It's Not Just My Imagination

This fall's weather has been unusually, unseasonably, warm. As this map shows, during the third week of October when we were in the Adirondacks, temperatures were nearly 10 degrees over average. While I was pleased and surprised to be enjoying beautiful fall foliage and 75 degree temperatures on our long weekend, I knew there was something just not quite right about the whole thing.

I look out the window into my back yard and see all the trees here in my neighborhood not only still have leaves, but those leaves are green. The maple tree overhanging our deck looks the same as it did in mid-summer.

When DH and I were married 22 years ago on October 5, 1985, the leaves had turned and were already falling off the trees. One of our wedding pictures shows us in our wedding finery standing next to a maple tree. The tree's leaves were universally yellow and many of them were already on the ground beneath our feet - a full month earlier than today.

When we visited Newfoundland, Canada, two years ago, everywhere we went the people were talking about global warming. One town, Twillingate, is usually a mecca for tourists coming to see the picturesque icebergs floating down from the north; but when we were there, at the height of the iceberg season, there were none. There are many there who depend on the tourism for much of their income, and no one wants to go out on a boat to look at iceburgs when there are no icebergs to be seen, so their livelihoods are suffering. (See below for a magnificent iceberg in the Twillingate area - something we did not see when we were there).











I think nowadays there is no denying that global temperatures are getting warmer. Even the Neocons have to admit this when faced with trends such as these:













But what many of them still deny is the relationship between carbon dioxide and temperature change. But this comparison is pretty convincing to me:




















It is true that correlation does not necessarily mean causation. And it's possible this warming trend might have happened anyway and the increase in carbon dioxide in the air is a coincidence.

This site goes into a lot of detail showing that carbon dioxide may not be the sole, or main, cause of the recent warming trends. Apparently there was a similar warm trend back in the Middle Ages, followed by a Little Ice Age, from which we may just be emerging.

But science shows that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could promote warming. And we do have more of it in the atmosphere. And warming is happening. Could it do any harm to try to cut down on it and slow down this trend? Cutting back on fossil fuel consumption can have other benefits besides slowing global warming, such as making us less dependent on countries such as Saudi Arabia, and postponing the inevitable date when we run out of these fuels altogether.

The problem is, businesses don't want to make the investments needed to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions. Those whose political careers are supported by Big Business don't want to offend their supporters.

So unless that changes, prepare for more warm autumns, hotter summers, less snow, fewer polar bears, more floods and dangerous storms, and beachfront property several miles inland.

Hmmm, perhaps our house will become more valuable with a beach in front of it? It might not be all bad.

Today's Haiku:

Maple trees are green
Canada Geese don't migrate
Climate change is real.

More Incivility on the Air - Imus Returns

Today's Star Ledger announced the bad news - Imus is coming back on the radio - and worse yet, he's taking the place of Curtis & Kuby on WABC's 6-10 a.m. morning slot.

For those from other areas who may not be familiar with Imus, he is the radio "shock jock" who was booted off the air for making racist and sexist remarks on his radio show. I said "good riddance" back then and am sorry to see him return to the airwaves.

I am particularly sorry to see him take the place of Curtis & Kuby. As I pointed out in my post from April, their show included both sides of a story, both right and left. And opinions were delivered with civility, and even good humor, on both sides. Sure, sometimes discussion was heated, but it never crossed the line. And most of the issues they talked about were serious subjects discussed with intelligence.

Now WABC will have Imus on instead; and I'm sure he isn't going to tone down his rhetoric one bit. And if calling a bunch of Rutgers women hateful, disrespectful names is an example of his form of discussion, I wouldn't call it intelligent. I suppose he will bring his own audience of fans with him, but WABC has lost this one.

Today's Haiku:

Curtis and Kuby
Now gone but not forgotten
How will I survive?

Market Woes

According to the New York Times, the Stock Market has plunged 300 points this afternoon, "triggered by weak earnings from oil giant Exxon Mobil and concern that Citigroup’s woes may not be over."

The article goes on to say that the worst may be yet to come:

"Investors may also be unnerved by a disappointing batch of economic data released today. Consumer spending began to slow in September, growing 0.3 percent after a 0.5 percent gain in August. Analysts are predicting a weak fourth quarter, and the Commerce Department report may have confirmed fears of a sharp slowdown in spending as energy costs rise and the housing recession continues to worsen.

Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in October recorded its worst month since March, with American companies hurt by a decline in production coupled with a rise in costs. A closely watched manufacturing index dropped to 50.9 from 52 in September..."

This cheery news does nothing to cement my hope of retiring early. And it just goes to show that Bush's policies have not been beneficial to our economy; on the contrary.

So with that, here is my Haiku of the Day:

Stock market falling
Consumer spending slowing
Retirement's a dream.

Spoiled Brat

(Picture and quotes courtesy of the White House website.)

Our President was cranky yesterday. He appeared on the North Portico steps of the White House after meeting with the House Republican Conference, in order to whine about the performance of Congress.

After mentioning what a "constructive" discussion he'd had with Republican members of Congress, he went on to complain:

"Congress is not getting its work done. We're near the end of the year, and there really isn't much to show for it. The House of Representatives has wasted valuable time on a constant stream of investigations, and the Senate has wasted valuable time on an endless series of failed votes to pull our troops out of Iraq."

Hmmm, wasting time on investigations...let's see, does anyone remember Monica Lewinsky? Whitewater? Talk about a waste of time. And Congress wouldn't have to be trying to vote our troops out of Iraq if he hadn't put them there in the first place.

He then went on to whine some more.

"They've also passed an endless series of tax increases. You know, they proposed tax increases in the farm bill, the energy bill, the small business bill, and of course, the SCHIP bill. They haven't seen a bill they could not solve without shoving a tax hike into it. In other words, they believe in raising taxes, and we don't.

Spending is skyrocketing under their leadership -- at least proposed spending is skyrocketing under their leadership."

My, he has a short memory. It wasn't so bad when the Republicans were doing it, was it? What about back in 2003? According to this article, originally published by the LA Times,

"Before they took control of Congress nearly nine years ago, Republicans often mocked the Democratic practice of larding government spending bills with provisions that earmarked funds for pet projects in particular lawmakers' districts and states.

But a $328.1-billion bill that the Republican-led House expects to pass today, funding a grab bag of government agencies, takes earmarking to greater heights and uses it for what Democrats claim are new, partisan purposes.

The bill includes an eye-popping number of earmarks — around 7,000 by one estimate, at a cost of several billion dollars. Other spending bills bring the grand total for the year to more than 10,000. In that long list are items big and small, from $100,000 for street furniture and sidewalks in Laverne, Ala., to $44 million for a bridge to Treasure Island in Florida — a plum for the Tampa Bay district of House Appropriations Chairman C.W. "Bill" Young.

But more than that, to a degree unseen since their 1995 takeover, the majority Republicans are publicly flaunting their power to use pork for explicitly partisan purposes."

But that's not all. Oh no. In 2005, yet more earmarks and pork made it through the Republican controlled Congress: According to this Boston Globe article,

"At $286.4 BILLION, the highway bill just passed by Congress is the most expensive public works legislation in US history. In addition to funding the interstate highway system and other federal transportation programs, it sets a new record for pork-barrel spending, earmarking $24 billion for a staggering 6,376 pet projects."

This was the bill with the infamous "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska, among other perks benefiting that state. John McCain voted against the bill at the time:

"Arizona Senator John McCain, who voted no, called the bill a 'monstrosity' and wondered whether it will ever be possible to restore fiscal sanity to Congress. If 'the combination of war, record deficits, and the largest public debt in the country's history' can't break lawmakers' addiction to spending, he asked, 'what can?'"

What indeed?

And now Bush is moaning and groaning because the current spending bill has pork in it. The difference is, it is Democratic pork. So he's whining:

"We want to sit down in good faith and come up with a bill that is responsible, because Congress has been unable or unwilling to get its basic job done of passing spending bills...It's hard to imagine a more cynical political strategy than trying to hold hostage funding for our troops in combat and our wounded warriors in order to extract $11 billion in additional social spending. I hope media reports about such a strategy are wrong, I really do. If they're not, if the reports of this strategy are true, I will veto such a three-bill pileup. Congress should pass each bill one at a time in a fiscally responsible manner that reflects agreement between the legislative branch and the executive branch."

Why is it the Democrats are expected to forge an agreement between the legislative branch and the executive branch? Did the executive branch ever try to forge any agreements with them when they were in the minority? I didn't think so.

