The Endless Afghan...

I do not know how my Granny did it. So many afghans, both big and little ones. I'm sorry - I'm sooooooooooo over the Nephew Afghan! Now, I'm wondering why I ever took this on. And why it's a family tradition - well, that's my fault. Why couldn't I just do "wedding pillows" or something???

Perhaps for the next one, I'll start it now, and do it in neutral colors so that it won't matter. Just so I'm not on an afghan deadline. Afghan deadlines are the worst. I can think of about a dozen things I'd rather be doing than knitting on this thing. Up to and including CLEANING - anything... 

Today in History...

In 1964, the 24th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections. That was only 50 years ago. That could be someone's lifetime. 

Kiddos - a poll tax is an evil thing. And if conservatives have their way, we'll go back toward that. A poll tax was a tax set on people - one per head - to be able to vote. You see, we have the right to vote. But that's mainly us white folks. The poll tax was a great way to keep black folks from voting, as they usually couldn't afford the tax. Measly though it might seem now, a poll tax of a dollar was something back in the 1800s and even in the 1930s. A dollar was something big. 

Poll tax receipt

Here's what a poll tax receipt looks like. Study it, kids. And learn. This one is from 1964, from the state of Texas. You know - that great progressive state to our south. (Sorry -- I can dream, right?)  You see that it shows that Miss Kinsey is a white female, age 23. See, the thing is, poll taxes are a really good way to disenfranchise certain demographics. The poor, mostly. And the poor generally don't vote "the right" way - Republican, I mean. So, in this day and age, we really probably can't get away with an in-your-face poll tax. But hey - what we CAN do is gerrymander. 

To gerrymander is to set the boundaries for a particular precinct or geographical area to more heavily favor a certain party. And make no mistake, Democrats do this, too. But lately, with the Republican party chipping away at the Voting Rights Act, they're just the ones being more obvious. I mean, look at this graphic for a gerrymandered district. This is District 4 right here in Illinois. 

One would think that a voting district would have some geographical relevance, right? You'd be wrong. It's got POLITICAL relevance. Geography? Why bother? I mean, technically, there's no way that this district should be U-shaped. But it is. Because it heavily favors the Democratic party. And while I'm a Democrat, I have to say that this is insane. Here is an article showing, once again, that Illinois is the butt of political jokes. IL District 4 is a national poster child for dysfunctional drawing of districts. 

But hey - it gets Luis Gutierrez reelected. And it hasn't been challenged yet. 

And honestly? The Republicans aren't going to do any better. 

So what's a voter to do? 

Get off your rear end, for starters. Yes, it's early, but that means you have plenty of time to do your research. Look at the candidates running for local, state and federal offices. Do some digging. Decide what means the most to you and then go support the candidate you feel supports that issue.

I don't care, honestly, if you're one party or the other. The political inequality in this country is horrible, and with the Tea Party shoving the Republicans off the cliff all in favor of some restrictive, theocratic, run-by-old-white-guys government? Well, that's kind of their problem. 

It is, however, time for the sane people to reclaim this country. Take for example, this woman running against Jan Schakowsky. God, apparently, is mad at the US. So S/He sends us plagues in the form of autism and dementia. Because of gay marriage. 

Here's my biggest problem, aside from the fact that she's an idiot: "I'm a conservative Republican, and I believe in God first," she says. Ummmmmmmmmmm. No. Sorry - you may BELIEVE that, but that does not entitle you to hold public office. As a matter of fact, it's a disqualifier. You may NOT push YOUR religion down MY throat. 

Here, my dear, is how it's done, courtesy of now-Secretary of State John Kerry, when he was a senator:

“Too many people in America believe that if you are pro-choice that means pro-abortion. It doesn't. I don't want abortion. Abortion should be the rarest thing in the world. I am actually personally opposed to abortion. But I don't believe that I have a right to take what is an article of faith to me and legislate it to other people. That's not how it works in America.”

Notice the highlighted area. Then, see that last line?? "That's not how it works in America." That goes back all the way to our First Founder, George Washington. The United States of America is not, and was not ever meant to be, a Christian nation. 

Just wasn't. So all you conservative uber-Christians who want to have "less government" unless it means getting yourself into our bedrooms? You can't. It's not happening. 

The rest of us really need to get out and do our homework. We can't let the clock turn back. We could easily become India. Apparently, tribal elders decided that gang rape, in public, was an appropriate punishment for a girl in an "inappropriate" relationship. 

I could go on. But it's nauseating, and I think you get my point. 

Raisa Howls...

For your random picture/cute puppy thing today, I have a video of Hubby teaching Raisa to howl. The look on Quinn's face is amazing. "HOW is all that sound coming from that puppy???" 

She can howl just fine, actually. But it's fun when they talk back to you. Of course I say that now; I may regret that. I hope her voice mellows out. Right now, it's very piercing and "yappy." She has not yet learned to howl when the Elkhounds bark. Thankfully. 

Yet. It could happen. You never know. 

Other Than Knitting...

We're under a wind-chill warning. As we speak, here near Joliet, it's 4*F and it "feels like" -13*F. We may get all the way down to -30*F with wind... I was talking to our campus police chief, and he said he remembers the snow more than this kind of cold. 

I believe he's right. I remember snow and lots of "below zero" days, but not too many in the double-digits; and certainly not this kind of string of -20 being "the norm."

It's supposed to be like this till next Tuesday or thereabouts. I can handle the cold, but I can also say that I'm not used to being outside in THIS kind of cold.

As far as my brother's estate, the final tax returns have been prepared, and it looks like we'll be able to wind it up on schedule. Thank goodness. I'll be glad to have this done. I've sorted through everything and I have the "not important crap" and the "important crap." I will be shredding a lot of stuff, that's for sure. 

