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The Economy of Fear and Scare

  • Posted on September 9, 2010 at 10:26 pm

I’m tired of the same old recycled scare tactics I keep reading and hearing about.  Under President George W. Bush we all had to worry about our neighbors, who could be terrorists.  We spent many years wondering how we might possibly be blown up by some half crazed terrorists that hate us for what we stand for.  If you are a teacher you even helped in this mass indoctrination by jumping through hoops at your school to assure school safety.  You may have had to listen to police officers explain to you how easy it is for a terrorist to enter your school even if you live in the middle of no where land.  In fact you were probably told they like those places the best because it would be so unexpected.  We have been wrapped up in this fear for almost ten years.  In those years we have agreed to be checked and prodded in lines like cattle, scanned like a piece of meat at the grocery store, and put under the watchful eye of “Big Brother” through numerous well placed videos all in an attempt to keep our “freedoms”.

When Bush was in office we all heard about the many color coded terrorist threats.  I cannot even remember what they all mean any more but much like a thermometer as the color went up so did the threat of a terrorist attack.  For as many “second in command” for Osama Bin Laden that we have killed in these two wars, there were always more we were supposed to worry about.  They were like a never ending supply of rats.  Where there was one, there must be many more.

Today we don’t hear so much about this threat.  Now we have new threats, usually related to our health and well being, to worry about.  If we aren’t hearing about eggs and salmonella, Swine flu, or some other disease then we are worrying about bed bugs and other insect carrying diseases.  It’s a good thing they passed the health care bill because by the sounds of it, we should all be ready for an epidemic of mass proportions.  We were all encouraged to get our flu shots, the H1N1 and the regular one because we were all going to be falling down in the streets dying like flies.  A few years ago we were even worrying about “SARS”.

This all makes me think about fear.  FDR always said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  The truth is we have everything to fear in a society filled with fear mongering.  The government has tried everything they could to keep the masses under control.  They did a pretty good job using the churches for this for many years, but since most people don’t go to church on a regular basis any more, the churches haven’t been doing the best job of keeping us compliant and complacent.  In comes mass media to make sure we are kept on our toes about the next big thing to fear.  If we are kept fearful we are less apt to make any waves.  It just makes sense that we aren’t going to rock any boats about much of anything, if we fear everything.

Today I would have to say most people are fearful about the economy and what the future holds for them.  This type of fear is really powerful because it can even get normally powerful unions to bow to the acceptance of nothingness.  No, don’t make any waves because the next wave could be the loss of your job.  We will be compliant little workers doing what we’re told and jumping through hoops to do the best darn job we can do.  We will make ourselves irreplaceable, even though that just isn’t possible, by working harder for less and pretending to love every minute of our self proclaimed diet of hard work.  We will be compliant and complacent because we saw what happened to the last guy that opened his mouth and said something.  This economy is good for business because it makes sheep out of workers.  George Bush always had the philosophy that expected more but paid less.  This is what has happened in our society.

With so many people out of work or working at a job that is beneath their skill set, many are left just hanging on and working hard to be productive workers.  This is good for business.  Business gets far more from their workers when the workers are afraid of losing their jobs.  No one wants to be the last one, because the future is so unsure.  It also helps if you have friends in high places.  This is a good time to “know someone” on the inside.  Nepotism is the wave for any job opening today.  It can get your foot in the door even if you aren’t the most qualified person for the position.  However, you will usually still have to do the job once you get it.  None of this sounds fair and of course it’s not good for the worker because the worker is stuck just taking what he can get.  It makes it a tough time to ask for a raise or any increased benefits because you’re going to hear that old line about how times are tough.  You know they’re tough as you’ve been living those tough times.

This is the state of our economy.  It is the economy of fear.  The government wants to keep us compliant and complacent.  We can’t mass protest anything that really matters these days because what really matters is putting food on the table for your family.  No one wants to draw attention to themselves to the point where they may lose their job, so any real protests are going to have to be done by the unemployed.

