THANKSGIVING PAST

Saturday we had our family dinner at our daughters,
it was good to see all the G Kids together.
They are growing up way to fast.

Unfortunately there were College football games
on Saturday
and so the guys all sat staring at the boob tube.

I think TV has destroyed the Holidays
Seems we have to work our schedules around which games are on.

I think back to past Thanksgivings with my family either at my Aunt Lo's or Aunt Stell's

Before TV, when we had to actually talk to each other.
My mom had 4 sisters and a brother that made it to adult age.
It was a blast watching them get together and fix a meal.
Remember this was pre-microwave days, everything was made by scratch even Aunt Stell's Pumpkin Pies.

At my Dads sister, Aunt Lo's, she actually dressed the Turkey,
it was home grown not out of a supermarket.
At her house we had homemade ice Cream,
my Grama Em's Pecan Pies and Plum Pudding.
At both houses we played games.

Today many of us are still close, not just cousins, but friends.
I worry that won't happen with many of My G kids.
I hope I'm wrong but,
it is kind of hard to get to know each other when they sit staring at the TV,
and kind of hard to get any games started when they are out the door as soon as they eat.

On Sunday I called my Aunt Lo, she is in a nursing home, 96 years old but her mind is sharp as tack.
We talked about those old days, how much fun they were and how much we missed them.

This generation of TV and video games, doesn't know what they are missing.

BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when all the shoppers hit the store.

One disgruntled letter writer in the Star Tribune last week
said;

"I deplore the trend of greedy retailers opening earlier and earlier
the day after Thanksgiving to jump-start their cash registers
at the expense of their employee's precious time with family and friends."

This year many stores opened at one minute after midnight.

Last night at midnight in Minneapolis there was a traffic jam
as cars rushed to the Eden Prairie Mall and the Albertville outlet stores.
If this trend continues, it won't be long before they are starting their Christmas sale
the day after the 4th of July.

My Mom was a shopper big time, and when she would come for Thanksgiving,
she would be up early waiting for me to take her to the Mall to do her shopping.
She was in her glory, going store to store and looking for bargains.
Trying to find the right thing for all of her chicks.
She had 2 chests at home and she would fill them up with gifts for the following Christmas.
Many years later when she was no longer able to shop. she still had enough gifts in those chests to
take care of a couple Christmas's.
I would lay every thing out and she would shop from her own things for her grand kids
with that twinkle in her eyes, while I wrapped and labeled.

I didn't get the shopping gene.
In that one way I am more like my dad .
You shop only when you positively have too.

Mom and Dad did not have much growing up,
their Christmas's were very sparse.
Because of this, Mom always made sure
there were many gifts under the tree for every one.
When we brought her gifts to our house for Christmas,
and put them under the tree,
not much room was left for ours.

Since my Mom died, I start getting a little blue at this time of year.
As much as I hate shopping
I miss those shopping trips.

But now I have another problem with shopping,
Christmas music that I use to love, now makes me sad,
it just reminds me of everyone that is no longer with us.
You can't escape it when you go into any store after Thanksgiving,

The music they play irritates me, and I can't turn the dial.

HAPPY THAKSGIVING!

I am Thankful,
for my Hubba who is a very patient man.
I am Thankful for my daughter who is hosting Thanksgiving
My sons and all the G kids who are helping
My sweet little Princess Amalia.
If I knew how to post pictures you would see her here,
maybe someday "Techy Flash" will give me a few minutes of his time.

I am Thankful for Rosie and Ross

I am Thankful for:
Friends, including stranger friends
My hairdresser who keeps my hair the right color
Deb who not only gives a mean massage, but is my Political Hero.
I am thankful for the gift of reading my parents gave me.

For:
Books
Chocolate
Green tea
Nonni Biscotti
White Wine

Most of all right now I am Thankful for the fact
that Bush/Cheney will be gone soon.
People keep asking me.
Who I am supporting for President?

My answer is, which ever Democrat is left standing!

Now what are you Thankful for??

Bill Moyers Journal

Every Friday Night I turn to PBS and watch Washington Week, Now, and Bill Moyers Journal. This week Bill did a follow up on a story that he has been covering. Instead of giving you my drift, I decided to print the transcript.