And otherwise, I'll be entering at least one of my France pics in our local photo contest. I'll have to keep you updated on how that goes. It's an "artsy" thing so I'm not sure. One person won an award last year for a picture of a couch on the street. Not so sure where that's coming from, but I've been told before that I'm entirely "too literal." 

I'm certainly not "artsy" and I don't get a lot in the art world. But we'll see if anyone has any affection for some gorgeous scenery. 

Heart, Politics. That Kind of a Day...

Heart Stuff

As expected, two things: I'm still allergic to the tape and adhesive on the electrodes. It itches. A lot. Started 2 hours after the heart monitor was set up. I told them. They said, "It's only 24 hours, it shouldn't be too bad."
It is.

I take it off in about 8.5 minutes (not anxious or anything...) and then have to return it. Also, second thing: unless I slept through anything exciting, my heart behaved itself. Of course. Murphy's Law is in full swing.

Politics

In yesterday's Chicago Tribune, which I didn't get to because I was whining about my Crappy Red Camera (which mystery is solved, by the way), there were two articles next to each other in what I can only call Karmic Editorial Balance.

The first article was "Some Military Digs are Castles" and it concerned the vast amount of our tax dollars at work renting headquarters for top brass. For example, Marine Gen. John Kelly lives in Casa Sur, described by the Trib as "an elegant home with a pool and gardens on one of the area's swankiest streets." It's a 5-bedroom house, provided rent-free to the general. But not to the taxpayers. WE are paying $160,000 per year. One Hundred Sixty Thousand Dollars. Per. Year. For this guy's house.

Mind you, I'm not being disrespectful, but I'd like to point out that MY house (paid for by me and not the taxpayer) is probably worth about that. Period. And yes, he's a military man. And yes, he probably needs something a little more secure than my 1550 square foot ranch.

But wait. There's more. The US (meaning we the taxpayers) also paid $402,000 for renovations and security improvements that are in progress now.

Now that you've snorted your iced tea out of your nose, let's look at the other side of this jelly sandwich.

The article next to it is entitled "I'm Still Hungry" and focuses on our national embarrassment: child hunger. In America. The so-called "Greatest Nation on Earth." During the summer, when the kids are out of school, they don't get the meals the schools provide. Schools now being "food pantries" as well as places for kids to be educated. So the federal government has stepped in to provide at least one meal a day, delivered, in this story, by a school bus in a town called Greeneville, TN. Lest you think the school bus is being used for non-educational purposes, the organization responsible actually bought 4 used vehicles to get the food to the hungry kids. On the day the story was written, the Feds decided that an appropriate lunch was 2 oz. of celery sticks, 4 oz. canned oranges, chocolate milk and a bologna sandwich. We the taxpayers spent $3.47 for that lunch.

The kids aren't allowed seconds. They get what they're given. Period. Like it or don't eat it. The bus is emblazoned with a sign - or a forecast of what the economy still looks like in rural America: "Kids Eat FREE!" The article goes on to state: "For some, this would be the first meal of the day. For others, the last."

Just sit here with those two stories for a minute. Let it sink in. Go ahead.

Are you angry yet? And if you're not, why not?

Here's the thing. I'm not saying that these commanders don't deserve to live in a secure place. I think they probably should, given the amount of nuts we have in the US, not counting the foreign nuts. But since we're in a budget sequester because Congress is still mad that the Black Guy is in the White House - and since the result of that sequester is that the social services our poor depend upon have been shredded in the name of someone's idea of balance, then riddle me this: WHY are we spending that kind of money on homes for commanders?

The Pentagon has closed facilities, cancelled training and missions, and has (about the way they always do) threatened to cut enlisted pay. That doesn't include the furloughs of the civilians employed by the DoD.

The article states that "...some senior officers have quarters so expensive that they violate the military's generous rules." Including a commander of a submarine group who lives in a 6,600 square foot villa in Naples, leased for $172,000 a year. One Hundred Seventy Two Thousand Dollars. Per Year.

Contrast that with the article on hungry kids...Even with a task force of governors from various states, and food banks opening "...thousands of summer cafes" - still, only about 15% of eligible children received regular meals. Fifteen percent. Childhood hunger, according to this article, has been worsening for seven consecutive years. Seven years.

So let's ditch some of those high-end digs for the commanders. Save the $172,000 per year of the sub commander's villa. Spend it on the meals currently provided to the hungry kids: that would be 49,567 meals. I mean the meals I described above: only sack lunches, with only 750 calories each. I'm sure some nutritionist and some finance whiz could come up with a way to make the meal a little more substantial and perhaps provide more than one meal per day per kid.

All I know is that the editorial Karma that set these two articles side-by-side certainly caught my attention. I want to make sure that people are aware of what's going on.

So here's what you do: You do something in YOUR community. It's gonna take US - not the U.S. but US -- we the people. We the people have to make sure that our neighbors are fed.

If you're a liberal inclined to look at it one way, you'll say this is social justice.

If you're a conservative who tends more toward the Christian Biblical injunction, you'll note that the Bible says that's what we should do. From Proverbs to Luke to James, to Matthew and beyond. My favorite at the moment is Galatians 6:2 -- "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Do your research if the Bible isn't your preferred Book. I'll bet a lunch that the Q'ran, Torah, and any other Holy Book has a version of this quotation.

Start locally. What we do here will spread in ripples like the rings created when a tiny stone is dropped into a vast lake. Will you help by being the stone that gets dropped?

I know I will. Our church has a food pantry every week. I hereby commit to bringing something EVERY week. It stays local, and you know what? That's ok. I can't ignore my neighbors.

Neither should you. They're out there, if you have eyes to see. And a heart to care.