Well the weather here in Florida has calmed a bit. Coming home from a short vacation last week we were hit by what appeared to be 2 small Tornados that forced us tp pull over to side side on interstate 95. The rain and winds were sudden and strong and hailstones like marbles pelted us. All I could think of later was what was occurring across the midwest, giant versions of what just scared the hell out of my wife and I. Our very heartfelt condolences to those who suffered so much. We are used to this in Florida, it never gets easier.
Here is what is scary a week later. There are still Tornados beating up the midwest.
It seems that the DNC has decided that our votes in the Democratic (?) Party Primary, are worth 1/2 a vote each. I'm sorry, but if you thought the protestors today are an abberation, you are so wrong. We thought we had an election with the best two candidates available. We still can't get Florida right. On to the convention.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Burn on big lake, burn on!
Who would have thought after blogging about the Cyuhoga River catching fire due to pollution many years back, that Florida on Fire would include our Great Lake Okeechobee. The drought that has plagued our region has caused the lake water level to drop to record lows - the grass and weeds along the shore of the lake caught fire last night. It is supposed to begin to rain soon, probably too little too late. We'll wait and hope to survive Hurricance season. My late friend, Herb Saffir, PE, and I discussed global warming many times - he was convinced that our problems here in Florida were cyclical. He did not live long enough to see Greenland cracking off glaciers. (Herb Saffir develpoed the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane scale 1-5, and i told him that he saved many lives by giving people fair warning before major storms would hit. How much worse the world would have been without him. God bless and keep you safe my dear friend.
(For those of you unfamiliar with words such as Okeechobee, its an Indian word meaning - I don't know, maybe big lake - I'll check it out and get back). The Seminole and Micousoukee tribes are still here in Florida - luckily. We are the immigrants, unless you're of some Indian ancestry - all of us - my wifes family came here in 1624 and landed on the second ship in Plymouth, Mass. They helped found Salem, Mass. (No my wife is not a witch).
My daughter was just in Boston and told me that she saw Paul Revere's grave, I told her that she has 20 relatives buried by Mr. Revere, and John Hancok etc. I told her to always be fair and just with immigrants - legal, or illegal - she has always been color blind, racially tolerant - she's just does not tolerate stupidity, insensitivity, and cruelty. Maybe she'll be President some day. She always defends the underdog and tries to help them. I'm proud of her. She asked why we're building a wall between the US and Mexico. I just said stupidity! She knows there are illegal aliens taking advantage of benefits that they may not have earned yet. Her generation will be charged with solving these issues fairly and justly.
A note on Senator Edward M. Kennedy: I am very sorry to hear of his illness. He has been a great legislator, for the most part. Our best wishes to you during this tough fight ahead of you.
I do not agree with the Senator on his position on Senator Obama - at all. As a friend of mine has noted on her blog -(Thanks Penny Ronning), Senator Kennedy's state overwhelmingly chose Senator Clinton. Massachusetts has always voted for Senator Kennedy, he should return the favor - vote with his constituents. Support their choice. The party rules are arbitrary and undemocratic! She is the people's choice, if the party wants to win, request that every super delegate vote the way their constituents voted. If they are not elected officials, think carefully, who can win, and wait for the full popular vote.
The news just had Hillary on, and a local reporter actually said "she has been avoiding Florida", she has done fund raisers here in Florida several times, and was not allowed to campaign when she had the chance. Media bias in Palm Beach county, or just another example of unqualified people on the news. Believe it or not WPBF news had a longer segment on Pole Dancing for excercise, than on both Democratic candidates visiting Florida. Enough is enough.
My late step father, Dr. Irving Schulman would have been 100 today, he died of prostate cancer and bone cancer, back in 1989. I love you dad, thanks for tolerating me, and thanks for being great when I was ill after Viet Nam.
My mother Lillian passed away three years after him - being a feminist ahead of her time, she'd be very proud of Hillary Clinton, as she was to see Shirley Chisolm, and geraldine ferraro begin to breal the ice. Sexism is worse than racism in the USA.
(For those of you unfamiliar with words such as Okeechobee, its an Indian word meaning - I don't know, maybe big lake - I'll check it out and get back). The Seminole and Micousoukee tribes are still here in Florida - luckily. We are the immigrants, unless you're of some Indian ancestry - all of us - my wifes family came here in 1624 and landed on the second ship in Plymouth, Mass. They helped found Salem, Mass. (No my wife is not a witch).