I wish I could have found it on Youtube, it was much more dramatic watching FCC Chairman Kevin Martin booed in Seattle and squirm as these angry people questioned him.

Take a minute to read this or go to: Bill Moyer's Journal

Note at the bottom of the Transcript you only have till December 11th to voice your opinion.

Imagine all of the News channels sounding like Fox News.

It gives me chills!!

Bill Moyers Journal;

BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the JOURNAL. And to some stories of how regular Americans have decided that if democracy is going to be rescued from the powers-that-be, they will have to do it.

We begin with big media, our favorite beat for years now. There's a new twist this week. Despite overwhelming public opposition from across the country and the political spectrum, the Chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, isn't letting up in his relentless push to allow a handful of media giants swallow up more of your local media.

He made it official on Tuesday: He intends to lift the longstanding ban that keeps one company from owning both the daily newspaper and a radio or television station in the same market. For ten days this has been a fast-moving story and we have a quick update from our media team, producer Peter Meryash and correspondent Rick Karr.

RICK KARR: Last week on Capitol Hill, members of Congress sent a sharp message to the FCC: Maine Republican Olympia Snowe was among the Senators who said, "No more media consolidation."

OLYMPIA SNOWE: It seems like "Here we go again" in this pursuit of easing up on these restrictions and regulations regarding the consolidation of corporate ownership of media, and I think that is truly disturbing.

RICK KARR: North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan said the FCC was rushing to grant media conglomerates' wishes.

BYRON DORGAN:One of the concerns I have, and a significant one is there will be, it appears to me, perhaps a month maximum for the American people to weigh in on a new rule that will be proposed for a final action on December 18th. That doesn't meet any test of reasonableness or any standard that I know that makes any sense.

RICK KARR: But FCC Chairman Kevin Martin ignored the Senators' concerns. The very next day in Seattle he convened the Commissions last public hearing on media ownership — a meeting he'd called on just one week's notice. And that put the hundreds of people who'd shown up for the hearing in a foul mood.

KEVIN MARTIN: You're asking 'why the rush and why no notice?' Let me respond. Throughout this process, I've been as transparent as I could be.

RICK KARR: But members of the audience weren't buying Martin's explanation because whatever the process had been, he'd given them only seven days' notice for the hearing.

KEVIN MARTIN: No, I'm not quite done. And I'll sit down in a second and you'll have your chance.

RICK KARR: Throughout the nine-and-a-half-hour hearing, members of the crowd slammed Martin for not giving the public enough time to weigh in.

JIM BOWMAN: I would like to thank the FCC, and Kevin Martin, you in particular, for coming to Seattle on such short notice.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: Running this hearing with five days notice and then trying to jam media consolidation through by mid-December to me is damning evidence of the total abuse of the process itself that you're up to some kind of no-good. If this is a legitimate issue, then it deserves and demands a legitimate public process to determine the outcome. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves for not respecting the democracy you live in.

RICK KARR: Other speakers said they're angry because they think Big Media is already too big — and shouldn't get any bigger.

SUSAN MCCABE: We told you a year ago, when you came to Seattle, that media consolidation is a patently bad idea, no ifs ands or buts about it. So with all due respect, I ask you: What part of that didn't you understand?

Do you think that another year of listening to the same homogenized, formulaic, mindless crap that passes for news and entertainment on the commercial dial has suddenly caused us to say, "Please, I'd like a little more of that."

ROBERTO:I think I heard them justifying, encouraging you all to monopolize the media even more than it already is. I mean, have I died and gone to Hell, or what?

KING COUNTY COUNCILMAN REAGAN DUNN (R): I'm a Republican and I'm a capitalist, but some areas of our private sector must be regulated. Freedom of information is too important. We must be proactive in protecting that fundamental freedom.

RICK KARR: But the FCC's failed to protect the public's fundamental freedoms, said Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps.

MICHAEL COPPS:Did you ever notice that the FCC is always ready to run the fast break for big media, but it's always the four-corner stall when it comes to serving the public interest?

RICK KARR: The FCC's other Democrat, Jonathan Adelstein, warned the audience that the Commission's Republican majority wasn't really interested in listening to the public.

