly men, but I never thought of that as a problem - until now. So what to do? I talked with my Veterinarian yesterday and he suggested a Pit Bull Rescue group. This makes my heart ache - how do you just give away your child? And how would Annie cope with that when she considers me her Mommy (okay, Master). Some would say I am crazy; this is a dog for heaven sake. Or even, she's killing squirrels, for heaven sake. Good riddance, too many sqirrels anyway - etc. And, I hear those arguments and understand the logic. This isn't about logic. The Vet gave me some anti-anxiety medication for Annie (maybe I need some too). We're going to see if the meds will calm her enough that she won't be so prone to have to kill any wildlife in the back yard. She will chase and the exercise if good for her, but we hope she won't be so determined to catch and kill. We'll give it a try before we make any decisions. I'm not sure I could just give her up to a rescue group. It would feel like abandonment to me. It seems to be it would be less painful for Annie (if not for me) to have her euthanized. She would never have to understand that her Mommy has given up on her and she is very smart; she would know. So, it's raining today and I'm still crying.