He complained one more time about Congress "not getting their job done" before closing his remarks by thanking the members who were supporting him.

"It would be irresponsible to not give our troops the resources they need to get their job done because Congress was unable to get its job done."

So, I call him a spoiled brat. When he gets his way, everything's fine. He doesn't mind when his own Republican Congress passes barrels full of pork, or if they investigate Democrats.

But if the Democrats try to do the same thing, "They don't play fair! They aren't getting the job done!" Amazing how he didn't veto one bill the whole time the Republican controlled Congress. But hey, their pork was OK.

Don't get me wrong; I am not a fan of pork and I would like to see reforms that would address this issue for both sides of the aisle.

But for this President to sanctimoniously complain about Congress "not getting its job done" and loading up bills with earmarks, when he is spending unconscionable amounts of money on his war in Iraq and refusing to sign bills to insure uninsured children, is more than I can stand. The hypocrisy is just amazing.

Moving on....

Tomorrow is the beginning of NaBloPoMo and I am going to participate. I don't think I've ever gone more than two days in a row of posting on this blog, so the idea of posting every single day of November is daunting.

Therefore, I will try to follow a theme. Political Poetry is my theme of choice. I am not a poet, as I've said before, but I am going to follow set forms, such as haiku, so I can't really go wrong. I've always wanted to learn how to write a haiku but could never remember how many syllables they have. So I found a nice definition online on this site.

I learned the form of haiku is not set in stone:

"What then is the form of a haiku? Some of the critical aspects of haiku form that have been mentioned are:

-brevity [one to three lines totaling 17 syllables or less]
-three lines -- some would insist of 5-7-5 syllable structure, some suggest a structure of three lines with 5 or less, 7 or less, 5 or less syllables.
-when read aloud, can be completed in one breath
-avoidance of traditional English poetic forms, such as rhyming and metaphor.
-juxtaposition … two elements or lines of the haiku indirectly relate to a third.
-descriptiveness ... haiku describe, they don't prescribe or tell."

So how about this as a start?

Dubya is cranky
As the Dems pile on the pork
Earmarks go both ways.

What Kind of Liberal Are You?

I am proud to report I'm a "Social Justice Crusader" type liberal. Thanks to Makanani for posting this helpful quiz! Also! I am moving her blog to my "Politically Oriented" list, as she is a strong proponent of the Draft Gore movement and obviously belongs in that link list!

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Social Justice Crusader, also known as a rights activist. You believe in equality, fairness, and preventing neo-Confederate conservative troglodytes from rolling back fifty years of civil rights gains.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Some Housekeeping

Today we got really ambitious and managed to go through a huge pile of assorted detritus that was sitting for weeks in our upstairs hallway, throw away a lot of stuff, and put away the rest. It was a combination of books, CDs, magazines, old birthday cards, newsletters, newspapers, and souvenir programs from various plays and musical performances that had managed to gather in the room DH uses as his office. A few weeks ago we had decided to use our brand new Bissell rug shampooing machine in that room, so DH put all the offending debris out into the hallway, and there it had sat.

Once we got through that pile we were truly inspired and then went through the bookcases in the office and put all the books we didn't want to keep into two big boxes, the contents of which can be donated or sold at a yard sale.

DH then got really ambitious and cleaned the windows in the room we fondly, and truthfully, refer to as "The Cat's Room," and we even put back up the clean curtains we had washed two weeks ago!

And if that wasn't enough housekeeping for one day, I spent this evening playing around with my blog's sidebar, cleaning out a few things I didn't think I needed to keep there, and adding my shiny new blog bling from the recent awards.

While I was at it I added a couple of new blog links and moved my two other blogs to their own section called "My Other Blogs." (Real original, aren't I?)

This sudden fall weather must have inspired the old Fall Housecleaning gene to kick in. It's strange to think that when I was growing up, my mother did Spring and Fall Housecleaning, and it involved major housework. Taking down all the curtains and washing them (she had different ones for summer and winter, too!)...cleaning all the windows....I remember my dad (who happened to be afraid of heights, so I'm amazed he did this) sitting on the windowsill with the top half of his body OUTSIDE the house, cleaning the outside of the windows.

We're lucky if we do that stuff every two or three years! And we're also lucky if we have one decent set of curtains for each window, let alone different ones for different seasons.

