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Showing posts from 2012

When an apple just won't do.

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So, I hear that there is a grassroots effort starting to have Teacher/Hero Victoria Soto awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama.  While her efforts to save her students, were indeed fearless, and resulted in paying the ultimate price, she did what any teacher would do - as did all of the teachers and administration at Sandy Hook Elementary - as do all teachers each and every day.  I agree that their actions merit recognition, but keep in mind that every teacher out there deserves to be placed in our highest regard and awarded the Medal of Freedom.  I pay that this tragedy, not only casts a light on gun control and mental illness, but on how we treat our teachers in this country. This week, as you pick up your child for the start of Christmas vacation, hug their teacher and let them know how important they are. . .

New Poem - "O' Heavenly Bears"

Here is the latest little tidbit from the Kitchen, posted for you enjoyment.  As always comments are appreciated. . . "O' Heavenly Bears"  by  James Patrick Lockett It was a title misread. of dust undisturbed  on pages left unturned, that gave breath to new creatures that roam among the shelves. . . and among our minds. Heavenly bears, that lurk in the shadows and wait to attack or protect us from from the other imagined creatures that we conjure from misread titles. O' the heavenly bears, how great their wings must be, to leave the dust undisturbed. Copyright 2012.  All rights reserved.  Used here with my permission.
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Sitting at my desk, starring out into the bleak reality of the coming of winter, gave light to a little piece of prose I titled "Prisoner of Winter."  You can see it posted here under January's installments.  It also now appears in Star in Our Hearts: Notions  from World Poetry (Page 53), so...

TeaPublicans: The Other White Meat

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N o one else is going to say it, so I will - and I really cannot believe it - but ALL of this is still just about race.  The Tea Party Republicans are nothing but a bunch of scared old white plantation owners that choose now to hide behind lies and misinformation unstead of hoods and white sheets.  They are not all evil, greedy, sociopathis liars, for that gives them too much credit, they are simply racists who fear the success of a black man, but their followers are sad, gullible, easily manipulated intolerant bunch with no facts to stand on. And that makes for a dangerous combination.  T he night of Barack Obama's Inauguration twelve Teapublican lawmakers met in Private with Tea Party agitators (Newt Gingrich & Frank Luntz) to plan Obama's demise. GOP VP MF, Lyin' Paul Ryan (along with Eric Cantor (VA), Kevin McCarthy (CA), Pete Sessions (TX), Jeb Hervsarling (TX), Pete Hoekstra (MI),  Dan Lungren (CA), Jim DeMint (SC), Jon Kyl (AZ), Tom Coburn (OK), John Ensig

ARE YOU BETTER OFF NOW? HELL YEAH!

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Last week at the Teapublican National Convention - amongst all of the lies we were told - Romney posed the question "Are you better off that you were four years ago."  As far as I can see, yes we are.  I am going to try to cut through all of the lies and misinformation, address everything and let the facts speak for themselves - regardless of the erroneous figures and Tea Party issued standard comebacks I'll get in response to this blog - and be done with this until November 6th. First , let me address what the Teapublicans have labeled "Obamacare" - which in the real world is called The Affordable Healthcare Act - and, by the way, is very similar to what Romney put in place as Governor of Masschucetts.  This was a forty-year struggle to get a plan passed that would provide health care to ALL Americans and simply because the John Boehners and Mitch McConnells have their collective noses out of joint over the fact that it finally passed under Obama does not

Empty Chairs, Empty Promises, Empty Hopes and Empty Pockets

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Enough is Enough

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Accusations without proof - sadly, it's becoming a mainstay of our day to day lives - mostly dismissed as idle gossip or petty tabloid slander, but they are still merely heresay. The last time one man wielded heresay to ruin a man's life, with any success, was in the 1950's - that man was Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy. This week another self-rightous, self-appointed Witchfinder General joined the list of McCarthy, Karl Rove, Darrell Issa and other professional shit-stirrers - the CEO of the "U.S. Anti-Doping Agency" Travis Tygart - with his personal attacks on Lance Armstrong. The seven time Tour de France winner announced in a statement Thursday, that "Enough is enough," and that dealing with the claims that he had cheated since 1999 had taken a toll on both his family and his work, leading him to his decision to no longer participate in Tygart's witch hunt. I spend a great deal of time writing (bitching) about people who disa