While all of this is happening, the government continues to tell us our children are not educated.  Our children won’t be able to compete in the future because they don’t know enough science and math.  We are living in a global economy, so our technology jobs have to go to India where they are so much more educated.  This once again is                  indoctrination.  Our children have to stay in school because there are no jobs for them.  When they graduate from college they usually have to take a job that is beneath their ability, so they can pay for their student loans.  They may go to grad school because they can’t find adequate work.  They may go work in the family business because face it, that family business is going to take care of their own first.  It is difficult for young people today.  If they go to college, they may not find adequate work and if they don’t go to college they obviously won’t find adequate work.

So what is the answer to all of this gloom and doom about the economy and fear of everything?  I admit I don’t necessarily know the answers.  However, I do know when something smells foul, it probably is spoiled.  When the government and the mass media continually beat that dead horse about young people being uneducated, I will continue to put on my thinking cap and think about what might really be happening.  There is a shortage of jobs right now and every year young people are graduating from high school and college looking for work.  If the old were to retire earlier then there would be more jobs.  That was part of the philosophy here in Michigan when incentives were made for early retirement for teachers this past year.  Of course the government ended up putting the cost of this onto the backs of employed teachers by requiring them to pay 3% more into their retirement without any included benefit for that “tax”.

Many economists have falsely claimed that social security is broken, needs fixing, etc.  They of course want to privatize it.  There are easy fixes involved for this by taking the cap off social security but also instead of requiring workers to work longer, there could be incentives made to retire earlier.  If that happened, maybe there would be more work for young people.  Now, I’m just throwing this stuff out there because the mass media seems to do a good job of throwing enough crap at us until something sticks, so I thought I’d play that game as well.

The government hasn’t been able to find a way to solve this economic problem that we are facing.  We need to think about other alternatives to getting our economy moving again.  If people retired earlier, they would spend some of that retirement money and get it back into the economy.  They’d take trips, maybe buy a second home and of course have to furnish that home.  All of this would tie into getting this economy moving again.  The young people would also be spending money and buying homes and having families because they have a JOB and can now be productive citizens of society.  Too often the government is worried about giving anything to the masses, so they probably won’t consider my plan.  They’d rather spend all the money on bailouts for banks and corporations; you know their “peeps”.  However, if you took that money that was used to bailout the banks and had given it back to the people, I bet there would have been more movement with the economy.  My son bought a place because of the tax incentive.  His dad bought a car because of the tax incentive.  Those were incentives that helped some people but of course not those without jobs.

I think we need to look at this picture a whole different way.  We must find a way to get out of this recession, depression or whatever the government chooses to label it.  All I know is this is a bad time for our country and we need to find answers that work.  Some will say my idea is crazy but at least it’s an idea.  Lately, it seems like those in government just aren’t doing anything at all and hoping the problem will heal itself or will simply go away.  I don’t think that is going to happen.  One thing the government needs to stop is all of the fear mongering.  I’m tired of being told to fear everything from my neighbors to the food I eat to even my job.  If we are to solve our economic problems we are going to have to work together for the good of all.  That means Democrats and Republicans need to quit playing these “fear” games and start pushing programs that will benefit the economy.  This doesn’t mean tax cuts for the wealthy either.  We have to pay for these two wars that have been unfunded and we have to boost the economy.  That isn’t going to happen with cutting those taxes.

So my basic idea is to give incentives for early retirement for Social Security.  It is the opposite of course from what we are being programmed to think!  This is plain and simple enough in its concept, but of course we would have to remove the cap on Social Security so those making much more money would be expected to pay more into it.  When Social Security was originally developed it was used to help take care of the elderly and of course provide more jobs for the young through the retirement of the elderly and the administration of the program.  This would be the same concept as before.  We are at a time in our history when people are struggling.  Some people that are unemployed are very close to retirement age, but not close enough.  We could lower the age for those people or we could give incentives for people that are older, so they don’t have to wait until they’re 70, to get enough money to live on.  We have been bleeding jobs out of our country for years.  If people are expected to work longer and longer until they’re 70 or so, how on earth can we, as a country, make up the jobs that need to be replaced?  If the old are expected to keep working, we will continue to struggle with providing enough jobs for everyone.  In a perfect world the same amount of people that retire are replaced with new workers.  In our world, we are expected to work longer for less.  Young people are magically expected to find some new job that probably doesn’t exist in our country.  If we had a growing economy, this might be possible, but as it is right now we are not creating enough jobs to fill these needs and of course many of our jobs have gone overseas.  I personally think this could help a lot of people from the young to the old.  Of course the people making the big salaries will have to pay more for this to happen.  I think it’s time for the wealthy of this country to ask not what this country can do for them, but what they can do for our country!

http://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html

Where’s Waldo?