It makes me wonder how important any of that is, or ever was. I don't know many people who still do that kind of cleaning. Most women I know work, and who has time to do all that when you have only two days a week to get all the errands and other chores done?

Are we any worse off now that we don't do two major housecleaning events each year? Are our families any less healthy? Our houses that much the worse for wear? I don't think so.

Maybe when the tradition started it was truly necessary, because they didn't have the kind of modern conveniences we have today, such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners, or Bissell rug shampooers. I suppose it made sense back then to take up the rugs and beat them in the back yard. Or wash all the curtains a lot because you couldn't use a vacuum attachment to clean them. But times have changed, and I don't think anyone will be going back to that type of housecleaning any time soon.

Worshiping Work

While we were away I caught up on reading my newspapers, which had been piling up last week. In the Thursday New York Times, Roger Cohen had an Op-Ed piece about the new French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, who is a proponent of moving France to a more "American" way of life.

Nicknamed "The American" by her countrymen, Ms. Lagarde is making an effort to get the French to, basically, work more: “We are trying to change the psyche of the French people in relation to work.”

Her attitude was nurtured by 20+ years in America:

"In an interview, Lagarde says that more than two decades at a U.S. corporation taught her: 'The more hours you worked, the more hours you billed, the more profit you could generate for yourself and your firm. That was the mantra.'" (Ms. Lagarde was the first chairwoman of the Chicago- based law firm Baker & McKenzie).

Ms. Lagarde feels the passing of the legislation for the 35-hour work week in France had "disastrous" effects in her home country. She said the result was that “People did not really talk about their work. They talked about their long weekends.”

(Quelle horreur! Heaven forbid that people should prefer to talk about their real lives instead of work! How dare they? This must stop!)

Ms. Lagarde wants to lower the unemployment rate from 8% to 5%, and raise the percentage of the population that is gainfully employed from 63% to 70%, by the year 2012. How does she plan to accomplish this?

"Tax cuts, the termination of unemployment benefits for those refusing two valid job offers, later retirement, incentives for those working more than 35 hours, a slashing of the bureaucracy associated with job-seeking and improved professional training are among measures enacted or envisaged. Legislation to reverse the 35-hour week is possible."

Hmmm, tax cuts. Terminating unemployment benefits. Longer working hours. Sounds familiar. Sounds very...American.

Cohen supports Lagarde's goals: "Without a dynamic France, Europe cannot be revitalized, and a Europe in a Gallic funk is bad for everyone. If an overbearing America has been a problem, an underperforming Europe has been its complement."

I disagree with the idea that every country and every culture has to center its efforts on "performance." Why is the American model always held up as the "right" way to live? Why do so many people believe in hard work as some kind of moral imperative? That the correct way to conduct one's life is to work long hours, make more money, provide more profit for the corporations, take as few vacations as possible and live in constant stress?

At one time, there were good reasons to work hard. The purpose of work was to provide food and shelter for one's family. Now it is to hoard money, more money than anyone needs to live. Work, and its goal, profit, have been elevated to a type of religion here in the United States.

And now this sickness is spreading to countries that used to be more sensible about work, who believed life was to be enjoyed and to be lived to the fullest.

The French are not giving up their more leisurely way of life without a fight. Unions protesting reforms in the pension plans paralyzed Paris starting on Thursday and the unrest may continue into November.

But I fear that as time goes by, gradually more and more countries will start to adopt our ways. And if they do, the cafe' life, the intellectual discussions over a glass of wine, the long vacations that other cultures enjoy, will become a thing of the past and eventually every country will be just like us. And that would be a sad day in the world.


Soon to be a thing of the past?
-A scene at La Palette, our favorite cafe' in Paris
(picture courtesy of http://hilton.org.uk/pppp.phtml).

Catching up!

While we were rusticating in the lovely Adirondacks, Beverly of Makanani presented me with not one, but three awards! As I told her, I am blushing! First are the "Best Kept Secret Award" and the "Breakout Blogger Award" - and the other is the "Totally Fabulous Award." See below - clicking on them will bring you to the original sites that started them.










Naturally the next step is to pass along the compliments to other bloggers. I don't know how much of a secret any of these bloggers are, but they are certainly award-worthy. Here goes:

Best Kept Secret/Breakout Bloggers:

Elizabeth of Inside Betty's Head. Always very well-written, thoughtful posts.