JONATHAN ADELSTEIN: Unfortunately, judging from the way this hearing was arranged, it looks like the media conglomerates' agenda is far ahead of yours at the FCC. Now, if you see a proposal for more consolidation made quickly after this final hearing. You'll know your input was dismissed.

RICK KARR: And, in fact, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin announced his proposal for more consolidation as soon as he was back at work in Washington, D.C. after the long weekend.

In a NEW YORK TIMES op-ed article on Tuesday of this week, he argued that "newspapers ... are struggling financially" ... and "will ... wither and die" unless they're allowed to get into the broadcasting business. So he wants to allow "[a] company that owns a newspaper in one of the [twenty] largest cities in the country" ... to "purchase a broadcast TV or radio station in the same market". That could affect the newspapers and radio and TV stations that nearly HALF of all Americans depend on for information - in places from New York and Los Angeles to Orlando and Cleveland and sixteen other cities — including ,where just last week at the FCC hearing, members of the public made it clear that they've had enough.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: If you will not stand up for we the people, then I have news for you. We the people are standing up for ourselves. This is our media, and we are taking it back.

BILL MOYERS: The story's not over, and we'll be returning to it. But keep these points in mind for now.

First, the claim that newspapers are in dire financial straights depends on your definition of dire. The average profit margin for publicly-traded newspaper firms last year was 17-18% - that's higher than the average Fortune 500.

Second, Chairman Martin says his new rules would just affect the 20 big markets. Not so. A giant loophole buried in the fine print could open the back door to runaway consolidation in nearly every market, large and small.

Third, it's the FCC's charge to ensure 'competition, localism and diversity' in media. These new rules fail on all three accounts. The FCC's own data shows that markets with cross-owned outlets provide less news as a whole. And when it comes to diversity, these new rules will make a disgraceful situation even worse. The very few commercial TV stations owned by people of color — hardly 3% of the total — will be in the crosshairs of the media giants.

Fourth, who do these guys work for, anyway? As you will see on our Web site at PBS.org, one FCC commissioner after another has gone to work in the media world. How can you serve the public when in the back of your mind you think that one day Rupert Murdoch may have a big job for you?

Remember Michael Powell? He was the last FCC chairman who wanted to let big media have all it can eat. Powell is now in the pay of "the world's leading private equity firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments."

Finally, whatever your position on this, you have until December 11th -December 11th - to let the FCC, Congress, and the White House know what you think; that's when the FCC's public comment period closes. Check it out on our Web site.

Americas Embarrasment !!

As this war continues, it is time for people to know what is really going on
with our veterans.
You are not hearing it on Fox News or for that matter on most of the other news shows, accept maybe Keith Olberman's Count Down.

You may have seen the latest photo op, GW standing and laughing
next to a burn victim from this war.

You may not have realized it was a privately funded Hosp.
I doubt if you will see him anytime soon at Walter Reed.

I borrowed this from
rosie.com

I am not changing a word.