  • Posted on September 7, 2010 at 7:38 pm

Where's Obama is much like Where's Waldo?

Obama reminding me of Waldo once again!

Yesterday I heard President Obama speak.  He was in Wisconsin at a labor rally for Labor Day.  The speech reminded me of the “Where’s Waldo” books, that my son used to read as a kid, because I was thinking where has this guy been?  The guy that showed up to speak yesterday wasn’t the person we have seen this past year.  President Obama seems to be back in “campaign mode”.  He hit a lot of “right” notes especially with his 50 billion dollar plan for infrastructure and his “no privatization” of Social Security.

The problem is the “believability factor”.  He waits until just before the election to bring out a plan that he knows won’t be able to get through Congress before the election in November.  Is this the ploy?  You have to vote for “his” guys, so they can get the plan through?  Why didn’t he give this speech months ago when it could have been passed before the election?  This is why politics and political parties are looked at with such disgust and mistrust.  Waiting until the last possible moment before an election to introduce a new “plan” makes some of us wonder if this is just a “Hail Mary” pass to save the Democrats in November, or is he really planning on going through with the plan?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYPuQBSYSUE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBLAg1CU03c

From CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/06/obama.economy/?hpt=T1

“Today, I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads, and rails and runways for the long term,” said Obama, who spoke on Labor Day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — a state that has extremely competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races. “I want America to have the best infrastructure in the world.”

The 50 billion is the up front money but this plan is to work over a period of the next six years.  It has been my understanding that a lot of the stimulus money hasn’t been apportioned out yet which makes this additional money just look like “more pie in the sky.”

Of course Rep. John Boehner and Representative Eric Cantor have already come out against it.  Eric basically labeled it with the word “stimulus” as though that’s a dirty word and said we couldn’t afford any more of that, which should tell everyone that the Republicans will not really invest in the bulk of this country.  They will invest in tax cuts for the wealthy and the business class but everyone else can continue to wait for it to “trickle down”, you know like in a “cold day from hell” time!  Both of these guys will send a never ending supply of money for the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq which include money for infrastructure over there, but they won’t do anything about our infrastructure over here.  President Obama has labeled the Republicans as the party of “No” and they have lived up to everything he has said about them.

We, as American voters, must decide what to do and it is not an easy decision as neither party seems to have the where with all to get us out of the economic mess that we are in.  The Democrats are willing to try something.  The Republicans only want to take away.  They will extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and then they will take away benefits like Social Security.  They will develop any program or tax cut that helps the wealthy or the upper echelon of businesses but if you think they will help the rest of us.  Think again!

President Obama has played his “Where’s Waldo” act too many times to be really credible.  He’s been all over the place so it’s hard to figure out where he really is on any given issue.  He say’s he wont “privatize” Social Security but he surrounds himself with people like Alan Simpson.  He said a lot of things during the election and we have had to look all over the place for “Waldo” since he’s been president.  This act does nothing to reassure the American people.  The American people don’t have the energy to search for “Waldo” and carry the water for him any more.  If the Democrats want to win in November they had better get “Waldo” back on track and “visible” and I don’t mean in another “vacation” moment.  We’re tired of seeing “Waldo” and his family on vacation as he appears to be a carbon copy of our last “vacationing” president.  Waldo has to give us more than a speech, more than just words.  We must have real action so we don’t have to keep searching for Waldo as actions speak louder than words.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Unfortunately, President Obama’s current picture is too close to “Waldo” hiding in a crowd of nothingness.

Dating Politics 101

  • Posted on September 4, 2010 at 11:20 am

The Republican and Democratic Parties remind me of dating.  You’ve been dating a couple guys for awhile now but it’s time to get serious.  One guy seems nice enough.  He takes you to all the right places.  He wines and dines you and you feel special but alas, when the credit card bill comes, you realize you’ve been footing the bill.  The other guy takes you to fun places too, but you’re a little worried that he’s spending over his limit.  It seems almost too good to be true.  There’s something a little off about both of these guys but you can’t quite put your finger on it.

