STATUS QUO NEEDS CHANGE

Politics is not my passion, and I don't classify myself as a Republican or Democrat. But I'm becoming more convinced our government needs a radical change. The gridlock between the Legislative and Executive Branches is a big part of the problem, but the lions share of not getting things done rests with Congress. It's time to boot out a bunch of entrenched politicians that have been in office since Christ was a sergeant. We need young, vibrant, intelligent people not beholden to "big money and special interest groups," and Barack Obama may be worth consideration for the Executive Branch.

The following is part of what Obama had to say at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta this past Sunday. Not about plans for fixing some of the problems but about things we as Americans, should reflect upon.

http://www.digg.com/2008_us_elections/
Barack_Obama_Speaks_at_Dr_King_s_Church

"We have an empathy deficit when we’re still sending our children down corridors of shame – schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.
We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than ordinary workers are making in an entire year; when families lose their homes so unscrupulous lenders can make a profit; when mothers can’t afford a doctor when their children are stricken with illness.
We have a deficit in this country when we have Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see hanging nooses from a schoolyard tree, today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.
So we have a deficit to close. We have walls – barriers to justice and equality – that must come down.
All of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system and in our criminal justice system.
And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.
If we are honest with ourselves we have to admit that there have been times when We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants only as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.
Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts."

BIG BUSINESS AT ITS BEST

I don't want to say that I'm old as dirt, but the Wright Brothers first successful powered, piloted flight took place just a few years before I was born. As far back as I can remember, I've seen many changes take place in the airline industry. I can remember being greeted at the door by the following:




Nowadays, it's likely to be along the lines of this:










Present day experience
But no matter how long I live, I will never understand airline ticket pricing. For instance, less than 48 hours ago, I made an air reservation at a cost of $518. In less than two days, the cost for that same reservation is now $735. Go figure! By the way, inferior meal quality has gone to no meal quality.

IT'S BACK

Robin finished the quilt and sent it back yesterday. It's the best. Thanks, Robin


I'll be out tomorrow night trying to round up a couple of these to break in my new quilt.

MILILANI WAR ZONE

Annual welcoming of the new year on Lonomea Street. "Evil Spirits" had to have been confused.
























































































Next stop
Burning
Man 2008



















Anybody know the number for the fire dept?






































Ah, nothing like a little smoke to clear one's lungs.