My daughter was just in Boston and told me that she saw Paul Revere's grave, I told her that she has 20 relatives buried by Mr. Revere, and John Hancok etc. I told her to always be fair and just with immigrants - legal, or illegal - she has always been color blind, racially tolerant - she's just does not tolerate stupidity, insensitivity, and cruelty. Maybe she'll be President some day. She always defends the underdog and tries to help them. I'm proud of her. She asked why we're building a wall between the US and Mexico. I just said stupidity! She knows there are illegal aliens taking advantage of benefits that they may not have earned yet. Her generation will be charged with solving these issues fairly and justly.
A note on Senator Edward M. Kennedy: I am very sorry to hear of his illness. He has been a great legislator, for the most part. Our best wishes to you during this tough fight ahead of you.
I do not agree with the Senator on his position on Senator Obama - at all. As a friend of mine has noted on her blog -(Thanks Penny Ronning), Senator Kennedy's state overwhelmingly chose Senator Clinton. Massachusetts has always voted for Senator Kennedy, he should return the favor - vote with his constituents. Support their choice. The party rules are arbitrary and undemocratic! She is the people's choice, if the party wants to win, request that every super delegate vote the way their constituents voted. If they are not elected officials, think carefully, who can win, and wait for the full popular vote.
The news just had Hillary on, and a local reporter actually said "she has been avoiding Florida", she has done fund raisers here in Florida several times, and was not allowed to campaign when she had the chance. Media bias in Palm Beach county, or just another example of unqualified people on the news. Believe it or not WPBF news had a longer segment on Pole Dancing for excercise, than on both Democratic candidates visiting Florida. Enough is enough.
My late step father, Dr. Irving Schulman would have been 100 today, he died of prostate cancer and bone cancer, back in 1989. I love you dad, thanks for tolerating me, and thanks for being great when I was ill after Viet Nam.
My mother Lillian passed away three years after him - being a feminist ahead of her time, she'd be very proud of Hillary Clinton, as she was to see Shirley Chisolm, and geraldine ferraro begin to breal the ice. Sexism is worse than racism in the USA.
Florida on Fire! Go Hillary!
It's a strange evening here in South Florida.
I was watching election results, (Go Hillary), and editing my blog, (watch the dyslexic moments, I'm tired tonight), while spending the week in Palm Beach Shores. We had a time share week to use so we stayed locally. A whole 30 or so miles north of our house in Coral Springs.
Well for those of you that read this some day...take note, Florida is on fire. Last week the Sawgrass Expressway, which goes around half of Coral Springs, (the whole Western side and Northern side of the city), caught on fire - smoke everywhere. Actually the median burned from one side of town to the other. The expressway is long, but it just burned around our city. So we're here in Palm Beach Gardens and since we arrived there is smoke in the air. Just north of us, there are brush fires. While I am entering this I just got the first weather warning of this type - FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT - the winds, very low humidity, and high temperatures (96 today), high for Florida, are creating conditions perfect for fires to start. Well there's more smoke in the air. (Not as bad as California's fires, but the Everglades are on fire as well).
So whats my point. President Bush won't sign the Kyoto accords, and Florida burns. I know how the fires will go out. Greenland is cracking and HUGE glaciers are heading south, and Florida burns. The coast of Antarctica is melting. Rivers, lakes and water supplies around the country are drying up. Viva Las Vegas! Elvis send us down a lot of rain. The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" warned us. Many of my friends thought Al Gore was crazy...well the state that made him President is on fire...(oh I forgot the Supreme Court decided we don't count and he's not President), and this should be the beginning of rainy season. This year the Democratic party decided we don't count. (Thanks Howard). I heard that Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama are headed here tomorrow. wear face masks, the smoke is bad for you.
I remeber when Randy Newman sang about the Cyuhoga River in Ohio catching fire..."burn on big river, burn on". (Sheer genius).
There is a solution to the state burning...Edgar Cayce, (I believe), predicted that Florida would be flooded by 2012. Orlando will be beachfont property. This is a bit ahead of the schedule predicted in "An Inconvenient Truth", ... the price of a gallon of regular gas reached $3.89 today. Large food companies are repackaging foods, raising the price, and reducing the packaged weight. "Buy one, get one free" they ease you into the new pricing of the reduced sized packaging. Oil companies have earned record profits and say they need it to compete globally.
"Green, green, it's green they say on the far side of the hill..." GO GREEN now! Because it brown and black on the far side of Florida.
I was watching election results, (Go Hillary), and editing my blog, (watch the dyslexic moments, I'm tired tonight), while spending the week in Palm Beach Shores. We had a time share week to use so we stayed locally. A whole 30 or so miles north of our house in Coral Springs.