Meanwhile, you’re busy trying to keep these two guys separated because if one finds out about the other, the jig is up.  Any way you look at it, this is a dishonest relationship.  If you sneak around and go dancing with the Republican Party, you are going to pay in the morning.  He isn’t apt to forgive you for fooling around with a “Democrat”, so you better get used to the dirty looks and “God fearing” lecture you’re going to get.  And trust me; you will get a lecture, just like your dad gave you when you backed that car up into the mailbox.  You are going to hear every tirade in the book about “responsibility”.   We all know what “superficial responsibility” is.  It’s that responsibility “word” Republicans always use when they talk about “personal responsibility”.  It seems like a Republican always has that mantra of “When in Rome do as the Romans do, just don’t get caught.”  Personal responsibility means you talk about living with a moral compass and God being your guide but secretly you could be dating your next wife while your current poor wife is in the hospital with cancer. JUST DON’T GET CAUGHT!  Now, if he does get caught, he will need to have his “come to Jesus” moment and beg for forgiveness.  After all the American people are pretty stupid but they do like to forgive those that come crawling back for their vote.  If you date the Republican long enough you might start thinking like he does.  When you catch yourself berating the poor bloke that can’t find a job by telling him to “pick himself up by the bootstraps”, you will know that some of those Republican ways are rubbing off on you.

In the end, after all of the dating, you will get the bill.  It will be in your tax statement filed under “personal responsibility” after the November election.  While you’re busy figuring out what went wrong with the relationship, he’ll be off making sure to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.  He’ll soon forget you as in reality he was really into Bush in the first place.  That’s his first love.  Then he’ll go to work on social security and of course try to privatize it as he never saw a government program that couldn’t use a little privatization.

Dating the Democrat hasn’t been any easier on you.  You thought you knew what you were getting.  You thought you could count on that guy.  He seemed so clean cut and all American.  What’s not to love?  However, you’ve been living a nightmare trying to figure out who this guy is.  On one hand he seems to be really into you, but sometimes you catch him giving a glancing eye at that Republican girl friend of yours.  It could be your imagination but you’re kind of wondering if something is up between the two of them.  You aren’t used to guys that don’t give you their undivided attention on a date.  He acts like he’s really into you until that Republican friend of yours walks in and sits down.  Boy does he show her a lot of attention.  You can’t quite figure out if he secretly is a Republican or he just admires them”?  What could it be?

You are so confused by all of this but a decision has to be made by November.  Do you dance with the guy that brought you to the party or do you take off with the new guy.  You really wish you had another choice but alas you know that third guy just couldn’t swing the vote.  So you sit down and go through your priorities.  If you vote for the Republican, you know you’re going to get screwed because he has to pay for extending the Bush tax cuts some way and if you vote for the Democrat well, at least, hopefully, he won’t extend those tax cuts.  Now, he still could extend the tax cuts because he still keeps eyeing your Republican girlfriend.  However, you are hopeful that he’ll leave your social security alone.  This decision is so bad.  With the Republican, you know what you are going to get and with the Democrat, you’re not exactly sure what you’re going to get.  However, you know that he won’t be quite as bad as the Republican.  So vote for and dance with the Democrat and hope he stops eyeing your Republican girl friend!

Tribute to My Mom

  • Posted on September 3, 2010 at 5:05 pm

My Wonderful Mom

My Beautiful Parents

My Wonderful Mom and Dad

Today would have been my mother’s 99th birthday.  Even though she died in 1996 I still think about her every single day.

My mother was a very special lady.  I don’t know any woman that could ever measure up to her in my mind.  I often refer to her as having been a “saint” because she birthed and raised ten boys!  That alone puts her in a special place in heaven for me.  Beyond raising children she was also a teacher of English and Home Economics, a grandmother and my dad’s best friend..  My mother was my best friend as well and greatest cheerleader.  I could always count on mom to lift my spirits when I was feeling unsure about some decision or give me strength when I needed it to make a decision.