Recovery is a Process, Not a Mandate

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A t the end of Bill Clinton's presidency, the U.S. was sitting on a $200+ Billion surplus - then a coke-tooting, shoulder slapping, war mogering, fortunate son wesseled his way into the Oval Office and left us with two wars and a $482 Billion deficit, hmmmmph. Keep this in mind, the next time you hear that the current economy is Obama's fault, recovery takes time - think about how you feel when things pile up and you have to do that three month budget recovery to get you personal finances back on track. Since the first year of Obama's administration the Repubican agenda has been - not to better the country, or pass legislation to help ease the situation we ALL find ourselves, no - but to remove Obama from office. And they are stopping at nothing, from the "birther" issue to blaming him, as Romney said this past weekend, for the failing economy of "the past three and a half years." In short, these elected officals are not working for the Country, the

The Bully pulpit

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W atching a "Political Stratigest" discuss on the morning news, the revelation that Mitt Romney was a bully in high school. He pointed out this is a topic that is not going to go away and that Romney WILL have to answer to it. Really? Have we forgotten already that a coke tooting, draft dodging, fortunate son, frat boy involved in numberous "pranks" - all of which recieved pre-election press - still managed to bully his way into office. Watch this little ditty by Todd Snider, ponder and remember what it was like to someone smirk and do whatever he wanted, sitting in the Oval office. Hope and an old school tune, regardless of the mess we're still in, are still the best option for this country.

Social Justice? Apparently, it depends...

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So, the Rev. Billy Graham is now urging North Carolina voters to support the pending constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman - according to "the Bible's clear definition of marriage." I've been to North Carolina, clear definitions are not their strong suit, but I digress. . . Graham, now 93 and on his last leg (pictured here with civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr) may not have invented televangelism arena, but definately molded it into his own image, and still possesses a world-wide following. And this is what he chooses for, what will no doubt be, his final request? It's almost enough to make me start to praying. Dear God!!! Can't tell you how happy I am that my Grandmother sent him money each and every week, because "Billy needs money." Nice to see the it was a solid investment. I just have one question - and I know, I've asked this before - but what is the Christian

The YES Initiative!!!

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These days we find ourselves surrounded by more and more negativity. If there was only a word to help us feel better...oh, wait, there is. The word is "YES." We face the word "NO" too many times through out the day, try using yes instead. Doors open, smiles appear, opportunities galore appear to you. We need to bring the word back into our social vernacular, but where do you start? Well, I don't know if this will work or not, but is worth a try. Please print this flyer, quickly clip open the dashed lines and post it somewhere where will see it, or copy them to friends to post. I'd like to see how far this can spread. Please mark in the comment section that you have done so, so as to keep track. Let's put this word out there and see if we can make one person's day better. What do you say? Yes!

CHEMO SABE????

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"A firey horse, with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty. . . I own Silver and other precious metals? The Lone. . ." Oh who am I kidding, I can't even say it as a joke. Will you look at this picture? This has to be a nightmare, I thought they had shelved this idea. There is now and has always been only ONE Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore, end of story. Do you remember Clinton Spillsbury, the 1980's attempt to steal the mask from it's rightful owner? No, nobody does and no one's gonna remember the heir to the Armand Hammer fortune (who really, really wants to be an actor) after he turns his trust-fund attention span to something more shiny. Hell, nobody really remembers John Hart, who replaced Clayton Moore briefly in the original series. Clayton Moore owns the word LONE, like Chuck Norris owns the word RANGER. And Depp, really? A drop of indian blood five generations ago does not qualify you to play Tonto, although you've signed

Radio, Radio

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I started last Friday, weighing in on the newest news story that is not news, and not by being news, it has somehow become news. I chose not to validate it by writing about it. Then I reconsidered my choice, I felt points still needed to be made. And then I saw the backlash - I no longer needed to make any points, human nature had stepped and it was being attended to faster than I could type Susan G. Kom.... Of course I am speaking about the bloated, conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh (or Russ Limbaugh as a faithful-listener/idiot relative of mine calls him), who when he's not blocking the entire fourth hole at Augusta, is swilling Oxy Cotin out of a Tea-Party thermos like it's Sunkist , who declared himself an expert on. . .wait for it, sluts. Not a huge stretch, I'm sure he tries to bed anything wearing a HOPE t-shirt. But this time, the cowardly-lion jowled host as spewed his verbal idiocy at the Georgetown grad student who was denied the right to testify at th

When in New Hampshire. . .