Well for those of you that read this some day...take note, Florida is on fire. Last week the Sawgrass Expressway, which goes around half of Coral Springs, (the whole Western side and Northern side of the city), caught on fire - smoke everywhere. Actually the median burned from one side of town to the other. The expressway is long, but it just burned around our city. So we're here in Palm Beach Gardens and since we arrived there is smoke in the air. Just north of us, there are brush fires. While I am entering this I just got the first weather warning of this type - FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT - the winds, very low humidity, and high temperatures (96 today), high for Florida, are creating conditions perfect for fires to start. Well there's more smoke in the air. (Not as bad as California's fires, but the Everglades are on fire as well).
So whats my point. President Bush won't sign the Kyoto accords, and Florida burns. I know how the fires will go out. Greenland is cracking and HUGE glaciers are heading south, and Florida burns. The coast of Antarctica is melting. Rivers, lakes and water supplies around the country are drying up. Viva Las Vegas! Elvis send us down a lot of rain. The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" warned us. Many of my friends thought Al Gore was crazy...well the state that made him President is on fire...(oh I forgot the Supreme Court decided we don't count and he's not President), and this should be the beginning of rainy season. This year the Democratic party decided we don't count. (Thanks Howard). I heard that Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama are headed here tomorrow. wear face masks, the smoke is bad for you.
I remeber when Randy Newman sang about the Cyuhoga River in Ohio catching fire..."burn on big river, burn on". (Sheer genius).
There is a solution to the state burning...Edgar Cayce, (I believe), predicted that Florida would be flooded by 2012. Orlando will be beachfont property. This is a bit ahead of the schedule predicted in "An Inconvenient Truth", ... the price of a gallon of regular gas reached $3.89 today. Large food companies are repackaging foods, raising the price, and reducing the packaged weight. "Buy one, get one free" they ease you into the new pricing of the reduced sized packaging. Oil companies have earned record profits and say they need it to compete globally.
"Green, green, it's green they say on the far side of the hill..." GO GREEN now! Because it brown and black on the far side of Florida.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Florida Again
Today I have heard that the Democratic Party doesn't seem to be willing to settle the Florida/Michigan issue. And now that John Edwards, who I once campaigned for, for Vice President with some friends, has decided to support Senator Obama...we are wondering why the win by Senator Hillary Cliinton, a 40 point plus gap, has fallen off the news radar.
Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Montana, Oregon, Sout Dakota...if I missed any states other than Florida and Michigan, i'm sorry. What if Hillary wins these states? Senator Clinton fight on, old allies are falling by the wayside,... while Hillary keeps winning?
My fellow Democrats...wake up, this is the third time that Florida's disenfranchisement may lose the Democratic party another election. Hillary can win, Barack Obama has raised $250,000,000 and could not come close to Hillary in West Virginia, and lost Pennsylvania. History has told us this is a no win scenario for the general election. We're repeating history in Iraq by fighting in a civil war, as I fought in Viet Nam. We're angry at President Bush for not listeing to historys' lessons, and we're not listening to our own political history. Is this change...no, just more of the same. Perhaps our two excellent candidates will work out a solution to win. My solution - simple, a Clinton / Obama ticket.
One other thing, I had respect for Gov. Huckabee, even though we disagreed on the issues, but today he sadly crossed a brutal line. Did we forget 1968. It's not a joke, I'm sure the NRA members had a great lauagh at this joke in very bad taste. Remember that President Reagan was shot as well, and a nut tried to kill President Ford. I just heard Gov. Huckabee has apologized, more care Mike, an offhand joke usually comes from a deeper sad place in our thoughts and soul.
I just had to add that I am disappointed that Sen. George McGovern has chosen to endorse Barack Obama. I love Sen. McGovern, he is a great American hero and icon, and did not lie to the country when it needed truth. Let's hope he's right if Sen. Obama wins the nomination.
Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Montana, Oregon, Sout Dakota...if I missed any states other than Florida and Michigan, i'm sorry. What if Hillary wins these states? Senator Clinton fight on, old allies are falling by the wayside,... while Hillary keeps winning?
My fellow Democrats...wake up, this is the third time that Florida's disenfranchisement may lose the Democratic party another election. Hillary can win, Barack Obama has raised $250,000,000 and could not come close to Hillary in West Virginia, and lost Pennsylvania. History has told us this is a no win scenario for the general election. We're repeating history in Iraq by fighting in a civil war, as I fought in Viet Nam. We're angry at President Bush for not listeing to historys' lessons, and we're not listening to our own political history. Is this change...no, just more of the same. Perhaps our two excellent candidates will work out a solution to win. My solution - simple, a Clinton / Obama ticket.
One other thing, I had respect for Gov. Huckabee, even though we disagreed on the issues, but today he sadly crossed a brutal line. Did we forget 1968. It's not a joke, I'm sure the NRA members had a great lauagh at this joke in very bad taste. Remember that President Reagan was shot as well, and a nut tried to kill President Ford. I just heard Gov. Huckabee has apologized, more care Mike, an offhand joke usually comes from a deeper sad place in our thoughts and soul.