She was a “no nonsense” type of person and she had little time for indecisiveness.  When a job needed to be done, you just do it.  In her mind you don’t agonize over every little thing and you certainly don’t sweat the small stuff!  When presented with a problem or a challenge my mom would figure out what to do.  She did this in her own life and she encouraged me to do it in my life.  My mother was so much better at it than I currently am though.

My mom was a brilliant woman.  I have never known any other person that could play cards like her.  We would play pinochle and she would remember what everyone else played and count up the points in a match as we played and tell us how many points each team had at the end of each hand.  We would laboriously go through the counting process when the hand was over only to discover that she was always correct.  She was amazing!  She was also a wonderful cook and baker.  She baked so many pies and bread that I cannot even fathom how many she did in her lifetime.  She could fill the counters on any given day and by night time much would be consumed.

Mom made holidays all about “breaking bread” and breaking bread was all about eating the food she created with her loving hands.  She always believed there was room for one more.  Everyone was welcome at her table.  If she knew you were coming home she’d try to make something that she knew you really liked.  My father always said he made her into a good cook.  Maybe some of that is true in a way.  However, dad always told her when he didn’t like something, even though he was the best fed man around!

As my parents got older I can remember mom and dad making “monster cookies” together.  I had thrown a huge pottery bowl that they always used for this occasion.  The monster cookies were about the size of three cookies, huge really.  They’d make a very large batch of these cookies.  When mom died on Thanksgiving Day she left us with a batch of those cookies.  Everyone was so emotional eating those cookies thinking about mom and grandma!  She never put any of us out.  She always took care of us.  Even when she died she took care of us.  She had baked goods made, a fully stocked pantry and as we came together as a family to celebrate her life, she fed us one last time!

My mom is truly the reason I went back to teaching.  When my son, Josh, was in Kindergarten I took my pottery wheel up to his class and demonstrated and also let the students make something which I later fired.  I had a blast with the children and it really got me thinking about how much I missed teaching.  My certificate had lapsed so I would have to go back to school for a semester to get it updated.  I couldn’t see how I could possibly do it being a single parent and having many responsibilities.  Mom had an answer for every excuse I came up with.  I remember telling her I had been out of class too long and maybe taking classes wouldn’t be easy.  You know I could fail.  My mom told me how smart I was and that I would do fine.  Of course she was right and I got an “A” in every class.  I didn’t see how I could afford to go.  Mom said she’d loan me the money.  I didn’t see how I could uproot my son from school two times in the year.  My mom told me Josh will adapt.  She was right on everything of course.

The hardest thing I had to do was move to Sturgis when I got my current teaching job.  I wanted to go but I didn’t want to leave my parents.  I lived just two miles from them.  I loved being so close to them but I had to do what was best for my family.  I spent many weekends running up north to see mom and dad.  I don’t regret any of those long drives “home”.  Mom was so happy for me.  She always encouraged me in every endeavor.  She was there for me helping me in everything I’ve ever done and even today as I make my current choices, she is always in my heart.  Often times I think about what mom would do or say and how she would approach a problem.  It gives me comfort.  If someone says to me, “You look like your mom!”  I feel special.  Even though I know I look probably more like my dad as I have the “Miller” nose and my dad’s clear blue eyes!  Sometimes I see mom when I look in the mirror and I hope that I have the true “heart” of my mom as she loved people.

My mom loved her family most and we all knew this.  She could talk non stop about her children, what they were doing, how many kids they had.  If you were willing to listen, she was always willing to talk.  These were the most important things to her.  Recently many of my nephews have been having children and creating their families.  When I look at the pictures of their children, I often think about how much both my parents would be so happy seeing all these beautiful children.  Mom and dad were all about family.  These new extensions to our family would have been greatly loved by my parents.  Mom would be so happy seeing all these new babies

My mom was a magnificent person, a special woman, with a pioneer spirit and a zest for life.  In my dreams I would love to be like my mom as she is the most amazing person, other than my dad, that I have ever known.  Through all kinds of ups and downs and hardships and trials her character always shone through.  She was there for people.  She was present in everything she did whether she was raising her family, teaching, being a part of the community or just having a conversation.  My mom was someone you would remember.  She lives on in all of her family.  I miss her today like I miss her every day but today is that special day when I can celebrate her birth, September 3rd (1911).  She was a grand lady with soft hands and a smile that could warm your heart.  If you ever played cards with her she’d shake her leg and grin like a Cheshire cat when she knew she had my dad beat!  That picture will always be in my mind..