a brave woman speaks

Posted by ro on November 11th at 4:14pm in in the news

Keep speaking the truth Ro. Civilians have ZERO idea what its really like. Walter Reed? I’ve been there. Its mold covered and they’re drastically understaffed. Prescriptions Line? It takes hours. Active Duty gets to go first, but there are usually hundreds of veterans waiting in line waiting. Veterans who gave their lives and some their sight, hearing, body for this country don’t get to get their pain medication in a timely period? What is wrong with this system. It’s not just Walter Reed, I’ve been to every military hospital in the DC area now, since we’re stationed at Andrews AFB. Malcolm Grow, Bolling, and Walter Reed. All are drastically understaffed and the prescription situation is the same. It takes weeks to get an appointment. They say to call just a couple days before the start of the month to fight for an appointment that month. What if you’re sick? Well you can try calling early in the morning but if its urgent make a trip to the ER where you get to wait with a bunch of other sick people for hours. My son, who is one, was bleeding from the head and we weren’t seen for 3 hours. 3 hours! You want to know what we see on a daily basis? Med buses medivac sick wounded soldiers from the flight line at andrews afb to walter reed. Those buses are generally filled and during the week I see at least 2 a day. AT LEAST! Thousands of men are coming home wounded and all we hear about are the dead. Yes, we need to honor the dead, but people need to know how many are hurt and what their care is like. I’ve seen those rooms at Walter Reed. We stayed in one. It looks like a time capsule. Metal beds, slates of metal as mirrors, bathrooms so old the pipes creak whenever you turn on the water, mold, grit. Its not clean. It doesn’t smell like other hospitals, that clean sanitized smell. It’s sick! It’s sick. For those veterans who need care after, and for us military families there are wonderful signs on the door of the family care offices. They read “one issue per appointment please”. That’s right. Those people who fight for this country and us families left behind can only bring up one issue per appointment. If more then one make another appointment which is IMPOSSIBLE to get. Our hospitals are out of date and our doctors are deployed. I see veterans every day at the commissary and the BX on the base where we live. I’ve seen men burned so badly they’re unrecognizable as human. I’ve seen men who recently found themselves blind. I’ve seen families whose husbands gave their lives who can’t get a doctors appointment for a sick child and sit in the ER for hours. It is not right. Sure, we get “free” health care, but look at the price. This is a disgrace. Please keep speaking out Ro, no one else will. We can’t have a voice or we risk the consequences. We need a voice. That man they call our president sits by and does nothing visiting privately funded hospitals. He gets to have all his appointments at National Naval Medical Center; which is REALLY nice, but impossible for the underlings to get into. I don’t think he waits months for an appointment, hours for prescriptions, can only talk about one issue per appointment, and gets medical care in these conditions. That’s whats wrong with this country.

Remember Our Vets II

Hubba circa 1950's, Korean Conflict (USS Healy DD672, USS English DD696, USS Shenandoah)Flash at Centrisity has a list of other family members that serve(d), including my active duty grandson, the Marine! Last word on him is that he is training in Miramar with potential Spring Deploy Pensacola, FL, studying avionics at the top of his class..

Oh for the Good Old Days !

Wall street fell today,
the dollar is falling again,
GM is in dire straights,
and Oil is almost 100.00 a barrel.

"They" (who ever "They" is") are predicting 4.00 a gallon gas by next year.
The last time Oil was this high Jimmy Carter was President and the Republicans wanted to lynch him.

We all know what has happened to the Housing market.
Every day someone is losing their homes, and many others can't sell theirs.


OK, now, I want to hear those Republican candidates running for President tell us how good our economy is.

Add to this, in Minnesota, Republicans are smug in the Robbinsdale District 281, because, by bringing in an outside agitator,
and dropping an untruthful piece of Literature at the last minute they were able to
defeat the school referendum, and because of the defeat some schools will have to close, and
many programs will have to be cancelled.

What has happened to common sense in this country??

Can you tell I'm Pissed???

Remember our Vets!

Recently I read an article about the number of Iraqi troops that have come home,
left the military and then committed suicide.
Over 430 have killed themselves in the last 6 years.
That may not sound like a lot, but these are our kids, they were traumatized by
2 and 3 tours in Iraq or Afghanistan

Many more are homeless.

This week in my VFW news letter, there is an article about the need for Winter Coats,
gloves, stocking caps, insulated underwear and of course money.

Steve Eisenreich of the St.Cloud VA Medical Center Homeless Vets Department
reported that as of now there are 80 to 100 homeless Vets in the St.Cloud area.
They are in The Salvation Army shelters, church of the week, by the river and under the bridges.
These are Veterans, average age 44 suffering from PTSD and Brain Trauma
and other deployment issues.
They have come to the St. Cloud area hoping to get assistance at the VA hosp.
Steve physically goes out to see these Veterans to bring them bus tokens, clothes etc.
Every year he does a motorcycle run to earn money for his fund.
This year because of rain he only raised 2000.00, this is not enough to last for one year.

As the weather is turning colder here, the need for winter wear is urgent.

Monetary donations can be sent to:

St Cloud VA Medical Center
Bldg 28 Room 39
4801 Veterans Drive
St. Cloud Mn 56303:
Be sure to write "Homeless Vets Fund" in the memo portion of the check or it will go into the general fund.

I am sure that this kind of help is needed at every VA Hosp. in this country, but in the cold winter states it is more urgent

Donald Rumsfield..War Criminal?