I just had to add that I am disappointed that Sen. George McGovern has chosen to endorse Barack Obama. I love Sen. McGovern, he is a great American hero and icon, and did not lie to the country when it needed truth. Let's hope he's right if Sen. Obama wins the nomination.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Human rights in our "enligtened" era.
On this day I start my new blog. The title of the site is based on a book of poetry I started writing between 1966 and 1972. During that period of time I was in college, and the US Army. I was an Infantry officer. I returned from Viet Nam in 1970, and in 1972 worked on Sen. George McGovern's campaign for President to try to end the war.
I mention the above to simply show how little we have really changed in these 40 plus years. I grew up in the 1950's with a single mother, my father died when I was eight years old. She worked 6 days a week to take care of me and make sure we could keep our house. Underpaid, overworked, and doing jobs as an executive secretary where she actually did the work for the men she worked for. She was a natural leader. President of our "Family Circle", cousins club, and President of a charity she volunteered to work for after she married again.
Today women worldwide, in our enlightened age, are still underpaid, treated like property or worse in many nations. Still traded as slaves. Treated as second class citizens in countries that we pump our petro dollars into.
I am so proud of Sen. Hillary Clinton, fighting on, just as she fought hard for George McGovern in 1972. We were fighting an unpopular war then, and here we are repeating history again. Every vote must count. If our civil rights continue to be abridged, as the current Bush administration is doing, we are in deep trouble. Go to the end Hillary...the old boys club that Senator Obama said he was going to change, led to the disenfranchisement of the voters of Florida and Michigan. I will vote for Senator Oba a if he gets the nominaton, but he will need advisors to guide him - hopefully women. Maybe the Speaker of the House can give him some advice.
We shall see the time in the near future where women can earn a fair wage, become President of this country, and maybe follow in the steps of women that led Israel, Great Britain, Pakistan and other countries where women have made a difference, and given their lives for change.
Human rights - Capital Punishment, China and Tibet, Torture of Prisoners (even by the US),
Africa - so many horrors, and on, much more to discuss as we begin our journey to enlightenment.
God bless the women who have done so much to help me, Lillian Shack Schulman, nurses that spent so many extra hours with me over my hospital stays, and forced me to recover, - (talk about underpaid and overworked people), my many Aunts that I was advised by as a young boy, my wife who has been there for me always - my daughter, who I hope will benefit from the efforts of the women that came before her. My sister Alberta, and family in Canada. My mother Fran, and mother in law Dorothy, who are both fighting Alzheimer's disease.
And my friend Penny Ronning, who is single handedly trying to save the world, one blog at a time.
I mention the above to simply show how little we have really changed in these 40 plus years. I grew up in the 1950's with a single mother, my father died when I was eight years old. She worked 6 days a week to take care of me and make sure we could keep our house. Underpaid, overworked, and doing jobs as an executive secretary where she actually did the work for the men she worked for. She was a natural leader. President of our "Family Circle", cousins club, and President of a charity she volunteered to work for after she married again.
Today women worldwide, in our enlightened age, are still underpaid, treated like property or worse in many nations. Still traded as slaves. Treated as second class citizens in countries that we pump our petro dollars into.
I am so proud of Sen. Hillary Clinton, fighting on, just as she fought hard for George McGovern in 1972. We were fighting an unpopular war then, and here we are repeating history again. Every vote must count. If our civil rights continue to be abridged, as the current Bush administration is doing, we are in deep trouble. Go to the end Hillary...the old boys club that Senator Obama said he was going to change, led to the disenfranchisement of the voters of Florida and Michigan. I will vote for Senator Oba a if he gets the nominaton, but he will need advisors to guide him - hopefully women. Maybe the Speaker of the House can give him some advice.
We shall see the time in the near future where women can earn a fair wage, become President of this country, and maybe follow in the steps of women that led Israel, Great Britain, Pakistan and other countries where women have made a difference, and given their lives for change.
Human rights - Capital Punishment, China and Tibet, Torture of Prisoners (even by the US),
Africa - so many horrors, and on, much more to discuss as we begin our journey to enlightenment.
God bless the women who have done so much to help me, Lillian Shack Schulman, nurses that spent so many extra hours with me over my hospital stays, and forced me to recover, - (talk about underpaid and overworked people), my many Aunts that I was advised by as a young boy, my wife who has been there for me always - my daughter, who I hope will benefit from the efforts of the women that came before her. My sister Alberta, and family in Canada. My mother Fran, and mother in law Dorothy, who are both fighting Alzheimer's disease.
And my friend Penny Ronning, who is single handedly trying to save the world, one blog at a time.
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