Paul, Wen-Shan Wang

  • Posted on September 3, 2010 at 9:13 am

Mr. Wang Talking about the Art He Just Painted.

Informational Piece on Mr. Wang

This has been a busy week as I am preparing my middle school art classroom for the new school year.  Meetings started on Monday and we even had our open house on Wednesday night.  It wasn’t a good time to run up to Kalamazoo to check out a Chinese painter and calligrapher.  However, since I already have my students work with this material I thought it would be interesting to see the “master” painter, Paul Wang.

Late last week I received an email from the Kalamazoo Institute of Art about the opportunity to go to a demonstration of both Chinese painting and calligraphy.  I decided to ask my principal if he would grant me permission to leave early Thursday so I could catch this master painter.  Eric did allow me this opportunity, which I am very grateful for as it was refreshing watching a master at work.

The ease in which Mr. Wang painted was obvious, whether he painted Chinese characters or a long, thin bamboo piece.  Mr. Wang shared many little stories with his painting techniques.  He said this is a dying art.  Before the 20th century students had to exhibit their mastery of both painting and calligraphy in an examination.  A large portion of the calligraphy is about creating poetry.  Students that performed with excellence were brought before the emperor.  They would be assured government jobs.  Today the young people of China are more interested in technology.  Chinese painting and calligraphy are becoming sought after because of the rarity of true masters.

This Artwork Mr. Wang Created in a Matter of a Few Short Minutes.

This is a Finished Painting Framed.

He said Chinese painting is true “impressionistic” painting as the artist studies nature but does not try to recreate it exactly as it is.  It is more about capturing the essence of what it is.  The strong contrast between the black of the ink and the white of the paper make it possible to see small subtleties of differences much like a black and white photograph.  Bamboo would be painted if you are having a bad day.  Orchids might be painted if you are having a good day.  He talked about bamboo being strong and hollow but also pliable.  When painted it should be straight.  The bamboo is symbolic of strength.  As the shoot grows one can notice a thickening in the shoot and then it is thin again.  That thickened area symbolizes courage.  The hollow part of the bamboo is to show humbling.  If you think of a person this falls in line with what Confucius would say.  Much of Chinese painting and calligraphy is tied to the teachings of Confucius. I found all of this so interesting and helpful to me for sharing with my middle school students.

Paul Wang Demonstrating Painting Bamboo.

This is a Finished Artwork that was on Display.

At the end of the demonstration I purchased a catalog of artwork by Mr. Wang and he signed it for me.  He explained the difference between artwork on a scroll or for hanging.  He sends his work back to China to be mounted.  Sometimes it is put on a scroll to read at night.  These pieces are usually full of poetry.  He said that people who read the scrolls at night sleep well!  He also had calligraphy printed up in accordion style books.  This was fascinating.  He explained how the Chinese characters are symbols for other things.  He painted a symbol for a woman and put it with one for a boy.  He said that represented “good” because the two together are good.

He asked if we had noticed a difference between the Japanese woodcuts and the Chinese brush painting at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art.  He was so funny when he shared with us the fact that the Japanese do self portraits where as the Chinese are more interested in nature and any person depicted would be more of a symbol.  He grimaced and made faces for how the Japanese made almost caricatures of people and that too was so fun and very fascinating.

This Artwork was One of Many Paul Wang Shared With Us.

More Beautiful Artwork Paul Wang Shared With Us.

All and all I had a great day!  Mr. Wang has been painting for sixty five years.  I could sense the peacefulness in his quick, sure strokes and I felt fortunate to have witnessed this special man with his graceful dignity and obvious humble nature.  He isn’t just a master painter and calligrapher but he is also a master teacher in the way he shared so many wonderful stories about the art forms and its place in history.

Many of the things he shared today can be read about on his website.  It is well worth reading.

http://www.paulwanggallery.com/services.html