M of m's blog. M writes very interesting posts about various subjects, ranging from her daily life to finances and beyond.

Odessa of Freefalling Me. Odessa's blog is a great mix of wonderful photographs and poetry.

And for the Totally Fabulous Awards:

It's always hard to pick blogs for these awards because ALL the blogs I read are absolutely fabulous! So here are just a few:

PunditMom - informative and enjoyable, always writes about interesting topics.

Rhea of The Boomer Chronicles posts generally Baby-Boomer-related stories, facts and information on her blog, but her subject matter is of interest to everyone.

Lisa of O My Word!. Her blog is addictive and she also has another great blog, Politics After 50, which you should check out as well!

Last but definitely not least, Evil Spock over at The Needs of the Few. This blog is unique and if you haven't experienced it yet, head on over! Evil Spock's subject matter ranges from politics to various and sundry other subjects as the mood strikes.

That's it for now. I love all of the blogs I read so it's always hard to have to pick a few out, and it takes a lot out of me!

Moving right along, I'd like to summarize what I learned about the Adirondacks in our trip there, which was our first time in this lovely region.

What the Adirondacks have:

-Gorgeous scenery - everywhere. Leaves that are every shade of orange, red, gold, brown, and yes, some that are still green, contrasting with sparkling blue lakes everywhere you look.

-Friendly, down-to-earth people who greet you with a smile.

-Lots of beautiful old houses, ranging from ornate Victorians to colonial homes that must be 200+ years old. Some may be a little down on their luck but it is amazing to see the wonderful housing stock that exists in this area.

-Quaint, unspoiled towns, each with its steepled church and its historical society (surprisingly, even the smallest towns all seemed to have a historical society - maybe that's why the old houses haven't been torn down). Many towns have gas stations and motels that look as if they haven't changed since the 1950's.

What the Adirondacks don't have:

-Crowds
-Traffic
-Graffiti
-Surly waiters/waitresses or cashiers
-Malls
-McMansions
-Ethnic restaurants (one drawback!)

We did eat at a pretty good Italian restaurant a couple of times, but I have to say the pizza didn't measure up to that of Star Tavern in my native New Jersey. But that is a sacrifice I am willing to make for relaxation and lack of stress! We will definitely be back again next year. It was a very successful first trip to the region.

On our way back from the Adirondacks we took the long way home, through the park, and then down Route 87. When we hit the Garden State Parkway, that is when I returned to reality, as the traffic built up to rush hour proportions. I could feel my blood pressure rise 10 points.

Weekend Getaway

We are going to the wilderness for four days - no internet access! I am not sure I will survive the withdrawal symptoms, but will try. I'm bringing plenty of books.

We are staying at a place called Sheltered Lakes, which is in the lower/central Adirondacks about four hours from our house. Miss Diva is coming with us and I'm sure will find it very exciting.

We've never been up there before so it should be a nice respite from our hectic lives. It looks like this:











Very peaceful. With a lake for Diva to chase her ball and swim around in. So a good time should be had by all, especially her. Hopefully it will cheer DH and me up a bit to be away, after all that has happened this week.

If I can't get ahold of a faint scrap of wi fi or find a cyber cafe' somewhere, I will be out of touch for a few days. Enjoy your weekends and I'll catch up when I return.

To a Friend Who Died Too Young

I recently lost a friend, too young. We had been out of touch for awhile, had a falling out - a long story - and had never really dealt with it. And now it's too late.

Things like this make you realize how important it is not to let things fester. If there is a problem, talk it out; if there is anger, try to understand. If there is silence, speak. Otherwise you may find, like me, that you missed your chance.

I wanted to post a poem in memory of my friend, but nothing seemed quite suitable to make the point that I wanted to make. So I wrote my own. I'm no poet and this is probably a monumentally bad poem, but I thought I'd post it anyway since it expressed what I feel.

Many times I thought of you
And almost picked up the phone
I composed letters in my mind
But they were never sent.

I often wondered how you were
But never dared to ask.
Afraid of your rejection,
It was so easy not to try.

After all, we weren’t that old,
There was always time.
Another day, another month,
Perhaps sometime next year.

But suddenly it’s all too late;
The days, the months, the years
Slipped by without a trace
Leaving all the words unsaid.

No time left to start anew
No time left to make amends
Only time to feel the pain
Of wishing you were here again.