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D espite his recent primary wins, 2012 GOP hopeful Rick Santorum was wheeled into a back corner and placed on permanent display this week at the New Hampshire Crap From Past Elections Museum. When in New Hampshire be sure to stop in and say hello, the staff promises he will offend you in some fashion, so it's well worth the visit. The also have a cheese log that looks just like Dick Cheney and a White House End Table with the same IQ as Dan Quayle.

Women...you gotta love 'em.

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T here is an old joke about women that goes. . .They have half the money, and all the. . .well, you've heard it And with that in mind I cannot believe the level of attack on women's right's in this country. The GOP has got to realize they are attacking 50% of the voting population and I am begining to think that this is really the issue at hand this November. Take a close look at the day to day life of the women in each of GOP candiates lives. Not a one of them has an ounce of respect for women, they are looked upon as possessions, it shows in their comments and actions and they and their kind are threatened my a real man with a strong wife in The White House. Real men in this country owe it to their wives and daughters to love and respect and protect the rights that are theirs. Never stand down to a man who does not respect women, he is a lesser man and lesser man does not deserve the office of President. N ow that the conservatives are losing the battle against gay-righ

Life as an Open Book

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Every sha-la-la-la. . .

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The year is 1973 . . . wait, no it's not , it's 2012. It's been a long, long time since 1973, but Casey Kasem is on XM Radio THIS morning with America's Top 40 for the week of Jan. 27, 1973. What a nice coincidence, since just this week I heard that, at age fourteen, the teenage brain begins to process it's own taste in music. It's when we break away from what our parents listen to, and begin to form our own personal jukebox. That would explain why it's always 1973 in my head - and on my ipod. The music, that first forms a bond with you, stays with you forever. It was the peak of the singer-songwriter era, from John Denver's Rocky Mountains and James Taylor's begging not to be lonely, to Lobo telling her to have no expectations of friendship and the first moment Gilbert O'Sullivan met Claire; sigh! It was the year I bought Revolver , 1962-1966 (The Red Album), and 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) begining a life long love affair with The Bea

THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER

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I've been taking a lot of shots at the GOP-body's that "really, really, really" want to be President and having a grand time doing it (only half-way wishing there was still a talk show to be writing for), and I have to say that my choice is clear. After watching President Obama deliver his State of the Union Address and watching the Gab-Four "debate" each other over the past few weeks, it is obvious to me who has a clear vision for the future of this country. The following is paraphrased from The State of the Union (as a courtesy to any tea-partiers out there , as that is the way you for information disseminated) . . . "Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a Government and a financial system that do the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no cop outs. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody. -- We need to end the no

RECENT POLITICAL HUMOR From F/B #3

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At a recent Democratic fundraiser, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally came clean as to why she didn't leave the former-President following the Monica Lewinski scandal.

RECENT POLITICAL COMEDY FROM F/B #1

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HOW DO YOU SPELL CAUCUS????

"Winter"

I don't know what to do with this, so here it is, the latest morsel served up here in the kitchen for your (or my) entertainment. Not as bleak as it might seem upon the first reading. Enjoy! "Winter" by James Patrick Lockett Rain falling like snow. Clouds of smoke billow from distant chimneys, as an unseen chill holds me captive, my mind a prisoner of Winter. Driving me deeper within in search of an ember of Hope. . . . Hope eternal springs t'ward some distant season The calendar pages, I fear, will weigh heavy under grey skies, failing to blow by, one after the other, cartoonlike -- as do the seasons I now long for. Winter, looms over numbered pages like primative marks, scratched onto the wall of a lifer, never to see the blue of the sky again. Copyright 2011. JPL. All Right Reserved. Posted here with my permission.

Ron Paul is "Serious."

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'Tis the season to be folly, the neuvo-post-yuletide creation that is the "Less-Than-Grand"-Old-Party's primary season; the time of (every fourth)year when the Republicans cart out their most offensive and least-likey Presidential wannbes and parade them passed us, in order to make their bland and viable choices look. . .well, Presidential. One of these choices - balancing on the fence between both descriptions - really, really wants to be President, "way disporportionately" than the others. That man is Ron Raul, who has gone as far as suggesting that he would consider a third party run, if he doesn't win the GOP nomination. With that in mind, as boost to his last shot at the White House, The Hyena Kitchen is pleased to unveil, Ron Raul's Any Party Will Do Campaign. (Editorial note: The obvious Ru Paul reference was omitted, out of respect to the drag queen community ad Rick Santorum's campaign.)